Comet Association Championship 2026 at Nottingham Sailing Club

Comet Association Championship at Nottingham © Norah Jaggers

The Nottingham Sailing Club was a wonderful host for the 2026 Comet Association Championship, which is an annual two day event. The club was founded in 1955 at its present location on the West Bridgford bank of the River Trent. At this point the river is wide and generally slow moving. This offers some of the finest river sailing in the country.

Spectators are also well catered for, perhaps getting the closest view of racing of any Midlands club. The Comet has been around for 45 years and all have been made by Andy Simmons of Comet Dinghies. Andy was there as usual sorting out boats, giving advice and partaking in the socials. One special boat present was Comet number 1, the prototype with wooden decks in contrast to the subsequent full GRP boats. This was taken for a sail by Nick Baber, and his restoration of this iconic dinghy received compliments.

Hull number 1 - Comet Association Championship at Nottingham - photo © Norah Jaggers

It was a fantastic weekend of racing and fun ashore. Hospitality was excellent and there was a truly vibrant feel to the club throughout. From the moment we arrived, it was clear that an enormous amount of planning and organisation had gone into the event. Parking arrangements were clearly managed, the grass had been freshly cut and marked out (including a Comet logo!), and the whole site looked immaculate.

The entry of 40 boats was the highest since the Comet's 40th anniversary's 2011 National Championship at WPNSA. Some helms travelled long distances, including from Cornwall, the South Coast and the East Coast. Entrants varied in age from 20s to 80s, and included 11 ladies.

One of the real strengths of the weekend was the quality and diversity of the fleet. The entry included multiple national champions alongside absolute beginners, all competing together in close racing. It was a fitting tribute to the versatility and enduring appeal of the Comet - a great little boat capable of providing enjoyable and competitive sailing for all ages and levels of experience.

Comet Association Championship at Nottingham - photo © Neil Brinkworth

The weather gods blessed us with downstream force 2 to 3 winds from the ideal westerly direction, a bit stronger on Sunday than on Saturday. This enabled a course with a long beat and run to be set. There were plenty of shifts, gusts and wind bends to keep helms busy.

The food was excellent - breakfast baps and cooked lunches both days, a BBQ on Saturday night, cream teas and cakes. There was some rain later on Saturday, but this subsided to enable the BBQ cooking to take place. The band in a marquee kept us entertained, and quite a lot of dancing took place.

The race team headed by club Commodore Steve Bailey was faultless, the complexities of the results were expertly handled by Phil Sheppard and his laptop, the safety boats were on hand for the odd rescue plus mark moving, and an efficient shore team helped get the boats in and out of the river. Tents, camper vans and even a caravan were allowed to stay in the grounds. There were many club members who contributed to the successful running of the Championship.

The key individuals in its planning were Sue Jones who prepared high quality race documentation, and Nick Baber who handled publicity and entries really effectively as well as doing/overseeing significant work on site preparation. Lots of photos and videos were taken too. This was a big event for the club to host, and a promising future beckons given the enthusiasm and skills of its members.

In recent years the Comet fleet at Nottingham has grown to around 20 boats, and nearly all of them took part. Due to the width of the river, a flight system with a maximum of 15 boats per flight was used. It was agreed to hold a Qualification Series of three timed races on day 1, with flights drawn at random. The flights set off at 3 minute intervals. The timings and slightly differing wind conditions per flight did result in some flights having slight advantages, but over the three Qualification Series races this proved not to be a significant factor.

The results (after single discard) of that series were used to determine helms in the untimed Final Series of Gold, Silver and Bronze fleets, also comprising three races with a single discard. There were no big surprises about who got into the Gold fleet, and it was great to see Meg Warren and Henry Jaggers qualify despite them being 80 years "young"!

Meg clinched her place by finishing higher in the final race than Jacky Stagg - they were tied on points. The overall result from the Qualification Series was not discardable.

Sue Jones leading - Comet Association Championship at Nottingham - photo © Norah Jaggers

This was the first time that a Qualification and Final Series format had been used at a Comet Championship, but it worked very smoothly. The use of 3 flights over the 2 days meant that there were 18 races in total. No general recalls were required and the helms were very well behaved - incidents were resolved in good spirit. Competitors provided feedback on this 2 series format. It was generally welcomed, and a few suggestions were made about some potential future changes.

The separation into Gold, Silver and Bronze fleets for the Final Series gave all helms an opportunity to win a prize. Last year's winner Dave Turtle was there to defend his title and was on top form. He won two of the three Qualifying Series races and 2 of the 3 Gold fleet races, and nearly always seemed to be in the right place at the right time to catch the best shifts/wind.

Dave was asked what his tactics were and his honest answer was that "there really weren't any fixed plans. With the constantly changing conditions, shifting breeze, river current and the added complication of multiple fleets sharing a confined stretch of water, there were simply too many variables. The main objective was to enjoy the sailing, stay relaxed and make the most of every race".

Ben Palmer won one of the Qualifying Series races and was a very consistent performer, coming second overall. Dave Peacock won the final Gold fleet race, finishing on equal overall points with Guy Wilkins, but beat Guy on countback to come 3rd. There was very tough racing in the Gold, Silver and Bronze fleets, with helms more equally matched than in the Qualifying Series.

Comet Association Championship at Nottingham - photo © Norah Jaggers

Day 2 saw stronger performances by some helms than on day 1, due to the fresher conditions. The prime example of this was Richard Tanner, a former Nottingham member who was returning to this event from the South Coast. He won all three races in the Silver fleet, and got past some of the Gold fleet helms who had started 3 minutes earlier.

In the Qualifying Series Hazel Clark was top of the helms allocated to the Bronze fleet. She backed this up by winning the last race in the Bronze fleet to clinch 1st place. In that race Hazel finished only 20 seconds after the last Silver fleet boat which had set off 3 minutes earlier, so doubtless she will move up next time.

Another enthusiastic member of the Bronze fleet was Ali Knight, who is much newer to racing than Hazel. She said that it was inspirational to see so many Comets out on the river, and she is planning to attend open meetings at other venues.

Sue Jones deservedly won the Ladies prize with a strong performance. She was one of three ladies in the Gold fleet, and led the final race for a long period before being overtaken by Dave Peacock. Sue finished 8th overall, but counted positions of 2nd and 5th in the Gold fleet.

The Veterans prize was won by Chris Robinson (sixth overall). He finished on the same points as Eddie Pope (seventh overall), who won the Ancient Mariners prize. Prizes were also awarded to David Heffernan (First Newcomer) and William Lou (Committee Prize).

This is another successful season of Comet sailing. Planning is well under way for the 2026 National Championship on 21-23 August at Chipstead SC. Chipstead has more Comets than any other club, with their own start and over 20 entrants at times. The entry level for the Nationals has been set at 50, and this could well be reached.

Dave Turtle leading - Comet Association Championship at Nottingham - photo © Norah Jaggers

Qualifying Series Results:

Final Series Results: