Sailing Chandlery RS200 Northern Tour at Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club
by Paul Hill 8 Sep 13:18 BST
6 September 2026
The next stop on the Sailing Chandlery RS200 Northern was the Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club.
The fleet was glad that the force 7 came through as forecast the day before, and were greeted by a gusty average force 2-3, that veered from the west to the south west during the day. The event took place alongside the club racing and with the Race Officer of the Day (Ian Escritt) already on the water, the sailors launched after a short briefing from the club class captain, Stewart Walker. Race one got off to a clean start, using almost the whole length of Grimwith Reservoir, and rewarding those that could play the shifts & gusts. Matt and Oliver Sharman lead after the first lap, but Chris and Evie Pickles managed to take the win.
Ian Escritt did a sterling job managing the club racing as well as the open, and opted for a shorter course for the remaining races. This resulted in closely contested 6-7 lap races, keeping everyone on their toes and keeping the racing as fair as possible in the conditions. Race two was another win for Chirs & Evie Pickles and after a short downpour the fleet was pleased to get in for a wonderful lunch served by the Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club galley team.
The sun came out for the afternoon races with the wind building at times and coming further round to the south. Paul & Alex Hill managed to round first, breaking the success of Matt & Oliver Sharman, but it was Matt & Oliver who took the win from Chris & Evie. Chris & Evie Pickles rounded first in race four and lead for all 6 laps, securing the win for the event - congratulations.
It was great to see young sailors and families competing and there was a generous prize-giving from the Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club. This included a youth prize for Millie & Annabel Hayfield from Delph Sailing Club who sailed so well during the event, topping it off with a great result in race four. There was also a raffle of the prizes gratefully provided by the series sponsors Sailing Chandlery. The next and final Northern Tour event is GNAC at Bassenthwaite Sailing Club 19-20 September.
Thank you to all the volunteers at Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club for supporting the event and to Paul Hargreaves for the great photographs.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Club | Helm | Crew | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 1657 | Bassenthwaite Sailing Club | Chris Pickles | Evie Pickles | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 2nd | 1003 | Delph Sailing Club | Matt Sharman | Oliver Sharman | 2 | 9 RET | 1 | 2 | 14 |
| 3rd | 1606 | Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club | Martin Smith | Barbara Smith | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 14 |
| 4th | 1713 | Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club | Paul Hill | Alex Hill | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 17 |
| 5th | 1666 | Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club | Ben Dearden | Alice Carter | 7 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 20 |
| 6th | 1122 | Delph Sailing Club | Millie Hayfield | AnnabelHayfield | 6 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 21 |
| 7th | 1277 | Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club | Martin Walker | Stewart Walker | 4 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 23 |
| 8th | 1638 | Leigh & Lowton Sailing Club | Tom Ellis | tbc | 9 DNC | 9 DNC | 9 DNC | 9 DNC | 36 |