Salcombe Gin Regatta 2026 Solo Class Report
Published 13:20 on 18 Aug 2026
Twenty Solos assembled for the 2026 Salcombe Gin Regatta, with a strong home contingent joined by visitors from Chew Valley, Burghfield, Leigh & Lowton and Bough Beech. Six races and a single discard produced some excellent racing at the front of the fleet, although by the end of the week there was one name very firmly at the top of the results sheet.
Tim Law put together an outstanding series. He won the opening race, missed Race 2, and then returned to win Races 3 and 4. A second place in Race 5 was his only counting result outside first before he completed the week with another victory in Race 6. Four wins and a second gave Law a dominant six-point total and a thoroughly deserved overall victory.
Behind him, however, the battle for the remaining podium places could hardly have been closer.
The regatta opened with Law taking the first gun ahead of fellow Salcombe sailor Simon Dobson, with visitor Jon Ibbotson of Burghfield SC third. Tim Johnson of Chew Valley, sailing Shaglette, was fourth, with Roger Guess fifth.
With Law absent from Race 2, Johnson seized his opportunity and took the win. Dobson again demonstrated his consistency with another second, while Guess moved up to third. Michael Hicks took fourth and Ibbotson fifth.
Law was back for Race 3 and immediately returned to winning ways, with Guess second and Hicks third. Dobson added a fourth and Iain McGregor a fifth. The strong wind saw Tim Johnson break his boom and tear his mainsail, forcing his retirement from the race whilst Jon Ibbotson suffered a costly capsize.
Race 4 was even more attritional. Law again took the win, Johnson finishing second, Hicks third and McGregor fourth. Roger Lumby completed the top five. Behind them only seven boats recorded finishing places, making survival and keeping a result on the scorecard almost as important as outright speed.
The fifth race finally brought an interruption to Law's sequence of victories. This time it was Roger Guess, sailing Sidney Grey Foils, who took the gun, with Law second. McGregor sailed an excellent race to finish third, ahead of Dobson and Johnson.
Going into the final race, Law's grip on the overall title was secure, but he nevertheless finished the week in appropriate fashion with his fourth victory. Hicks took second, Dobson third, Johnson fourth and Guess fifth.
With Law disappearing into the distance on the overall scoreboard, the contest for second place was exceptionally tight. Dobson's third in the final race secured him second overall on 15 points. Just one point behind came both Guess and Johnson on 16 points. Guess's Race 5 victory, together with second and third places earlier in the week, was enough to secure third overall on countback, leaving Johnson fourth despite his own race victory and second place.
Hicks completed an extremely competitive top five. His week improved steadily from seventh in the opening race to fourth, third and third, before finishing the regatta with a second.
The results tell the story of a week in which Salcombe provided its customary mixture of opportunity and jeopardy. There were race wins for three different helms - Law, Johnson and Guess - but across the series nobody could match Law's combination of pace and consistency.
Four bullets from five starts is a formidable Salcombe Yacht Club Regatta scorecard, and made Tim Law a very worthy 2026 Salcombe Gin Regatta Champion.
By Simon Dobson | Photos Lucy Burn
