WASZP End of Season Christmas GP at Rutland Sailing Club

WASZP End of Season Christmas GP at Rutland © WASZP Class

This weekend, hardy winter WASZP sailors travelled from across the country to gather at Rutland Sailing Club for the End of Season Christmas GP. While much of the UK was battered by wind and rain, Rutland delivered an excellent weekend of racing.

Saturday arrived gusts of 25+ knots of breeze and the race committee made the most of it running four windward-leeward races followed by the long-distance 6.5nm 'two tower' race.

In the windward-leewards, sailors were weighing up the upwind options of heading left to minimise manoeuvres in the breeze or right to hook into the wind shift gains approaching the upwind mark. Max Rawlinson came out strong, winning Race 1 and stacking up top-three finishes across the course. Rachael Betschart showed impressive speed and composure, powering through to take victories in Races 3 and 4. Samson Cross stayed close throughout, winning Race 2 and securing several podiums. Adam Raeburn-James launched off the line in style with a second in Race 1 and third in Race 2, while Dan Goodman earned the title of most consistent sailor with three fourths and a fifth.

The tower-to-tower race put everyone's tactical skills and December endurance to the test, with dusk creeping ever closer. The fight for the podium was tight, but Max Rawlinson took the win, followed by a notable second for Samson Cross and third for Rachael Betschart. Dan Goodman continued his form with yet another strong fourth.

Fuelled by Saturday night's Christmas dinner, sailors headed back out on Sunday for three NASCAR races. The lighter breeze shifted the focus to reading the pressure bands — and consistency remained key. Samson Cross claimed the first bullet, Max Rawlinson took the second to secure his overall event victory, and Ian Fitzgerald stormed through to win the final race, earning him 1st Master overall.

Rachael Betschart delivered another set of solid results with three podium finishes, earning 2nd overall and 1st Woman. Samson Cross completed the event podium in 3rd overall. Dan Goodman wrapped up the weekend with a third place — and his fifth fourth of the event, clearly his lucky number — securing 4th overall and 1st Super Master.

In the 7.5m rig fleet, racing was tight throughout, with Oscar Hoyle claiming the overall win.

Across the series awards, Imogen Green claimed 1st Woman for the 2025 GP Series, and Martin Evans was crowned overall 2025 GP Series Champion.

Overall Results:

1st Max Rawlinson
2nd Rachael Betschart
3rd Samson Cross

Women's
1st Rachael Betschart
2nd Stella Nygard

Super Master
1st Daniel Goodman

Master
1st Ian Fitzgerald

7.5m rig
1st Oscar Hoyle

5.8m rig
1st Finley Kirkby

2025 Women's GP Series Winner: Imogen Green

2025 Men's GP Series Winner: Martin Evans