Commodore's Cup and Radio Sailing BBQ 2026 at Hunts Sailing Club
by Martin Brooking 28 Jul 14:07 BST
26 July 2026
Commodore's Cup at Hunts © Stuart Brown
Despite the start of the school holidays, 20 entries lined up for racing on Sunday 26th July at Hunts Sailing Club in St Ives, Cambridgeshire. The Commodore's Cup is an annual one day event; and this year there were to be three races, two to count.
In the strong westerly wind, RO Mark Dunne set a challenging course with two beats, two epic downwind legs with two gybes, using the whole lake.
Race 1: After a port biased start, early arrivals at the windward mark were Gavin Fleming (H2), Harry Moffat (ILCA 7), Dave Cronk (Solo), Martin Brooking (Aero 6) and Ed Deacon (D-Zero). Martin passed Dave quickly down the first run and looked comfortable until Mark 5 (hiding in the lee of the clubhouse) where he took a messy header and a windward roll, costing a lot of time.
Gavin had gear problems which he sorted out quickly before rejoining the race. Harry, Ed and Dave ploughed on.
Meanwhile Martin recovered his position with the assistance of a particularly boisterous an lengthy downwind gust; and Dave unluckily succumbed to a weed problem at that pesky Mark 5. In the end, Harry won convincingly on corrected time, Martin 2nd and Ed 3rd.
Race 2: After lunch the wind picked up even more, becoming very shifty and gusty in equal measure. Gavin disappeared over the horizon, recording in excess of 13.7 knots downwind (that's nearly 16 mph!).
Harry came a solid second on corrected time and Martin 3rd. Dave Cronk and Alan Foreman, both in Solos, engaged in a close tactical battle throughout the race, with Dave snatching fourth place from Alan who caught a big gust and suffered a bad tack just before the finish line.
Race 3: To round things off, even wilder gusts greeted the 6 boats who returned to the start line for the last time. But they were rewarded with champagne sailing in bright sunshine. The upwind legs were survival conditions at times and the downwind legs gave scintillating speed and lots of spray.
The first three boats on corrected time were Gavin, Harry and Martin respectively.
The final results:
1st Gavin Fletcher (H2) 2 points
2nd Harry Moffat (ILCA 7) 3 points
3rd Martin Brooking (Aero 6) 5 points
4th Ed Deacon (D-Zero) 8 points
A special mention goes to Florence Rowen, a young club sailor who, with great courage, determination and skill in the difficult conditions, took a very creditable 9th place after successfully completing the first two races in a Topper 4.2, proving she's a talent to watch in the future.
On conclusion of the racing, the Huntingdon Radio Yacht Club members sparked up the BBQ and were joined by a number of dinghy sailors for an evening of beers, burgers and radio yachting. The day provided a wonderful club event with memories to cherish; something to be repeated!