Abersoch Mirror Week 2026 Day 1
by An Extremely Enthusiastic Spectator 17 Aug 17:09 BST
17-21 August 2026
Abersoch Mirror Week 2026 Day 1 © An Extremely Enthusiastic Spectator
The day began with light, fluky and very flaky winds - the sort of breeze that makes 73 Mirror crews stare at their tell-tales like they're trying to decode ancient scripts.
A gentle westerly drift, barely any sun, but perfectly pleasant for a first day... provided you enjoy guessing which way the wind might blow next.
The Great Departure
At around 10:30, the armada of support RIBs assembled like a scene from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Abersoch Chapter.
The Mirror fleet launched in their droves — red sails everywhere — looking magnificent, even if half the helms were muttering "Is it filling in yet?"
The short sail to the start was calm, peaceful, and entirely misleading.
Race One: The Epic Drift
By start time, the wind had politely excused itself and wandered off.
One aborted start later, the fleet finally got away, only to discover that the strong ebb tide + light wind combination turns the first beat into a slow-motion endurance event.
Some described it as "tactical."
Others described it as "character-building."
Most described it as "long."
But thanks to some timely whiskey finishing (the ancient art of finishing a race before the wind disappears entirely), everyone got a result — and honestly, they earned it.
Race Two: The 90-Degree Surprise
Race two was fired off quickly, because the wind had decided to return... from a completely different direction.
A neat little 90-degree shift spiced things up, producing:
- Delight for some
- Dismay for others
- And a few helms loudly insisting, "I TOLD you it would go left".
But hey - everyone was smiling, and that's what counts.
Heroes of the Day: Safety & Mark Layers
Huge applause for the Safety teams and Mark layers, who have been flat-out all summer and still turned up with immaculate cover and pinpoint mark placement.
Special mention to Safety 4, who patiently waited to tow the final Mirror out to the start.
Rumour has it Ron Vass was extremely grateful — and that this tow made Squirt the fastest boat on the water today.
Ron and Jewels Vass (father and daughter) are legendary supporters of all things Mirror.
They arrived this year without shrouds for one of their boats, but Abersoch Boatyard — one of our main sponsors — sorted them out with a brand-new set for the morning's racing.
Abersoch Boatyard: heroes once again.
Tally Tales
A gentle reminder: The tally system is vital.
Safety crews stay on the water until every tally is returned, so please — when you hit the beach, return your tally immediately.
It keeps everyone safe, and it stops Safety 4 from having to perform dramatic beach sprints.
Results
Results will follow later — keep an eye on the link.
Well done to all: a tough, testing, tide-powered first day.
Start Line Drama (Solved!)
All debates about start-line length vanished when the longest start line in Mirror Week history was set.
And my goodness... It worked.
Tomorrow promises more breeze from a more stable direction so here's hoping for two good races.
Tonight's Mirror Drive in the Cove will start at 6 pm and be assured that Anna's Lasagne is fabulous and will be enjoyed by all.
See you tomorrow with more gripping news from the course and perhaps a few action shots.
Find out more at www.scyc.co.uk/event/mirror-week-2026