2025 Exeter Excalibur Team Racing at Roadford Lake Sailing Club
by Katy Jenkins 28 Apr 2025 15:25 BST
15-16 March 2025
2025 Exeter Excalibur Team Racing at Roadford Lake © Exeter University Sailing Club
The 2025 Exeter Excalibur brought a thrilling weekend of intense team racing to Roadford Lake on the 15th and 16th of March.
Organised and run by the University of Exeter Sailing Club (EUSC), the event once again gathered some of the UK's finest team racers for a weekend of close, high-level competition.
Saturday kicked off with strong winds and gusty conditions, testing both sailors and kit to their limits — quite literally, with a broken mast just halfway through the morning! (A huge thanks to Bristol University Sailing Club for kindly lending their boats.) Despite the testing weather, spirits remained high both on and off the water.
Once racing finished for the day, everyone headed to the much-anticipated social highlight: a fantastic evening at Bombay Spice for a classic curry night, followed by the traditional pilgrimage to Fever. True to form, Exeter lived up to its reputation for the best nightlife in the UK, and the evening was one to remember!
Sunday brought more forgiving conditions with a steadier breeze, providing perfect racing to complete the round-robin stage. Middle Boat Mafia, a team made up of Exeter students and alumni, dominated the round robin, remaining unbeaten and securing the top seed heading into the knockout stages.
The final rounds began with silver league winners Family Meadowcroft taking on Bristol 1s for a spot in the semi-finals. Family Meadowcroft came out on top to face Middle Boat Mafia in the semis. Although Middle Boat Mafia secured their place in the final, a notable mention goes to Family Meadowcroft, who — in a hectic first race — pulled off an impressive win with a 1,4,5 combination.
The final showdown featured the University of East Anglia (UEA) versus Middle Boat Mafia. In a fiercely contested final, UEA, sailed superbly to win two races with a 1,2 combination, claiming overall victory.
Meanwhile, the semi-finals also saw an intense battle between Family Meadowcroft and Lord Mayor's Croupier. After one win apiece, a deciding race was needed. Lord Mayor's Croupier pulled off a tactical masterclass with a sneaky conversion on leg four, clinching third place overall.
Huge congratulations to UEA, captained by Will Pank, for an outstanding win, and a massive thank you to all competitors for an incredible weekend of close, exciting racing.
We are also deeply grateful to everyone who made the event possible: the dedicated team of umpires, all EUSC volunteers, Flo Nicholls for her superb organisation, Nigel Vic, and of course Keith and the kSail team for their invaluable support. Your hard work ensured that the 2025 Exeter Excalibur was once again a resounding success — we can't wait to see you all again next year!