Miracle Open At Staunton Harold Sailing Club

by Graham Watts 7 May 06:01 BST 2-3 May 2026

The first May Bank Holiday saw the Miracle Fleet return to Staunton Harold for the second event of the year. The six visitors from around the country joined the one home boat for the first two races being sailed back to back in very light and shifty and sometimes non-existent winds.

Race officer Tim Gray and his team set out a very big but one lap course to use any wind that could be found over the lake.

Race 1 saw usual suspects Dave Turtle and Zara Frankton in their 35 year old boat 3794 take the lead and were never caught, while the rest of the fleet changed places many times in the fickle wind with Wayne Atherton and Angela Sweeny 4121 come in 2nd and Andrew Robinson and Hannah Mumford 4123 taking 3rd.

Race 2 was more of the same, with Dave and Zara hitting the front and staying there, but this time it was Nick Smith with his Daughter Hannah in his 30 year old boat 3805 who found some wind to come out of the pack to finish 2nd, with the consistent Wayne and Angela finishing 3rd.

After a night of Fish and Chips or Chinese meals Sunday was looking better.

Two races were to be sailed back to back in the morning and, after a bad day of results on Saturday, Graham Watts and Helen Jacks sailing in his six week old boat 4130 tweeked the rig slightly hoping for better things. With the wind more constant and coming from the creek a 2 lap course was set using all 4 corners of the lake.

As the countdown came to an end, all the boats started from the committee boat except Graham and Helen who started on the pin and got a lift off the bank to edge them into the lead, and then further into the lead when the fleet all tacked onto port to sail towards the creek.

After a few tacks Graham and Helen were first round the windward mark while the rest of the fleet were all bunched together fighting for space, allowing Graham and Helen to increase their lead. Nick and Hannah were briefly in 2nd until passed by Dave and Zara on the downwind leg.

At the gun it was Graham and Helen with their first win in the new boat followed by Dave and Zara then Nick and Hannah.

Race 4 was a similar, but this time all the fleet started near the pin hoping for the lift, where as Graham and Helen tacked off early to head towards the creek and again found themselves first round the mark, but this time the fleet were close behind. Dave and Zara managed to squeeze past Graham and Helen and hold the lead to take the win and event with Nick and Hannah coming in 3rd.

After lunch the fifth and last race took place and with good spirit Dave and Zara still raced even though they had already won the event. Depending on results the rest of the places were still up for grabs, which ensured close racing was coming up.

Nick and Hannah were first round the windward mark and if they had held on they would have finished 2nd overall, but after a good tussle Dave and Zara again took the lead this meant that if Graham and Helen held onto 3rd they would now come 2nd overall, but Wayne and Angela had other ideas and sneaked past on lap 2 and started to cover but on the 2nd beat they tacked off only to find themselves in battle with Simon and Julie Dolman 4011 allowing Graham and Helen back into 3rd behind Dave and Zara then Nick and Hannah respectively and enough to land them 2nd overall.

Overall Results:

Pos	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Pts
1st	3794	David Turtle	Zara Frankton	Shustoke	‑1	1	‑2	1	1	3
2nd	4130	Graham Watts	Helen Jacks	SHSC	‑6	‑7	1	2	3	6
3rd	3805	Nick Smith	Hannahy Smith	Thornbury SC	‑5	2	3	‑4	2	7
4th	4121	Wayne Alderton	Angela Seeney	Delph SC	2	3	‑4	3	‑4	8
5th	4123	Andrew Robinson	Hannah Mumford		3	5	‑6	5	‑7	13
6th	4011	Simon Dolman	Julie Dolman	Shotwick SC	4	4	‑5	‑7	5	13
7th	4110	Paul Robinson	David Dyson	Whitefriars SC	‑7	6	‑7	6	6	18