Eighty dinghies will race ten miles of the tidal Thames on Saturday 20 June, starting and finishing on Putney Embankment, in a spectacle not seen for nearly 50 years.
The Tideway Dinghy Derby leaves Ranelagh Sailing Club from late morning. The start cannot happen before 11am, when the falling tide clears Putney Bridge. The fleet will then race a route that the organisers simply call “Big Ben and Back”: threading downstream through central London, past Wandsworth, Battersea, Albert, Chelsea, Vauxhall and Lambeth bridges to a turning mark opposite Parliament, before riding the incoming tide home. The Port of London Authority has agreed a partial river closure for the race.
The last time a race of this kind ran on the tidal Thames was 1977, when over 300 boats took to the water for the Silver Jubilee. British Pathé captured an earlier incarnation of the race in 1962, with dinghies queuing on the Putney Embankment and the Mayor of Wandsworth sending the fleet on its way. It is, in miniature, a portrait of a different river and a different city.
The 2026 race marks the first full year of operation of the Thames Tideway Tunnel, the deep sewer beneath the river whose opening has helped water quality along the tidal reaches. Organisers say the project, combined with the Lee Tunnel and treatment upgrades, has diverted more than 18 million tonnes of sewage from the river: the cleaner water is, in part, what the race is there to celebrate. We tracked the tunnel’s final construction through Wandsworth Park last winter and looked at what a cleaner Thames could mean for Putney’s waterfront earlier this spring.
The fleet and the cause
Among the competitors expected is Pip Hare, one of Britain’s leading offshore sailors. The race also marks the 70th anniversary of the Enterprise dinghy class, designed by Jack Holt, whose workshop once stood near Putney Bridge, close to the spot where the fleet will gather.
All proceeds go to the Scaramouche Sailing Trust, which supports the sailing programme at Greig City Academy in north London. The programme takes young people from inner London and puts them on open water. Kai Hockley, who came through it, is now a grinder on the F50 Emirates GBR SailGP Team, racing on the fastest sailing boats on the planet. The race is backed by Laing O’Rourke, with additional support from Tideway and Thames Water.
Come and watch
Spectators are welcome on Putney Embankment, with no admission charge. Plan to arrive from late morning on Saturday 20 June; the exact start time depends on the tide. The Embankment reopened just in time for the Boat Race in March and offers clear views downstream as the fleet sets off.
Sailors and local organisations interested in a charity entry can contact Ranelagh Sailing Club at corporates@ranelaghsc.co.uk. General public pre-registration has now closed.
The Port of London Authority has said it hopes the race can develop into an annual event. Full details are at the Tideway Dinghy Derby event page.
