OK Dinghy Vaikobi Travellers Series and Richard Mason Trophy 2026 at Overy Staithe Sailing Club
by Andy Turner 23 Jul 15:19 BST
18-19 July 2026
The poor turnout was compensated for by the exciting action from six boats on the water in a force 3/4 northerly. In the first race Alex Scoles had the best start ahead of Simon Davis and Pete Turner. Alex then had brain fade and made a determined effort to get back to a buoy he had already rounded.
This left Pete with a big lead sailing out to the second windward mark lying in white frothy waves breaking over the bar and highly intimidatory. Pete held first place to the finish with Alex sailing very fast to reclaim second.
In the second race the committee boat ended up on the marsh whilst trying to set the start line. Having restored committee boat to its correct position two boats were over the line at the start, with one returning quickly and the other after something of an argument with the PRO. Simon Davis rounded the first mark first closely followed by Pete Turner.
Disaster struck Pete just after he had claimed the lead when he rolled his boat in to windward on the run. Simon managed to hold on to the lead for another lap before being overtaken by Alex who went on to win.
Day 2 started with a force 4 north westerly with Dave Cooper added to the "fleet".
In race 3 Alex Scoles and Pete Turner both made good starts with Pete to leeward squeezing Alex who tacked to take what turned out to be the best side of the beat and with a good lead by the first mark. Some exciting reaches followed and on the run Pete demonstrated a magnificent pirouette without actually capsizing as he had on the first day.
Further back Simon Davis held third and Bernard Clark fourth. Rodney Tidd and Dave Cooper exchanged places several times.
Race 4 again had Alex Scoles and Pete Turner both making good starts whilst others were a bit more circumspect. Alex just managed to stay ahead being blisteringly fast on the downwind legs.
Many thanks to volunteers running the races - Andy Turner (PRO), Gilly Case and Jeremy Nevile Eliot on the committee boat and Ben Goakes, Paul Goakes, Julie Carrol and Rod Thorpe on the two safety boats. Thanks also to photographer John Greaves.
The event was part of the 2026 Vaikobi OK Travellers Series with prizes generously provided by our sponsor Vaikobi, in association with Sail Performance UK.
Overall results:
| Pos | Helm | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | Alex Scoles | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 2nd | Peter Turner | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 3rd | Simon Davis | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| 4th | Bernard Clark | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| 5th | Rodney Tidd | 5 | 5 | 6 | dnc | 16 |
| 6th | Dave Cooper | dnc | dnc | 5 | 5 | 17 |