Kestrel National Championship 2025 at Stone Sailing Club - Day 1

Chair Stewart Murdoch with day 1 winners Mark Pollard and Andy Gladstone - Kestrel National Championships at Stone © Liz Austin

A windy day saw the fleet launch with varying degrees of trepidation.

Racing was right on the edge, with Sandy & Ailsa (1632) deciding early on to retire when their jib halyard snapped, followed by Karin Grice with her last minute stand in crew. It's always lovely to see Chicken (408) on the water - the oldest boat currently racing - though her bright pink feathers were a little ruffled in the stiff breeze.

The start was hard fought, and the newest boat in the fleet, 1652, sailed by Mark Pollard & Andy Gladstone made good progress around the course, with Steve Worf & Dave Hearsum (1636), Stewart Murdoch & Ken Scott-Brown (1648) and Malcolm & Dans Worsley (1638) fighting hard.

The Le Mares in 1650 were fast but had some trouble with manoeuvres, putting them comfortably mid fleet with Paul Gray and Jules Batchelor(1600), Dean Saxton and Mark Harman (1593), Chris Grice & Kenny Hobbs (1472) and Paul Wilkinson & Jane O'Brien in 1605.

The leeward mark was the first big challenge, with the majority of the fleet choosing to ware round rather than gybe. Notable exceptions were Malcolm & Dans who not only risked the gybe, but were also the only boat to fly their spinnaker, gaining several places.

The second time around the course was increasingly eventful, with gusts of up to 30 knots. Steve & Dave were in the lead and sailing beautifully when they swam dramatically whilst wearing round, and then were separated from their boat by the wind.

This left Howie Enkel & Danni Tebbut in B Cup (1574) sailing their usual superb race, hotly pursued by Stewart & Ken in Pure Dead Sea Thing. After them came Mark & Andy in 1652 and Malcolm & Danny in the Grey Shark, followed by the Le Mares in Trilemma.

As the 30knot gust hit the front of the fleet Pure Dead Sea Thing lived up to her name by spending some time upside down with the mast stuck in the mud, and B Cup also rinsed the burgee thoroughly.

In fact, staying upright proved highly effective, with the top three finishers being those who didn't succumb - Andy & Mark in 1652, (Starcross SC) followed by Malcolm & Dans, (Royal Tay) and then the Le Mares in Trilemma (Portchester SC) in 3rd

11 of the 16 boats finished the race and all should be congratulated on surviving such tricky conditions. It does demonstrate the delight of sailing such a capable and enjoyable boat in big winds, but the fleet decided discretion was the better part of valour, and there was much relief when the OOD cancelled all further racing for the day.

Tomorrow looks fine and less windy, and we hope to be able to race with enjoyment not endurance.