Winter Series, Final Race - Fast Handicap.
Published 12:50 on 14 Dec 2025
Course 1-7-6-2-4
Sailors arriving on Saturday morning for the final Fast Handicap Race of the Winter Series were not fully prepared for what greeted them. Iced-up boats meant that a little defrosting was the first order of the day under sunny skies and a distinct lack of wind.
It promised to be an intriguing finale, with three teams still in contention for the series win. Sitting at the top of the table and firmly in the driving seat were Tim Fells and Phil Magee in Yawl 17, enjoying excellent form. Dan Bridger sailing with Andrew Stirling, and John Burn sailing with Ross Bourne, both still had a mathematical chance of taking the series, but would need strong performances — and crucially, to outperform Y17.
Race Officer Chris Cleaves opted for a short postponement, allowing the breeze to fill in nicely from the south-west. He then displayed a testing course, no doubt hoping to catch out one or two sailors, sending the fleet on a tour of the estuary with only Mark Eight left out.
The eight-strong handicap fleet — comprising one red fleet and three blue fleet Yawls, two Merlin Rockets, a 505 and an Albacore — got under way, although Y161 was a little too keen, earning a second blast from the watch house and being recalled to start again.
The first black mark of the race went to the 505 sailed by Peter Colclough and Alistair Morley. Still getting to grips with their new boat, they unfortunately forgot that the mark had been unusually set to starboard — something the rest of the fleet was only too happy to point out.
Fran Gifford and crew Frankie Burn disappeared off into the distance in their Merlin Rocket, opening up a huge lead. They were so far ahead that they were pulling their boat up the Batson slipway while the majority of the fleet was still heading down to Mark Four. It seemed certain this would be enough for the race win, but alas, a Merlin Rocket needs a considerable margin over the blue-fleet boats. Despite their superb sail, they had to settle for second place.
John Burn and Ross Bourne in Y170 gradually managed to pull away from the main fleet and, crucially, put some distance between themselves and Y17. However, it was not quite enough, and they finished third — missing out on second place to the Merlin by just two seconds.
Once again sailing exceptionally well, and sealing both the race win and the series overall, were Tim Fells and Phil Magee in Y17. This new pairing has been outstanding throughout the series and will be extremely difficult to beat next season — if it is even possible. They maintained an impressively high level of performance across all conditions and showed no obvious weaknesses.
Dan Bridger and Andrew Stirling finished fourth, counting the result as their discard and securing second place overall in the series, ahead of John Burn and Ross Bourne, who finished third.
It was a fun and exciting series, with three different race winners across the five races. Competition in the handicap fleet continues to be close and fiercely contested, setting the stage for another excellent Festive Series, with the Solos joining the action from next Saturday.
