Icicle Series 2026 at Bough Beech Sailing Club - Day 4
by Nick Marden 26 Jan 16:10 GMT
4 January - 22 February 2026
Bough Beech Icicle Series day 4 © Sarah Seddon
The fourth round of the Bough Beech Icicle Series proved to be another testing day for the race team, led on this occasion by Richard Bone.
The prevailing easterly rarely rose above Force 2 and swung unpredictably through 60 degrees. This forced the beat to be laid across the narrowest part of the lake, while keeping the windward mark clear of the wind shadow cast by the tree-lined shore.
As a result, the Asymmetric fleet faced multiple laps of a windward-leeward course, while the Conventional fleet at least enjoyed a second short beat in the northern part of the lake by sailing a figure-of-eight configuration. All starts were made under Flag I, successfully avoiding the general recalls that had affected previous rounds.
The short legs kept fleets rather bunched throughout, and when the faster classes did manage to break clear they were soon encountering back-markers. Inevitably, some very busy mark roundings followed, leading to discussions about Rule 18.2.
In the first race for the 44-boat Conventional fleet, Matthew Wolstenholme and Sophie Wantling recorded another win in their Snipe. John Clementson (Solo) finished second, with Guy Marks and Sam Boniface third in their Wayfarer. Rich Ball (Solo) took fourth, while Elliot Marks completed the top five in his ILCA 7. Sophie S also made another appearance in her Optimist and produced a solid performance.
A wind shift before the second race required the course to be re-laid. This time it was the Marks/Boniface Wayfarer that claimed victory, a result that puts them narrowly into the overall series lead at the halfway stage, ahead of Wolstenholme and Wantling's Snipe, which finished fifth. Clementson again secured second place, with Elliot Marks third and Patrick Ward (Solo) fourth.
The 17-boat Asymmetric fleet was once more dominated by the 2000 of Paul Cullen and Verity Hopkins, who took two wins. In the opening race they were followed home by fellow 2000s sailed by Jonathan and Louisa Ching, and by Matt and Ollie Larken. In race two, James Morson and Fiona Harrington (RS200) finished second to break the 2000 hegemony, with Chris Mills and Claire Dalby third in another 2000.
At the series halfway point overall, Cullen and Hopkins, along with the Chings, are beginning to pull clear of the rest of the Asymmetric fleet.
Provisional results:
Conventionals
Asymmetrics