Sailing Club Series, Race 1 Short-Race Handicap

Published 14:09 on 26 Apr 2026

Saturday delivered again. High water, a warm April sun, and a steady F3 Easterly made for near-perfect conditions on the ria — flat enough to reward good boat-speed, breezy enough to keep everyone honest. Seven ILCA 6s and three ILCA 4s made it out for the first race of the Club Series, and notably the first race of the season where the ILCA fleet got their own start. Course set was 4-2-3-2-3.

It was Steve Walter who made the pick of the starts — the cleanest getaway on what proved to be a fast beat up to mark 4 — and he led the fleet towards the entrance to Southpool Creek. A boom-over-buoyancy-aid moment during a tack led to a capsize, ending his charge there, and the fleet rolled on.

George Reynolds — who won both the Commissioning Race and the Festive Series with characteristic authority — led the fleet round mark 4, with Allan Willcox and Andrew Groves tucked in within a few boat lengths. George gradually extended, rounding 4 first, Allan second, Andrew third, Emily Hoar in fourth, and the rest of the fleet still working upwind.

The racing that followed had plenty of tactical interest. On the run from 4 to 2, George and Allan took the central line while Andrew went shore side; George led at 2, then Allan, then Andrew. 

The tactical split that developed afterwards proved decisive: Andrew went town side, George and Allan took Portlemouth. Andrew came through to lead, with George holding second and Allan third — order confirmed again at mark 3. Second time through to mark 2 the order held, but Allan peeled away to the Portlemouth shore while Andrew and George — well clear of the fleet — went town side. It paid. All three crossed the finish line within a few tens of seconds of each other after an hour of racing on the ria — a genuinely close conclusion that the racing deserved.

Andrew Groves took the win on corrected time — and first on the water — with George Reynolds second and Allan Willcox third.

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Elsewhere, Steve Walter and Emily Hoar conducted a spirited battle through the mid-fleet — Steve adding a second capsize to his earlier one but getting round regardless. Jane Walker was out in her new laser for the first time — teething troubles aside, she seemed to enjoy every minute. Suzy Andrews showed admirable resourcefulness, fixing a gear failure on Mill Bay beach mid-race before carrying on to finish. A warm welcome to Julia Mawdesley-Thomas on her first outing of the season, and good to see Karen Ballantine out again.

With thanks to Race Officer Simon Dobson and the safety boat teams.

By Allan Willcox | Photos Lucy Burn