Lightning 368 Open at Oxford Sailing Club
by Caroline Hollier 26 Aug 09:26 BST
22 August 2026
The latest round of the Sanders Sails Travellers series took the Class back to Oxford Sailing Club on Saturday 22 August, a joint event with the Solo and British Moth fleets. Eight visitors joined two home boats to compete in 3 races during the day.
We were visited by light and variable wind conditions from the North and with the forecast predicting the wind to drop off in the afternoon, the Race Officer decided to hold two back to back races in the morning, then a further one in the afternoon.
Race one got under way, sailing a trapezoid course, which was slightly port biased. Simon Hopkins and Andrew McLeish were both tempted to take the port option, but this failed miserably as the wind disappeared on the left. John Claridge made the best of the starboard starters and was first to the windward mark, being chased by Andrew Yuille and Andrew McLeish and the rest of the pack. The locals of Margaret Simpson and Jayne Hayes were also making good headway at the front of the pack. John and the two Andrews were gaining a substantial lead, but Caroline was gradually reeling the two Andrews in. John took the win, but with Caroline hot on the Andrews heals, they tacked off at the leeward mark covering each other, whilst Caroline continued a bit further, bearing down on them both on starboard, gaining the advantage to cross the line ahead, with Andrew Y third and Andrew M 4th.
Race two soon got under way. The start being even more port biased, with the fleet all bunched in at the port end of the line. Simon had a brief moment of glory as he tacked on the gun and crossed the fleet on port but it was Margaret Simpson first to the windward mark, with Caroline and Andrew M just behind. Then the wind started to become fickle and the rest of the fleet got marooned on the windward mark, not knowing which tack they should be on. The next reach was quiet, with Margaret maintaining her lead to the gybe mark, and Andrew M pulling away from Caroline. Meanwhile the wind had started to fill in behind.
On a "wobbly" downwind leg Andrew and Caroline passed Margaret, whilst behind Jason Gallagher and John Claridge went for a swim. Jason managed to get up and going again, whilst John decided to retire. At the front of the fleet, Caroline passed Andrew on the next reach to gain the lead, which she held until the final lap. Going down the run, following a straggling Solo she started to head to the wrong mark. 5 boats went past and Andrew Y took the lead, followed by Simon Hopkins, who had worked his way through the fleet. At the finish, Andrew Y took the win, Simon second and Caroline fought back to third. So with two different winners it was going to be down to the last race, any one of four could win.
After lunch, the wind got very shifty, but we eventually got off, with another port biased start. Local Jayne in 107 was first to the windward mark with John Claridge and Andrew Y close behind. Jayne maintained her lead for a whole lap until Andrew Y and John Claridge passed. The wind was very very light now and it became a drag race for who could drift the quickest. With many place changes through the whole fleet, it was eventually Andrew Y who took the win and John C second.
So with two wins, Andrew kept his winning streak going, John Claridge was second and Caroline Hollier, third.
Our next event in the Sanders Sponsored Travellers series is the main event of the year. The class Nationals being held once again at The Chase Sailing Club over the weekend of 26/27 September. It is open to all Class Association members and must be booked for on line. The early entries to this event will receive a free polo shirt, but this must be done before Thursday 10 September. Let's see how many we can get out this year.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Boat Name | Helm | R1 | R2 | R3 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 446 | Fun Thing | Andrew Yuille | ‑3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2nd | 450 | Yabo | John Claridge | 1 | (RET) | 4 | 5 |
| 3rd | 438 | Aurora | Caroline Hollier | 2 | 3 | ‑7 | 5 |
| 4th | 451 | Bolt | Andrew McLeish | ‑4 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| 5th | 444 | Olivia | Tony Jacks | 5 | ‑6 | 3 | 8 |
| 6th | 428 | MJOLNIR | Simon Hopkins | ‑8 | 2 | 8 | 10 |
| 7th | 440 | Duck Egg | Margaret Humphries | ‑6 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| 8th | 107 | | Jayne Haynes | ‑10 | 7 | 6 | 13 |
| 9th | 449 | Tramontana | Jason Gallagher | 7 | 8 | (RET) | 15 |
| 10th | 437 | Astrape | Paul Taylor | ‑9 | 9 | 9 | 18 |