SKUD18 UK Championship 2025 at Rutland Sailing Club
by Richard Johnson 28 Oct 10:39 GMT
18-19 October 2025
SKUD18 UK Championships 2025 at Rutland © Fiona Tylecote
Forecasts of 30-40 knot gusts, weren't good. Just the opposite to September when we had to abandon our first try for lack of wind but, by the end of the week it looked promising and, arriving at Rutland on Saturday morning, the wind was only 5-10 knots from the Southeast so the Six-SKUD fleet rigged and assembled in Rutland's South arm for some racing.
We had two visitors. Last year's Champions Lynn and Stuart Swan from Weymouth and Rory McKinna from Scotland, who recently won the UK Challenger Championships and is current Hansa 303 Doubles World Champion so what we lacked in numbers we made up in Fleet Quality.
In a patchy wind, consistency and good tactics were the key and Rory shrugged off being in a strange boat with a new crew to win his first ever race in a SKUD. Christine Spray and Richard Johnson recovered well from a shocking start to claw through the fleet by going right early, picking up the best wind pressure and going from last to second by the finish.
Spray and Johnson got their act together for the next two races, finding the best wind and powering up the Spinnaker for two good first places. Meanwhile Rory and Tony faded a bit in the fickle weather, getting a fourth and a fifth but the Swans, third in race 1 and sailing an untried boat, were twice second and ominously close behind the leaders, ending the day only a couple of points behind.
The wind next day was stronger and gusty but still from the Southeast. Series leader Spray was living up to her name with water spitting over the bow but they were trapped in the lee of the fleet, allowing the Swans to break away and easily win the first race. Rory and Tony upped their game to come second, leaving the Series leaders to come third and now just a point ahead. The next race was a repeat, with the Swans looking fast and comfortable and winning by a large margin to lead the series by one point. The outcome now depended on the last race and a good start plus a slight reduction in wind strength inspired Spray and Johnson to break right and be level with the Swans rounding mark 1. Down the run both were even and the gybe angle was critical to catch the wind bend coming into Mark 2 but neither boat gained. Up the next beat Spray and Johnson inched ahead but downwind, good Spinnaker work by Stuart regained the lead by the final mark to seal their third win of the day and the Championship by two points overall. Pat Crowley and Charlie Plows had their best race to come third while Rory and Tony had their worst to come last.
So, a varied Championship with close racing and mixed fortunes for everyone. Will the cup return to Rutland next year or could it travel North of the border?... Watch this space!
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Crew | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | 10 | Lynn Swan | Stuart Swan | ‑3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| 2 | 57 | Christine Spray | Richard Johnson | 2 | 1 | 1 | ‑3 | 3 | 2 | 9 |
| 3 | 42 | Rory Mckinna | Tony Gill | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 | ‑6 | 14 |
| 4 | 11 | Pat Crowley | Charlie Plows | 4 | ‑6 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 21 |
| 5 | 77 | Paul Pearson | Neville Rose | 5 | 3 | ‑6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 22 |
| 6 | 34 | Alexa Bibby | Evan Williams | ‑6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 23 |