West Country Boat Repairs SW Ugly Tour, BCYC 29 Mar 2025

March? You expect me to go sailing in March?! Fortunately for Fred, heading north to BCYC is like coming home for me. So we took the inevitable decision to pack the boat up and hit the motorway. Who am I kidding... it hadn't been unpacked since we finished last season at Chew. Winter sailing is not in our vocabulary these days.

We arrived to a remarkably sunny day with not much more than a breath of wind. Luckily for the fleet the wind picked up beautifully in time for the first start. Unfortunately for Arky it couldn't quite decide which direction it favoured. The ribs were kept busy moving the windward mark from West to South and back again.

I genuinely can't remember much of what happened out on the water, there was some hiking, some soaking, some planing, some capsizing (thankfully not by us on this occasion). And lots and lots and lots of shifts.

It was a game of snakes and ladders for a lot of the fleet, although Ian Martin and Emma Hivey were awfully quick as you might expect. We managed to pip them just the once but it went very quickly downhill after that, as we started the next race squarely last off the line.

A number of boats made an impression today as ones to watch out for as the Ugly Tour progresses through the year. The Cornish are obviously hardier than us and showed the benefits of winter sailing practise with Freya/Lily earning a great 4th place in race 1, and Kyle/Madeline 3rd in race 3. Dad and son combo Hywel and  Ben were easy to identify in their team orange tops and frequently in the first few boats, finishing 2nd in race 3.

The rest of the race podium positions were shared by some of the usual Ugly Tour suspects - Henry/Ashley, Duncan/Lorna and James/Ruth.

The scene has certainly been set for a close season ahead.

Thanks to Arky and his team who had a very busy day mark moving. I think I speak for the whole fleet when I say thank you for stopping after four races, my toes are still defrosting as we drive home.

Liz Mainwaring

Photos thanks to BCYC volunteer Aaron Geis, gallery link to follow, where phtoos will be free to download

RS200 SW Ugly Tour BCYC March 2025

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RS200 BCYC 2025

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Sailing Chandlery RS400 Southern Tour, BCYC

A small turnout of only four RS400’s received a warm welcome for the Southern Tour Event at Bristol Corinthian Yacht Club on Saturday 29 March, possibly a result of one day events not proving too popular with travellers. Nevertheless, the top two places were hard fought in shifty F2-3 Summer time conditions. Class stalwarts John Gorringe and Toby Lewis narrowly missed out on victory to fellow long-time RS400 competitors Tom Halhead and Paul Hilliar.  Each won two of the four races coming second in the other two. Tom and Paul emerged victorious based on winning the last race sailed. 

Paul and Anna Smalley tried to mix it up in the third race with a huge lead at the windward mark but eventually succumbed on the final run. Richard Watney and Grant Shoebridge finished a close fourth.

The RS400’s are already expecting much better turnouts at the upcoming RS Sprints at Rutland and then the highlight of the Southern Tour with a 3-day ‘special stage’ at Salcombe for Early May Bank Holiday Weekend.  Fortunate to be one of the few classes hosted by the Royal Salcombe Yacht Club every year, this event gives a great opportunity to occasionally upend the fleet amongst what motorcycle roar racers would call the ‘furniture’ encountered when racing in the most picturesque venue in the UK.

Paul Smalley

Photos thanks to BCYC volunteer Aaron Geis

RS400 BCYC 2025

RS400 BCYC 2025

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Bristol Race and Train – RS500 Rooster National Tour Season Opener Recap

Six boats and twelve sailors kicked off the 2025 RS500 season in a super competitive fleet at Bristol’s Race and Train weekend. The five-race series was sailed in 8–12 knots with a wild 90-degree shift range throughout the day. It was definitely a day for keeping your head out of the boat, with big gains, and equally big losses.

In Race 1 Simon and Katie led for the first half, only to slip to 6th after two costly shifts. Ed Whitehead and Ian Mairs read the conditions perfectly to take the win, and kept the momentum going with a strong performance in Race 2, narrowly holding off Paul Cullen and Fresh Abendstern.

Paul and Fresh bounced back in Race 3 with a well-earned win, while Simon and Katie caught a lucky gust at the final leeward gate to plan into second.

It was great to see Emma and Luke McEwen former RS800 National Champions racing in their RS500 at their first ever open meeting. They were quickly up to speed and on the pace.

In Race 4, Paul and Fresh scored another win, with Ed and Ian finishing second, securing the overall regatta victory. Paul and Fresh ended just one point behind in to finish second overall.

After the one-day regatta, the fleet was treated to a training day led by Ian Mairs. Sailors were treated to champagne conditions, with a gusty 16–25 knots. Following some shoreside tuning, teams headed out for on-water drills including upwind and downwind tuning, pace work, and mainsail mapping. The session wrapped up with mark rounding practice starts and some epic downwind three-sail blasting.

Huge thanks to Ian and Arky for delivering a fun and valuable day afloat!

Rooster mid fleet hero prize went to Simon and Katie Horsfield, Nigel and Aaron Davis won the Endeavour prize.

Simon Horsfield

Photos thanks to BCYC volunteer, Aaron Geis. Gallery link to follow.

RS500 RNT BCYC 2025

RS500 RNT BCYC 2025

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