Sailing Club Series, R1 - Yawl Fleet
Published 19:16 on 26 Apr 2026
Saturday the 25th marked the start of the Salcombe Yacht Club Sailing Club Series, and what better conditions for the 18-strong Yawl fleet than a Force 3 easterly, high tide, and wall-to-wall sunshine.
Numbers on the start line arent always this high, but they were boosted by the annual Salcombe Yawl training weekend—something the Fast Handicap fleet, who share the 14:00 start time with the Yawls, were less than happy about.
Nevertheless, they all set off on their merry way to Mark 4, with plenty of shiny new paint jobs on display and, in some cases, boats new to their crews. Olly Turner and Chris Skelhorn in 186 edged into the lead as they entered South Pool Creek, just ahead of John Burn and Ross Borne in 170. This pair quickly managed to put a little breathing room between themselves and the marauding pack—just as well, as all that could be heard behind them were endless calls for Room! and Starboard!
Turner and Skelhorn remained in front, rounding the mark first just ahead of Burn and Borne, while John and Katy Meadowcroft led the main pack, which included the rocket ship Blinkie, Y17—aptly named, when you blink you'll definitely miss it.
The long downwind leg to Blackstone was relatively unremarkable at the front. 170 closed the gap on 186, but not enough to overhaul them. In fact, this pair continued their close duel throughout the afternoon: 186 would extend, only to be reeled back in by 170, but never quite enough for a pass.
Further back, it was a game of snakes and ladders—particularly in the Red Fleet. Y17, sailed by Tim Fells and Phil Maggee, was the first Blue Fleet Yawl and, remarkably (though now not entirely unexpectedly), led the chasing group of Red Fleet Yawls around Blackstone. They were what can only be described as miles ahead of the next Blue Fleet boat.
The Red Fleet battle included Y174, although they made the cardinal error of sailing into the Fairway pre-start and were therefore excluded. That left Y172 (Graham Cranford-Smith with Dan Bridger aboard), Y175 (the Meadowcrofts), and Y145 (Greg and Clare Hoar) battling it out for the minor placings.
As the afternoon progressed, the breeze faded—bad news for everyone except, you guessed it, Y17. As if it wasn't fast enough already, sub-8 knots is when this Yawl really fires up the burners.
Theres no doubt that one more leg would have seen Tim and Phil overhaul Y170 and Y186, but those ahead were spared the embarrassment as they completed the course just in time. However, Yawl racing is handicapped, and on corrected time Y17 comfortably took victory, with Y186 second and Y170 third.
Y172 won the battle behind, coming home in fourth ahead of Y145 and Y175 respectively. The remaining Blue Fleet boats were led home by Andrew and Izzy Wood in 126, with Mark Waterhouse and Nicola Bass in 74 just 33 seconds behind.
By John Burn | Photos Lucy Burn
