DISCOVER THE REGATTA IN VALLETTA’S GRAND HARBOR

The Regatta is a traditional rowing event in the Grand Harbor of Valletta that has been held in Malta since the XVI century. Historically, it would have been created when the neighboring parishes of the Grand Harbor of Malta requested permission from the Grand Masters of the Order of St John of Jerusalem to organize rowing races as part of the celebration of the 1565 victory over Ottoman troops during the Great Siege. This regatta has also been the marks of the end of the French occupation in Malta in 1800, as well as the defeat of fascism (after the allied landings in Sicily and Italy signs the armistice on September 8, 1943), which saw the end of the Italian bombing raids on the Maltese Islands.

Grand & Marsamxett Harbours – photo by Daniel Cilia

Regatta Jum il-Ħelsien & Regatta Jum il-Vitorja

The first professional Rowing Challenge started in 1955 and became a national event that takes place now twice a year: Regatta Jum il-Ħelsien on the 31st March, on Freedom Day (to commemorate the withdrawal of the British troops and the Royal Navy from Malta in 1979), and Regatta Jum il-Vitorja on 8th September (since 1822) known as Victory Day (the day of the victory over Ottoman troops during the Great Siege). The 31st March regatta is considered more as a training regatta to calibrate the teams’ preparations for the 8th September. All year round, the rowers train to be at their best for the Jum il-Vitorja Regatta.

The program (11 races with 8 boats each) offers four to five hours of show with the best crews forming part of the rowing teams from the 6 cities bordering the Grand Harbor and 2 from others cities, rowing on the typical traditional Maltese boats (originally normal working watercraft which sailed in the local harbor; over the years, these boats have evolved into racing craft with certain modifications).

Three types of boats are selected to compete in the Regatta: the dgħajsa, the kajjik and the frejgatina.

1. The dgħajsa is represented in three series
   
   • the Dgħajsa tal-Pass b’Zewg Imqadef, raced in two without a coxswain, one seated, with his back to the advance, pulling the oar, and one standing, facing the advance, pushing the oar.
   • the Dgħajsa tal-Pass b’Erba Imqadef, raced in fours without a coxswain – alternately two seated, with their backs to the advance, pulling the oar, and two standing, facing the advance, pushing the oar.
   • the Dgħajsa tal-Midalji b’Erba Imqadef (designed in 1898 especially for competition) is raced, like the Dgħajsa tal-Pass b’Erba Imqadef, in coxless fours.
2. The Kajjik b’Zewg Imqadef, is raced in a coxless pair – one seated, with his back to the advance, pulling the oar, and one standing, facing the advance, pushing the oar.
3. The Frejgatina b’Zewg Imqadef u Tmunier is rowed as a coxed pair – the two oarsmen sitting with their backs to the boat pull the oar and one coxswain sits at the back of the boat facing forward.

The 3 types of traditional boats on the Regatta (photo: Aaliyah Bonello)

Eight rowing clubs (identified by their traditional colors) take part in the Regatta; six are based around The Grand Harbor, one comes from south-east Malta (Firebug) and the last to join in 2021 from the Southern (Siggiewi):

• Klabb Regatta Birżebbuġa, pennant and hull colors blue, white and red.
• Klabb Regatta Bormla, pennant colors blue and hull colors blue and white.
• Isla Regatta Club, yellow and red pennant and hull colors.
• Kalkara Regatta Club, green pennant and hull colors.
• Tal-Marsa Regatta Club, red and blue pennant and hull colors.
• Marsamxett Valletta Regatta Club, yellow pennant and white hull colors.
• Siggiewi Rowing Club, orange and white pennant and hull colors
• Vittoriosa Regatta Club, red pennant and hull colors.

The races can be viewed from the water edge (along the waterfront and the surrounding bastions) of Birgu, Senglea or Valletta. It is always a worth watching colorful and spectacular event!

The Races

The races take place in the Grand Harbor Valletta over a distance of 1,200 meters between Marsa and the old Valletta customs building. Theoretically, the races should take place in lanes, but the depth of the bay makes it impossible to moor course buoys. Only the start line is marked by a line and buoys. Each competing boat attaches one end to its starting buoy and releases it at the starting signal. The finish line is marked by the alignment of a mast on land with the race stewards’ boat.

The Regatta is contested in two series: one (U25) reserved for under-25s and the other (Open) with no age restriction. Each series races on each type of boat, with crews specializing in that type of boat. Points are awarded to the top three finishers in each race:

• 24, 16 and 8 in Dgħajsa tal-Midalji b’Erba Imqadef.
• 20, 12 and 6 in Dgħajsa tal-Pass b’Zewg Imqadef and Dgħajsa tal-Midalji b’Erba Imqadef.
• 12, 8 and 4 in Kajjik b’Zewg Imqadef and Frejgatina b’Zewg Imqadef u Tmunier.

The total points obtained in each series determine the winning club, which receives the Shield on which its name is affixed for one year. The Shield Open is displayed on the club’s premises and is a source of pride for the town.

Regatta Shield (photo: Aaliyah Bonello)

Only the winners of the Shield in the most prestigious open series have a record. In 2023, Isla (Senglea) has been crowned winner of the traditional Regatta for the first time in a decade, beating six other clubs to claim to coveted Regatta Shield. To date, the Isla Regatta Club is with 24 Shield entries out of 69 editions of the Regatta.

Our guest relation host at The Snop House, Aaliyah Bonello, is also one of the female competitors from the Isla Regatta Club performing on a Frejgatina