Mersea Week 2026 - Overall
by Chrissie Westgate 17 Aug 11:10 BST
8-14 August 2026
Smacks runner up MN69 Martha II leading a group at the 52nd annual Mersea Week © Chrissie Westgate
Running from 9th until 14th August, the 52nd annual Mersea Week saw an increased entry of 140 boats this year, making it one of, if not the largest regatta on the East Coast. With the sea breeze absent or arriving late on most days, racing and course setting was tricky at times in the very hot weather and caused the abandonment of keelboat racing on the final day.
The small organising committee, in the final year of the inspired leadership of Fran French began planning in January and again worked hard to deliver a successful event, with classes ranging from Smacks, YTC Cruisers, YTC White Sail Cruisers, Sonata ODs, YTC Classic Yachts and Gaffers and (reflecting the establishment of a local fleet) YTC Folkboats, along with Mersea Fisherman's Open Boats (MFOBs) and four PY Dinghy Classes.
Overall sponsorship from Marinestore Chandlery and Adnams Brewery, day sponsorship from Mersea Homes, Dolphin Sails, Oakheart, City & Country and Fenn Wright, and additional sponsorship from West Property Management, Fiducia Wealth Management, Loftzone Storefloor, Native Promotions, One Sails and the White Hart Inn again boosted the superb range of prizes for the leading boats and enabled entry fees to be kept very low. With free moorings provided for visiting yachts and racing on the superb waters of the Blackwater estuary, what's not to like about Mersea Week?!
An increased entry of fifteen Smacks made their usual spectacular sight, with Kent visitor CK469 Yet taking top slot in both the nine-strong Fast class and the full fleet, a single point ahead of MN69 Martha II. Next up were CK52 Kate and CK395 Puritan. Winning the Slow Fleet was CK159 Dorothy, ahead of CK46 Gracie and CK213 Boudicea.
The final demise of IRC racing at West Mersea resulted in a very strong YTC entry of 21 boats. The eleven-strong 'A' class was dominated by the Archambault 30 Aztec, winning all four races, ahead of the Corby 29 Entropy from Royal Harwich YC, the Cork 1720 Mexican Train and the Ramsay 6.7 Mojito. The ten-strong 'B' entry was won by the Tofinou 8 Three Little Birds, with the Parker 27 Sandhopper from Burnham-on-Crouch in second, ahead of the MGC27 Tearaway and last year's winner, the Hustler 32 Tramp.
With nine local boats, the Sonata class enjoyed some good close one-design racing, and after a slow start it was Ghostbuster winning the final two races to take the overall win ahead of Obsession, Frank and Kehaar. More good close racing took place in the Folkboat class, which consisted of seven GRP Nordic FBs and one International FB - Tifano from Blackwater SC, which placed fourth. With three race wins, OC was a clear winner ahead of Strider and Gremlin.
With the Folkboats racing separately, the YTC Classics & Gaffers fleet was much smaller, with an entry of seven boats. Three race wins saw the 1898 gaff cutter Fanny of Cowes from Tollesbury a clear winner, ahead of the little Cornish Shrimper 19 Lapwing from Carsington and another gaff cutter, local boat Nesta.
An increased YTC White Sail class of eighteen boats again had a single start but were divided into two groups for prizes. The Beneteau Oceanis 323 Tamarisk took both the 'A' fleet and overall win, whilst the Sadler 32 Clockwise placed second overall and won the 'B' fleet, ahead of the little Beneteau 211 Bear - third overall and second 'B' group boat. Fourth overall and second 'A' group was the Sigma 33 Jazz with the Sigma 292 Dura (third in the 'B' fleet) next up. Third in the 'A' group was the scratch boat, the Hanse 348 Phoenix.
An entry of 51 dinghies represented the largest total for a number of years and was again divided into four classes - Slow, Medium, Fast and Performance. In the Slow class, a father and daughter Mirror team embodied the spirit of the week and, with five race wins, took the top prize, ahead of three ILCA 4s, which had some close competition all week. The Medium Dinghy class saw ILCA 6s in first and third, with a GP14 taking second on tie-break and an Enterprise in fourth. The fleet of thirteen Fast dinghies saw a close tussle between two Wayfarers, with just a single point splitting the two after counting seven results from the nine completed. They were followed by a Laser 3000 and two Albacores. Whilst eight of the eleven Performance dinghies were different RSs models, it was a 29er with six race wins which took the overall win, followed by an RS700, an RS300 and a B14.
Finally, to the MFOBs, which, after some issues with handicaps, had a reduced entry of seventeen boats of varying sizes and speeds. Whilst all started together, they were divided into two groups for prizes, and the clear overall and Fast group winner, counting all firsts, was WM25 Merlin. Second Fast and overall was WM3 Thrift, with CK98 Winnie in third overall and Slow group winner. Third Fast was WM22 Florrie May and second and third Slow were WM48 Joy and WM99 Froggie respectively.
The best performance trophies for Cruisers and Dinghies were awarded in Cruisers to the YTC 'A' winner Aztec, and in dinghies to the Performance Dinghy Class winning 29er, with both also receiving vouchers to use at the White Hart Inn.
The dates for next year's Mersea Week have already been set - 15th - 20th August 2027.