All Souls Dinghy Regatta

All Souls Dinghy Regatta

The All Souls Dinghy Regatta is held every year during the weekend before the All Souls Regatta. The yacht club’s fleet of more than ten Mirror dinghies and ten Optimists will be seen on the water with mostly local school children competing in heats for the chance to win gold in the race finals. The history of the All Souls Dinghy Regatta goes back to 2004.

In 2004 the Puerto Galera Yacht Club founded the PGYC Small Boat Program, designed to engage the community by providing basic sail training for Puerto Galera school children. In 2005 the children who showed enthusiasm were schooled in the Racing Rules of Sailing and encouraged to participate in inter-school competition.

Some children were so good that in April of 2006, at their first attempt, during the President’s Cup in Subic Bay, they stunned the elite of the Philippine Olympic Sailing Team by scoring 1st and 3rd in the Mirror class. Since then, the All Souls Dinghy Regatta has almost always be held on the weekend preceding the (big boat) All Souls Regatta, with the winners of the dingy event invited to extend their experience by sailing on the racing keelboats and catamarans.

presidents cup 2006 subic bay

the stunning eight, with coach

Six of the graduates from the PGYC Small Boat Program have subsequently joined the elite Philippine Olympic Sailing Team and have won gold, silver and bronze at international regattas in Ireland, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and in Macau, in either or both Mirror and Optimist sailing classes.

More recently, in 2023, eight of the SBP students (four experienced and four new graduates) went to Taal Lake to compete int he Oz-Goose National Championship and, despite never having sailed an Oz Goose dinghy before, with one day of practice went on to win five of the nine trophies, including 1st in the Open Division and 1st in the Ladies Division, clearly demonstrating that a sailing education in Puerto Galera has value everywhere.

There are now so many Puerto Galera children empowered by their sailing experiences under the Small Boat Program that the All Souls Dingy Regatta is oversubscribed and elimination races are held in advance of the main event.

If you want to participate in the All Souls SBP Dinghy Regatta, 29-30 October, 2022, then you had better know your racing rules and be prepared to be bested on the water by ten year old’s possessing the courage of lions.


check out the dinghy racing action in the Photo Gallery All Souls Dinghy Regatta