Yachting News – Latest – It’s been announced that this year’s Gibraltar-Morocco Yacht Rally will take place over the long weekend of Friday 12th June to Monday 15th.

For those not familiar with the Rally, it is an annual event which was run for the first time in 2000 and has since set its place firmly on Gibraltar’s sailing calendar, as a kick start to the summer season.

Aptly this year will mark the fifteenth anniversary of the event which from its humble beginnings has grown in strength and participation and has been awarded the accolade of “World’s Most Sociable” Yachting Rally. Despite coming under the guise of a “yacht” rally, the event is open to yachts and powerboats alike and in the past has attracted not only participants from Gibraltar but from along the Spanish coast and further afield; and with ages ranging from the very young to the old salty seadog.

The Rally weekend normally gets under way on the Thursday evening before, with the Skippers Brief, which usually takes place at Ocean Village Marina, Gibraltar. At 1pm on the Friday – the race itself gets underway with the starting klaxon normally sounded – and the race is then on to Marina Smir, Morocco!! Not only does the weekend involve the race across the Strait but it also encompasses a whole weekend of fun and entertainment, from the sponsored “meet and greet” wine and cheese party on arrival, to fun and games held on the Saturday followed by an evening fancy dress. The evening is briefly interrupted for the traditional prize giving, with all prizes generously donated by local Gibraltar Businesses, with the weekend brought to a climax normally on the Sunday as most competitors head for home.

If you’re sailing in the Mediterranean this June and are interested in taking part, further information will be announced here nearer the time, so watch out for details.