2026 Sailing Chandlery RS200 Northern Tour during the Daffodil Regatta at Ullswater Yacht Club
by Jon Ward 29 Apr 06:27 BST
25-26 April 2026
RS200s during the Ullswater Daffodil Regatta 2026 © Tim Olin /
www.olinphoto.co.uk
The second event of the 2026 Sailing Chandlery sponsored RS200 Northern Tour was held as part of the Daffodil Regatta hosted by Ullswater YC over the weekend of 25th / 26th April.
Eight boats had entered but the light wind forecast meant that only 7 boats competed in the event. The winds proved fitful over the weekend coming in pulses down the lake, which meant that the wind often dropped to almost nothing before filling in again.
Only one race was held on Saturday, before the wind shut off and the Course Race Officer made the decision to abandon racing for the day.
Matt & Oliver Sharman took an early lead off the start line and rounded the first mark ahead of Chris Pickles and Lauren Marsh. The wind dropped down the first run only to swing as it filled in again making the second lap a bit of a procession as the beat became a fetch and the run became a reach. Matt & Oliver won from Chris & Lauren with Martin & Barbara Smith pulling through to third place.
The forecast for Sunday looked better with a southerly wind blowing the length of the lake forecast. It didn't however make an appearance until early afternoon but did allow two races to be sailed.
Race 2 started in a force 2-3 and saw Matt & Oliver and Jon & Heather Ward fighting for the lead up the first beat. Matt & Oliver led round the first mark and held the lead for the next lap. Jon & Heather split from them on the second run and picked up a bit more pressure to take the lead only to have spinnaker drop issues rounding the final mark. Matt & Oliver made the most of the opportunity to seize the lead back on the short beat to the finish. Jon & Heather finished second with Chris & Lauren in third place.
Race 3 started in a force 2. There was much place swapping up the first beat, but it was Alex & Rory Taylor that rounded the first mark in the lead. Downwind the wind shut off again resulting in everybody dropping their spinnakers to make progress towards the leeward mark. Normal service was resumed with Matt & Oliver taking the lead. The wind filled in for the final lap and Matt & Oliver rounded the final leeward mark in the lead with three boats overlapped for second. At the finish, Matt & Oliver took the win to make it a clean sweep. Martin & Barbara took second from Alex & Rory, which was enough to give the Smiths second overall.
Overall, Matt & Oliver dominated the event with three wins but were pushed all the way in each of the races. Racing for the next four places was tight with only 3 points separating 2nd from 5th.
As part of the Sailing Chandlery sponsorship, raffle prizes are awarded at each event. These were won by Martin & Barbara Smith (£15 voucher), April Whitely & Annabelle Pound (dry bag) and Alex & Rory Taylor (sunglasses).
The next event on the Northern Tour is on Saturday, 23rd May at Staunton Harold SC, who have a very competitive home fleet that always provide plenty of competition. Hope to see you there.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Crew | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | 1003 | Matt Sharman | Oliver Sharman | Bassenthwaite | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | 1606 | Martin Smith | Barbara Smith | Yorkshire Dales | 3 | 4 | 2 | 9 |
| 3 | 1657 | Chris Pickles | Lauren Marsh | Bassenthwaite | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 |
| 4 | 1560 | Jon Ward | Heather Ward | Budworth | 5 | 2 | 4 | 11 |
| 5 | 1520 | Alex Taylor | Rory Taylor | Budworth | 4 | 5 | 3 | 12 |
| 6 | 438 | April Whitely | Annabelle Pound | Windermere School | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 |
| 7 | 1132 | Harriot Clarke | Chris Brooks | Ullswater | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| 8 | 720 | David Grice | Chris Grice | Budworth | DNC | DNC | DNC | 27 |