Mirror Dinghy Welsh Championship 2026 at Bala Sailing Club
by Dave Kent 4 Sep 10:22 BST
29-30 August 2026
Mirror Welsh Championship 2026 at Bala © Dave Kent
A slightly depleted entry for day one of the Welsh Championship 2026, but four hardy Mirror sailors turned up with young crews in tow.
The day started with the wind from the north/north east, giving shifty light winds and miserable on/off rain. Three races were held with some tight races between the mirrors.
Race 1 saw Scott and Hannah over the line and had to go back, with Dan and Dave managing to get away cleanly. Some good sailing from Scott picking his way through the handicap fleet, meant it was very close at the top mark between Dave and Scott, followed by Dan and Hannah. The race officer shortened the course to one lap, with Dave just managing to keep ahead of Scott, followed by Dan in 3rd and Hannah in 4th.
Race 2 started with Dan late and singlehanded having dropped off a very cold crew. Scott got off to a great start, with Hannah and Dave making a mess of it. Despite the light winds and constant rain, Scott continued his good form with a 1st, chased hard by Hannah in 2nd, Dan (singlehanded) 3rd and Dave 4th.
Hannah got off to a good start in Race 3, eagerly chased by Scott, Dan and Dave. The race officer decided we were to do two laps this time, and Dave managed to catch Scott and Hannah up the second beat, who were having some close racing. It continued to be close, but Dan rolled Dave and Hannah downwind and was chasing Scott down to the finish. At the finish Hannah pipped Dan and Scott, followed by Dave.
Bala's discard has now kicked in after 3 races, and Dan decided to retire from race 2 and 3 as he was singlehanded, so standings at the end of day 1 were:
- Scott Bonner and Erin Bonner with 3 points
- Dave Kent and Lowenna Lowry-Kent with 4 points
- Hannah Blore and Hester Bonner with 4 points
- Dan Allin and Hattie/Pippa with 8 points
Day two arrived with a decent breeze rolling down the lake from a south/south westerly direction.
Race 4 started with a fair few big shifts to capitalise on during the first upwind. Dave got off to a good start tacking onto port fairly quickly, rounding the top mark first closely chased by Scott, followed by Hannah and Dan. Halfway down the run Dave tried to gybe but was rolled by Scott who sailed off into the distance. Hannah and Dan slipped past Dave down the final reach. Upwind Hannah chased Scott hard, leading to a port/starboard incident at the top of the beat, with Hannah having to crash tack to avoid Scott. Dave at this point had managed to close the gap and followed them both down the run with Dan closely behind, who eventually slipped past Dave when he went too far inshore. Scott retired after the race, leaving the results Hannah, Dan, Dave.
Race 5 started with some more breeze, but still big shifts to play with. Scott stretched his legs and sailed off mid line putting some distance between himself Dan, Dave and Hannah. First mark rounding had Hannah chasing Scott, but she went too far inshore downwind and suffered allowing Dan and Dave past. Positions stayed the same to the finish. Scott, Dan, Dave, Hannah.
Race 6 started very similar to Race 5, with Scott and Erin sailing very well in the decent breeze. Dan had started to find his Mirror legs rounding second, followed by Hannah and a gap to Dave. Dave chased hard up the second beat, crossing tacks closely with Hannah and Dan, with the trio closing the gap to Scott. Scott started the second run with a smaller lead, followed by Dan, Hannah and Dave. Positions stayed like this to the finish.
After the sailing, all the of the competitors enjoyed a quiz followed by sourdough pizza.
Overall Results:
- Scott Bonner and Erin Bonner, 7 points
- Hannah Blore and Hester Bonner, 11 points
- Dave Kent and Lowenna Lowry-Kent, 15 points
- Dan Allin and Hattie/Pippa, 15 points
Despite the low entry, all the mirrors had close fun racing. Thank you to Bala Sailing Club for agreeing to host the champs, with only a few Welsh Champs held in the last few years. We are all looking forward to next year's event wherever it may be held!
Next up for the Mirrors is the Eastern Championships at Brightlingsea on the 12th and 13th of September. Hope to see you all there!