A fleet of 40 sailing dinghies is expected to grace the waters around Birżebbuġa this weekend during the annual St. Peter’s sailing regatta.

This is a sporting event organised by the local sailing club which as its name implies, is purposely held to coincide with the local village feast of St. Peter. This shall provide a veritable backdrop to the races being held out on the water as the local seafront will be fully decked out with festive regalia.

The regatta is open to all class of dinghies having a valid 2011 Portsmouth Yardstick number and a minimum of five boats of the same type shall constitute a class. Additionally all registered dinghies either than the IODA Optimist shall also race in the Overall Handicap class.

Like in recent past editions, the IODA Optimist boats are expected to form the backbone of the fleet; this shall also be complemented by a sizable number of Laser and the newly introduced RS Feva classes. Following last year’s record turnout, the Miracle class fleet is also expected to be back in full force in order to re-affirm its long presence on the local dinghy sailing scene.

Registration will open today at 10am to be followed by race briefing. Six races are being scheduled between today and tomorrow. First start today is scheduled at noon while that for tomorrow is set for 10am.

The regatta will come to a close with the prize giving ceremony to be held at the Birżebbuġa Sailing Club clubhouse situated at Wied il-Buni after the last race tomorrow afternoon.

This year’s edition is being sponsored by the Malta Business School - a division of Allied Consultants Ltd.