IOM World Championship 2026 at Datchet Water Sailing Club

IOM World Championship 2026 at Datchet Water Sailing Club - Day 5

by Mark Jardine 22 May 22:30 BST 15-22 May 2026

Some of the best days sailing come along when very little is expected from them, but then the conditions over-deliver. With the high pressure system coming into the UK for the late May Bank Holiday weekend, many were expecting lights and soaring temperatures. It was certainly hot, but the wind was the surprise, hitting 20 knots at times and pushing those who stuck with their A rigs to the limit.

What's more, it was a southerly meaning racing was on the clubhouse course. Those in the club got grandstand views of the racing from an elevated position and there was plenty of drama to watch, including yachts going down the mine, collisions, black flag penalties, and even a dismasting.

2026 IOM Worlds at Datchet Water Day 5 - FRA 73 - photo © Mark Jardine

Firm favourite Alexis Carre started the day with with his worst race of the championship in Race 14, which admittedly was still pretty good being a 14th, but before that he'd been in the top ten of all his races previously, with only one outside the top five, so it did come as a bit of a shock. He soon put things to rights with a start to finish victory in Race 15 and an 8th in Race 16, but it was his final race where things unravelled.

With Heat A taking five attempts to start, Principle Race Officer Peter Baldwin had raised the black flag, and two boats were called out, Poland's Jan Springer and none other than France's Alexis Carre. So, despite his win in race 15, it's been his worst day of the championship so far, but thanks to his incredible consistency beforehand he's still 31 points ahead of defending champion Zvonko Jelacic (CRO 35) from Croatia in second place and is discarding a 10th and 14th.

2026 IOM Worlds at Datchet Water Day 5 - CRO 35 chases CRO 30 around the leeward gate - photo © Mark Jardine

Rob Walsh (GBR 25) from the home nation is 10 points further back and has the USA's Peter Feldman (USA 44) breaking down his neck just 3 points behind. There's still an awful lot to play for on the final day.

Heat A had more than its fair share of incidents, including a leeward gate gust that caused havoc for various yachts. It's tricky to explain it in words, so hopefully this sequence of photos I took explains things better. From what I could see ESP 47's bow scooped GBR 22's stern when the former had gone down the mine, turning the British boat around 180 degrees, which was the way they both passed the leeward gate. Various others clearly fet left out and joined the fray.

2026 IOM Worlds at Datchet Water Day 5 - Race 15 Heat A Leeward Gate Crash #3 - photo © Mark Jardine

Behind the scenes a huge amount goes into hosting a championship like this, with many volunteers putting in a lot of time to get everything in place.

From a competitor standpoint, the volunteers they've probably met most are Judith Baldwin and Jim LaRoche at the Heats board. At the end of each heat the magnetic name tags are moved to update everyone on which heat is next, and who will be in it, which changes constantly due to promotions and relegations.

2026 IOM Worlds at Datchet Water Day 5 - Judith and Jim at the heats board - photo © Mark Jardine

It requires concentration to get it right, which can be tricky when everyone is peering over your shoulder as Jim explains:

"It can be difficult. It's fine if they keep quiet, but sometimes there's so much noise we have to turn them away, but we're kind of used to doing it, so we just get on with it."

Race management and organisation can be hugely enjoyable, but it does take a lot of work, and I asked Jim if the sailors appreciate just what goes into an event:

"A lot of the really experienced ones, yes, and some of the newer ones, maybe not, but I think they'll have probably learned by the end of tomorrow and have some idea of what goes on. I love the organising side of it. There are times when I think, 'why am I not sailing?', but I'll carry on doing it for a while."

2026 IOM Worlds at Datchet Water Day 5 - Race 15 Heat A Start - photo © Mark Jardine

MYA President Derek Priestley has been involved in model yachting for more years than he remembers, and is always involved in event management. This week he's been alongside PRO Peter Baldwin at the start for the entire week, so I asked him how he keeps on top of the racing:

"Well,I've been doing it a long time and have run many regattas, so I kind of know how to do it. I see little odd problems coming up, and I can offer a suggestion, and sometimes the boss takes it, and sometimes he doesn't. It's great here because we've had a good week and most of the competitors are happy.

"We've tried to make the start as fair as possible. We've tried to make the course as fair as possible. Unfortunately, the wind is really difficult to work with, because it's shifting, but we've managed as best we can to make the courses as average as we can, and I think it's been as challenging as we could have made it for people."

As to what is most difficult running model yachting events, Derek was unequivocal:

"Definitely, judging the start line and being able to pick these small numbers out on that line with all the sails flapping and being fair to everyone."

2026 IOM Worlds at Datchet Water Day 5 - The start line team with skippers in the background - photo © Mark Jardine

PRO Peter Baldwin added that general recalls don't add too much time, as long as there aren't too many:

"In big boat sailing it's typically two minutes for the general recall to be displayed, general recall to be removed, and then you can get into another start sequence, so you've got another five minutes on top of that, whereas here usually within 30 seconds we can put the clock on again, and we're up and running, so it does make it a lot quicker."

An inspiring role of the race team, and many fellow competitors, is enabling sailors to take part in the event who might otherwise be unable to do so.

2026 IOM Worlds at Datchet Water Day 5 - Baron Bremer (right) with the countdown display - photo © Mark Jardine

Baron Bremer (USA 81) is profoundly deaf, and also non-verbal, so the audible sound signals and other race announcements would be meaningless without assistance.

Assistant Race Officer Wayne Stobbs explains what is put into place to allow Baron to compete:

"Baron has a visual countdown system, which is all tied into the main race control system, and fellow competitors help him to effectively get off the line, but it means that he can race together with everybody else. He uses the countdown timer, which counts down the two minutes, and syncs it with a watch on his transmitter, so that he can then lift the watch to be in his line of sight, through to where his boat is. Then in the last minute, he says he feels the beeps and buzzers, so he can actually sense them, and uses that to mentally count himself down to the start.

2026 IOM Worlds at Datchet Water Day 5 - Baron Bremer with the countdown display - photo © Mark Jardine

"He always has somebody with him who has a set of flags. They've got the U flag, the black flag and the I flag as well, that they will then show him when things go on. So, if he's ever called for an incident they will wave the flag in front of him, so that then they know that he has been called. If he ever wants to call somebody, and he obviously uses his best abilities to make the call, then his assistant, who is one of the US team, will then verbalise that for him and actually make the call for him.

"It works extremely well and he's very understanding. We don't have to worry about resetting our clock now, because he's worked out how to do it, and every time there's a general recall, he resets the countdown, ready to go again. It's a pleasure to sail with a guy like that."

2026 IOM Worlds at Datchet Water Day 5 - USA 81 - photo © Mark Jardine

I have witnessed countless ways the IOM comes together, and the way the organisers and fellow competitors help Baron race is yet another example of that and a joy to see.

The forecast for the final day is iffy, but then again it was for today, so everyone is going to wait and see what happens. The whole fleet is keen to race again, even after the 17 full races, each made up of five heats, that have been run so far. It all goes to show just how much everyone is enjoying themselves.

More information on the event website, www.iomworlds2026.com with provisional results, updates throughout the day on the event's Facebook page, and videos being uploaded to YouTube.

Results after Day 5:

Pos	Skipper	Sail No	Club/City	Hull	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10	R11	R12	R13	R14	R15	R16	R17	Pts
1	Alexis Carre	73	FRA	V12	2	4	2	10	1	3	4	1	1	5	1	1	3	14	1	8	85	37
2	Zvonko Jelacic	35	CRO	VISS	4	37	5	1	3	6	3	18	23	6	3	8	1	5	9	13	1	68
3	Rob Walsh	25	GBR	Venti	6	10	12	7	6	2	2	9	6	1	2	10	12	8	8	2	9	78
4	Peter Feldman	44	USA	VISS	3	5	4	6	16	5	6	13	2	13	9	7	8	13	7	3	3	81
5	Romain Dubreuil	77	FRA	Venti	3	6	8	4	2	7	13	8	3	4	12	12	13	10	11	7	2	87
6	Robert Matulja	33	CRO	K2R	2	7	10	2	4	4	8	5	5	15	5	19	9.7	9	9.7	24	19	95.4
7	Peter Stollery	39	GBR	BritPOP!	1	11	85	11	7	15	7	10	10	7	20	6	2	6	4	16	15	112
8	Craig Richards	2	GBR	Proteus	3	1	15	13	9	14	5	2	17	30	24	26	7	17	37	1	8	136
9	Brian Shores	117	USA	Venti	5	29	20	15	10	9	15	12	12	18	4	5	18	18	3	12	4	142
10	Ante Kovacevic	30	CRO	VISS	11	24	32	21	17	18	25	3	11	14	11	4	4	7	5	14	7	147
11	Olivier Cohen	100	FRA	GC24	8	14	14	9	12	12	14	7	4	17	27	9	21	25	10	17	5	152
12	Jan Springer	10	POL	Venti	1	8	23	17	29	13	12	17	20	23	30	13	9	3	2	15	85	176
13	Guillermo Beltri	47	ESP	GC24	12	49	30	24	21	30	20	14	9	19	14	2	6	1	15	11	18	186
14	Soren Andresen	93	DEN	Nexus	3	20	23	37	36	48	24	31	7	10	6	11	14	12	13	9	13	196
15	Mark Golison	55	USA	Venti	2	3	18	29	19	19	26	6	15	2	16	21	36	19.4	41	26	14	206.4
16	Steve Landeau	17	USA	Venti	6	31	13	3	11	11	17	25	24	31	23	32	24	15	16	10	16	214
17	Barr Batzer	64	USA	V12	4	26	26	36	22	33	28	23	13	3	19	3	15	11	18	19.2	12	214.2
18	Josh King	126	GBR	POP!	1	15	11	18	37	23	9	4	14	20	85	43	49	59	19	5	17	236
19	Sean Bradley	46	USA	Venti	6	27	29	19	30	31	16	16	18	28	7	20	17	26	24	4	11	239
20	Darin Ballington	98	GBR	BritPOP!	7	44	24	23.7	34	46	30	24	16	8	10	14	22	31	17	30	6	262.7
21	Aaron Farrar	37	AUS	V12	2	2	3	14	14	20	29	27	26	27	25	25	25	35	47	47	25	264
22	Matteo Longhi	11	SUI	V11	9	40	41	48	23	1	10	11	22	11	18	18	27	28	27	33	27	265
23	Luningning Chen	12	CHN	VISS	1	21	16	22	13	8	19	26	28	24	35	27	31	30	26	23	29	283
24	Graham Elliott	9	GBR	BritPOP!	2	13	1	8	5	10	21	33	25	23	85	51	40	50	51	6	85	288
25	Carlos Beltri	121	ESP	Venti	1	9	19	26	25	85	37	47	21	37	46	16	20	20	12	21	24	288
26	Paul Jones	48	AUS	Venti	10	12	6	12	8	23	1	21	29	34	45	39	44	21	34	39	46	289
27	Pablo Walper	13	CHI	Venti	8	38	28	23	15	16	18	34	39	51	43	41	5	16	14	20	26	300
28	Tonko Puljiz	40	CRO	VISS	11	54	55	50	55	39	23	15	8	12	15	15	10	19	23	28	32	300
29	Glenn Dawson	76	AUS	V12	4	17	38	46	28	24	22	20	36	9	8	17	33	48	36	39	23	315
30	Alex Scapens	106	AUS	V12	9	18	7	20	39	26	11	19	37	47	41	29	19	36	46	42	44	353
31	Odd Ornulf Stray	90	NOR	VISS	11	56	42	44	41	43	43	29	33	26	17	37	16	2	23	31	10	361
32	Paolo Cappa	130	ITA	Venti	13	59	40	25	33	17	34	38	50	56	33.6	40	35	22	6	19	30	385.6
33	Pierre‑Yves Mechin	67	FRA	V12	5	32.9	9	5	18	36	47	43	38	44	26	38	29	29	35	53	43	386.9
34	Yann Masse	8	FRA	VISS	5	28	31	32	31	27	31	37	41	39	23	31	30	23	32	32	39	393
35	Martin Roberts	22	GBR	BritPOP!	7	37	44	53	65	55	46	46	31	29	31	28	11	4	23	22	39	398
36	Tony Edwards	75	GBR	R2V2	3	19	25	30	32	25	33	45	43	46	39	35	39	39	25	29	28	401
37	Remco Sol	193	NED	Shuffle cl	4	16	17	34	44	44	27	30	34	52	50	56	26	32	39	50	57	447
38	Sven Forense	142	CRO	VISS	13	68	85	55	58	67	44	41	19	16	21	30	23	27	30	37	40	454
39	Elio Cavallo	113	ITA	GC24	10	46	46	45	46	37	45	28	27	23	28	23	37	42	43	27	39	454
40	David Lindsay	23	NZL	V12	14	53	67	28	35	29	36	39	45	32	13	22	28	38	55	55	62	467
41	Francisco Martinez Berzagay	116	ESP	V12	16	71	85	56	27	28	32	22	32	25	29	33	32	34	50	56	85	472
42	Tim Hand	134	GBR	BritPOP!	7	30	27	16	20	34	52	60	44	42	34	34	53	67	74	79	73	520
43	Patricio Montero	38	FRA	V11	5	33	39	42	49	63	57	42	47	36	48	42	43	43	29	34	39	522
44	Paulo Maio Gomes	156	POR	BritPOP!	8	22	36	31	26	35	42	40	49	58	59	62	64	72	40	48	42	536
45	Adam Barboza	21	BER	K2	9	50	56	61	51	38	35	36	30	35	39	44	52	68	70	52	41	568
46	Diego Sebastian Louyer	26	ARG	Solaris	18	52	63	63	42	55	56	44	52	38	40	36	48	40	31	35	39	570
47	Kurt Camilleri Burlo	3	MLT	K2	6	23	37	41	47	52	60	52	40	40	49	58	57	66	44	45	50	583
48	David Ramos	105	USA	BritPOP!	6	37	49	39	45	39	51	66	42	41	47	45	41	53	56	57	70	591
49	Gary McCarthy	181	AUS	GC24	11	43	43	40	40	42	39	35	55	55	57	55	56	56	64	59	56	626
50	Vedran Vesanovic	144	CRO	K2	13	85	61	64	63	41	50	68	46	49	33	46	46	44	48	46	52	638
51	Rogivue Gerald	49	SUI	K2	14	55	60	70	73	45	55	49	63	55	32	24	34	51	57	62	54	647
52	Peter Tans	149	NED	K2	15	67	85	49	59	70	43	70	75	57	85	64	45	33	28	25	31	656
53	Colin Cashmore	45	NZL	V12	8	48	52	57	60	40	41	50	57	48	42	52	51	65	78	72	72	671
54	Stan Wallace	69	BAH	BritPOP!	7	52	59	70	67	65	70	73	59	33	44	47	54	46	45	43	53	674
55	Hrvoje Duvancic	171	CRO	K2	14	58	33	47	24	32	38	53	60	64	75	73	74	81	71	58	51	676
56	Ricardo Gonzalo Pollono	63	ARG	Venti	4	32	35	33	52	58	68	61	51	65	52	59	60	63	59	64	85	683
57	Gary Boell	71	USA	BritPOP!	14	85	51	43	39	51	64	85	48	45	53	57	59	57.5	55	54	65	690.5
58	Jean‑Pascal Morel	24	FRA	V12	5	25	34	55	70	59	69	79	85	85	66	72	67	52	42	44	34	694
59	Thomas Enwall	50	SWE	V12	10	62	45	35	43	47	49	56	61	62	61	49	55	69	70	71	60	695
60	Paolo Patrini	14	ITA	K2	8	41	47	52	56	57	67	70	58	59	56	48	50	60	66	73	48	706
61	Ulf Lindberg	112	SWE	Proteus	7	45	48	39	41	49	63	59	67	72	58	55	62	57.5	67	70	70	717.5
62	Lionel Marsaly	31	FRA	Venti	16	42	54	51	55	61	48	54	65	81	78	85	76	37	49	49	61	718
63	Torsten Fildebrandt	87	GER	Venti	15	79	85	85	74	71	58	67	71	43	85	63	58	41	39	18	33	730
64	Feliciano Ballestin	97	ESP	GC24	9	47	50	62	64	60	55	51	55	66	55	60	68	70	62	66	63	759
65	Rohner Ernst	120	SUI	Parabellum	12	57	68	76	78	70	76	76	73	73	80	55	61	24	33	41	45	764
66	Marin Bizjak	5	CRO	K2	10	63	69	65	75	77	40	32	35	50	65	80	66	74	72	75	64	780
67	Norbert Heinz	19	GER	Slice	10	65	57	67	71	73	71	64	74	71	70	77	42	47	53	51	49	788
68	Claes Nordin	99	SWE	ProteusEVO	13	76	66	58	48	50	62	55	62	60	62	50	65	76	85	76	74	801
69	Baron Bremer	81	USA	Polaris	12	61	62	66	62	55	59	63	64	63	60	67	73	75	63	60	58	808
70	Gary Winton	54	USA	V12	11	64	72	70	76	62	66	57	66	78	71	78	69	45	52	61	59	825
71	Roberto Lindstaedt	20	BRA	V12	15	85	65	85	70	79	61	62	68	61	70	61	47	49	61	70	75	835
72	Bengt Oldsberg	159	SWE	K2	12	60	58	60	50	66	73	78	76	70	63	66	79	61	68	77	83	860
73	Pablo Alvarez	74	CHI	GC24	16	70	70	71	57	56	65	77	72	75	76	85	71	79	76	40	47	862
74	Claudio Vaz	66	BRA	Polaris	18	75	73	72	66	76	78	65	56	53	70	65	63	55	65	82	76	872
75	Richard Smith	166	AUS	ProteusEVO	13	77	74	78	79	74	72	48	55	68	64	75	72	71	58	65	66	875
76	Torvald Klem	147	NOR	Orca	18	74	64	73	77	84	83	74	70	74	74	70	75	62	60	63	55	906
77	Jimmy Teo	34	MAS	VISS	9	39	53	59	68	72	80	72	80	76	73	81	85	80	77	84	80	918
78	Chuck Millican	15	BER	VISS	12	66	76	74	85	80	79	58	70	70	72	68	78	64	79	70	77	934
79	Sam Davidson	175	JPN	Shokunin	15	73	77	77	61	64	84	71	77	79	79	70	85	78	81	74	75.3	970.3
80	Eddie Bardgett	43	BER	V12	16	72	79	79	80	75	74	75	82	67	81	74	70	77	73	70	71	972
81	Haoyu Hu	51	CHN	VISS	17	69	71	75	72	81	75	80	78	77	77	79	77	73	80	78	85	998
82	Eugeniusz Ginter	16	POL	Vihuela3	15	78	75	85	82	82	81	81	79	82	85	71	80	85	82	80	79	1047
83	Wayne Correia	125	BER	V10	16	85	78	85	81	78	77	83	81	80	82	76	81	83	75	81	82	1051
84	Gonzalo Ugarte	6	CHI	BritPOP!	14	85	85	85	83	83	82	82	83	83	83	85	85	82	83	83	81	1092