Metung Easter Regatta
The Metung Easter Regatta is a long-running Victorian dinghy regatta on the Gippsland Lakes, held every Easter by the Metung Yacht Club and famous for the annual Easter pilgrimage of sailors from Sandringham and across the state.
Photo: grumpylumixuser, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
2 min read
The Metung Easter Regatta is one of Victoria's best-loved grassroots events — a long-running dinghy regatta on the Gippsland Lakes, held every Easter by the Metung Yacht Club. Famous for the annual "Easter pilgrimage" of sailors from Sandringham and beyond, it is proof that a small club on a beautiful lake can build a fixture that draws crews from right across the state.
What it is
The regatta is an off-the-beach dinghy event, sailed over three days at Easter on the sheltered, tranquil waters of the Gippsland Lakes at Metung, in eastern Victoria. The programme mixes long and short courses, and the relaxed lakeside setting makes it as much a community gathering as a competition — the kind of grassroots regatta that anchors a local sailing scene. If you are new to this style of boat, our guide to types of sailboats explains where dinghies fit.
A Gippsland institution
The event has deep roots: the 63rd running was held in 2026, placing its origins in the mid-1960s, while the Metung Yacht Club itself traces its history to the early 1930s and has been operating for more than 75 years. The annual Easter pilgrimage of Sandringham Yacht Club sailors making the trip east has become part of its character, linking the Port Phillip and Gippsland sailing communities.
The Gippsland Lakes are a natural home for grassroots sailing — the same waters that host Victoria's great trailer-sailer classic, and a world away from the open-sea racing of the coast.
How to enter and follow
Entries and event information are published by the Metung Yacht Club. For crews towing a dinghy to the lakes, it is an accessible and welcoming regatta — a good target for anyone getting into the sport, as our guide to getting into sailing in Australia describes. The sailing terms glossary covers the language of the racing.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the Metung Easter Regatta?
- The Metung Easter Regatta is a long-running dinghy regatta held every Easter on the Gippsland Lakes in Victoria, hosted by the Metung Yacht Club. It draws off-the-beach dinghy sailors from across the state — including an annual pilgrimage of crews from the Sandringham Yacht Club — for three days of racing on the tranquil lakes.
- When and where is the Metung Easter Regatta held?
- It is held over the Easter long weekend at Metung, on the Gippsland Lakes in eastern Victoria. The regatta is sailed over three days on the sheltered lake waters, with a mix of long and short courses, making it a relaxed but competitive fixture of the Victorian dinghy calendar.
- How old is the Metung Easter Regatta?
- It is a long-established event, with the 63rd running held in 2026, placing its origins in the mid-1960s. The Metung Yacht Club itself has a history reaching back to the early 1930s and has been operating for more than 75 years, so the regatta sits within a deep local sailing tradition.
- What boats race at the Metung Easter Regatta?
- It is an off-the-beach dinghy regatta, drawing classes of small sailing dinghies that crews tow or cartop to the lakes. The tranquil, sheltered waters of the Gippsland Lakes suit dinghy racing well, and the Easter timing makes it a popular family and club fixture.
More regattas
Marlay Point Overnight Race: The Trailer-Sailer Classic
The Marlay Point Overnight Race is Australia's only overnight race for trailer-sailers — a Gippsland Lakes classic run since 1969 that sends hundreds of small yachts racing through the night.
Read the guideFestival of Sails: Geelong's Australia Day Regatta
The Festival of Sails is one of Australia's largest keelboat regattas, run by the Royal Geelong Yacht Club on Corio Bay over the Australia Day long weekend each January.
Read the guideCock of the Bay
The Cock of the Bay is the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria's Boxing Day dash across Port Phillip — a roughly 21-nautical-mile sprint from Port Melbourne to Mornington.
Read the guide