2026 Weston Sailing Club Catamaran Open

by Ben Harris 17 Sep 08:04 BST 12-13 September 2026

A diverse fleet of 30 catamarans gathered at Weston SC for two days of racing at the annual Weston SC Catamaran Open Meeting, enjoying a range of conditions and a full schedule of racing.

The 18 entrants in the Fast Handicap fleet included seven boats competing for the F18 National Championships, as well as a mix of Nacra 15s, Hurricanes, F16s and Nacra 20s. The 12 entries in the Slow Handicap fleet were made up of the ever-competitive Shearwater fleet, as well as a solitary Unicorn.

Many sailors arrived on Friday evening, with the club's bar open late to welcome visitors, and the fleet was greeted by sunshine and a fresh 15-18 knot onshore breeze on Saturday morning.

In the Fast Handicap fleet, the Nacra 20 Carbons set the pace in each of the four races on Day 1, chased hard by the leading F18s.

As conditions gradually built during the day, Will Smith & Tom Hales revelled in the stronger breeze, capitalising on a well-judged port flyer to win Race 3 - finishing over five minutes ahead of the next F18!

Another standout performer was the Nacra 15 pairing of Marcus King & Maddie Jinks - winners of the 2026 RYA Youth National Championships - who showed exceptional upwind pace to mix it with much faster boats and finish the day with a pair of 3rd place results.

Dan Jarman's Unicorn proved the boat to beat in the Slow Handicap fleet, taking four bullets on the water and on handicap. Behind him, a consistent day for Mark Norman & Catherine Tulley saw the recently crowned Shearwater National Champions score 2,2,3,2. Four different teams took podium race results behind the leading pair, showing that the racing remains close in the Shearwater's 70th year!

The fleet returned ashore and enjoyed the hospitality of a well-stocked bar and event BBQ, provided by Bespoke Dining, as the sun set over Southampton Water.

A damp and grey morning on Sunday contrasted with the sunshine of the previous day, but the forecast remained promising for the day's two scheduled races. The fleet headed afloat at midday after a relaxed morning, with 6-10 knots across the course. The powerful Nacra 20s broke away from the fleet in the lighter conditions, with Grant Piggott & Jon Cotgreave taking the win in Race 5. Ben Harris & Izzy Smith held on to the faster F18s in their Hurricane 5.9 SX throughout the race, using some local knowledge to avoid the wind shadow of a large container ship and leapfrog the F18s to take 2nd place on handicap from F18 pairing of Tim Neal & Robbie Garka.

In the final race of the day, the lead F18s stuck closer to the Nacra 20s, helped by a building breeze on their final lap, with Adam Stubbings & Sam Turner winning the race to secure their 2026 UK Formula 18 National Championship title. Tim & Robbie were hot on their heels, excelling in the lighter conditions, whilst Ben & Izzy proved that their 30-year-old Hurricane 5.9 SX still had what it takes to mix with the latest F18 designs, finishing in 3rd.

The Slow fleet showed a similar story to the previous day, with Dan Jarman taking the opening race of the day and securing his event win. Mark Norman & Catherine Tulley continued their form, finishing 2nd in Race 5 and following that up with a race win in Race 6. Local sibling pairing Chloe & Ruben Stuart showed steady improvement across the event, culminating in a close 2nd place in the final race of the weekend.

After six fantastic races, sailed in wind ranging from 5-20 knots, the prize-giving rewarded achievements in the two handicap fleets as well as the extracted Formula 18 rankings, with prizes generously provided by event sponsors Grant & Lindsay Piggott of GP Sails. Huge thanks went to race officer Tim Johnson who has overseen the event for several years, as well as to Tim Buckley and family who returned with their yacht 'Gracor' to generously provide a great committee boat.

The biggest round of applause went to all of the volunteers from the club who worked hard behind the scenes to prepare for the event and supported both afloat and ashore throughout the weekend, with a special mention to Olly & Judy Harris who ensured the event ran smoothly on and off the water (with results even published before sailors were ashore!)

Massive thanks to Weston SC who organised a fantastic event, and to everyone who attended for supporting the brilliant catamaran community in the UK. It was particularly encouraging to see the next generation of sailors across both fleets, with some impressive sailing from the youth Nacra 15 teams, plenty of former youth catamaran sailors now competing in the Hurricanes and F18s, and the Shearwater fleet featuring plenty of family pairings!

Overall Results:

Pos	BoatName	BoatClass	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Club	Division	SCHRS	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	Pts
Fast Handicap Fleet
1st	GP Sails	Nacra F20 Carbon	54	Grant Piggott	Jon Cotgreave	Weston SC		0.891	2	1	2	4	1	‑5	10
2nd		Formula 18	524	Adam Stubbings	Sam Turner	Weston SC		1	1	(UFD)	4	2	4	1	12
3rd		Formula 18	543	William Smith	Thomas Hales	Grafham Water SC		1	3	5	1	1	‑10	4	14
4th		Formula 18	518	Tim Neal	Robbie Garker	Parkstone YC		1	‑7	2	5	7	3	2	19
5th	Juliet	Hurricane 5.9 SX	409	Ben Harris	Izzy Smith	Weston SC / Starcross YC	U25	137	4	(DNC)	7	9	2	3	25
6th		Nacra F20 Carbon	90	Tony Stokes	Simon Farren	Grafham Water SC		0.891	8	4	‑15	5	5	7	29
7th		Formula 18	521	John Payne	Josh Hunt	Brightlingsea SC		1	5	3	9	6	‑15	9	32
8th		Formula 18	514	Nicholas Barnes	James Stacey	Brightlingsea SC		1	‑9	7	8	8	7	6	36
9th	Kingfisher Yacht Ropes	Nacra 15	378	Marcus King	Maddie Jinks	Weston SC / Plym YC	U19	1.113	‑14	6	3	3	12	13	37
10th		Formula 18	47	Simon Northrop	William Northrop	Minnis Bay SC		1	11	8	11	‑13	6	8	44
11th		Nacra 15	70	Patrick Hill	Jessica Patterson	Swarkestone SC / RSWSC	U25	1.113	16	9	6	10	‑17	15	56
12th		Formula 16 Double	207	Paul Warren	Arthur Warren	Oxford SC		131	6	10	(DNF)	11	16	17	60
13th		Nacra F20 Carbon	3	Mark Sewell	Ali York	Grafham Water SC		0.891	10	16	16	(DNC)	8	11	61
14th		Formula 18	201	Richard Golden	Justinian Tomogea	Hayling Ferry SC		1	18	14	12	(DNC)	9	12	65
15th	Ell's Bells	Hurricane 5.9 SX	416	Morgan Smith	Eloise Smith	Hollowell SC / Starcross YC	U25	137	13	12	13	15	13	‑16	66
16th	Kingfisher Yacht Ropes	Nacra F20 Carbon	220	Chris King	Max McCarroll	Weston SC		0.891	12	15	(DNF)	DNC	11	10	67
17th		Nacra 15	126	Coral Buckley	Thomas Robinson	Warsash SC	U19	1.113	‑15	11	14	14	14	14	67
18th	Plymouth Marine	Nacra 15	166	George Stacey	Amelie Ballantyne	Plym YC / Starcross YC	U19	1.113	17	13	10	12	‑18	18	70
Formula 18 Fleet
1st		Windrush Edge F18	524	Adam Stubbings	Sam Turner	Weston SC		1	1	(UFD)	2	2	2	1	8
2nd		Windrush Edge F18	543	William Smith	Thomas Hales	Grafham Water SC		1	2	3	1	1	‑6	3	10
3rd		Windrush Edge F18	518	Tim Neal	Robbie Garker	Parkstone YC		1	‑4	1	3	4	1	2	11
4th		Windrush Edge F18	521	John Payne	Josh Hunt	Brightlingsea SC		1	3	2	5	3	‑7	6	19
5th		Windrush Edge F18	514	Nicholas Barnes	James Stacey	Brightlingsea SC		1	‑5	4	4	5	4	4	21
6th		Nacra F18 Infusion Mk1	47	Simon Northrop	William Northrop	Minnis Bay SC		1	‑6	5	6	6	3	5	25
7th		Nacra F18 Infusion Mk3	201	Richard Golden	Justinian Tomogea	Hayling Ferry SC		1	7	6	7	(DNC)	5	7	32
Slow Handicap Fleet
1st		Unicorn	1088	Dan Jarman		Stokes Bay SC		1.206	1	1	1	1	1	‑4	5
2nd	BarTab	Shearwater Spinnaker	2002	Mark Norman	Catherine Tulley			1.199	2	2	‑3	2	2	1	9
3rd	New Flame	Shearwater Spinnaker	2000	James Gibbons	Heidi Winram	Brightlingsea SC		1.199	4	7	2	4	3	‑8	20
4th	CROWNS	Shearwater Spinnaker	2010	Nigel Stuart	Sarah Stuart	Weston SC		1.199	3	(DNC)	4	3	4	9	23
5th	Cajensa	Shearwater Spinnaker	1976	Sam Vaughan	Ben Allen			1.199	5	4	5	(DNC)	8	7	29
6th	Take 5	Shearwater Spinnaker	2005	Dion Allen	Edward Allen	Thorpe Bay YC		1.199	8	5	‑10	6	5	6	30
7th	Carbon Footprint	Shearwater Spinnaker	1999	Shaun Allen	Emma Allen	Felixstowe Ferry SC		1.199	(DNF)	10	8	5	6	3	32
8th	Sim Sek	Shearwater Spinnaker	2007	Chloe Stuart	Reuben Stuart	Weston SC	U25	1.199	7	‑9	9	DNF	7	2	34
9th	Nebuchadnezzar	Shearwater Spinnaker	2011	William Stuart	Ffion Cerrato	Weston SC		1.199	6	3	6	(DNC)	10	10	35
10th	Airflow	Shearwater Spinnaker	1989	Louise Curry	Nick Winram	Chipstead SC		1.199	10	8	7	(DNC)	9	5	39
11th	Shear Flamboyance	Shearwater Spinnaker	2008	Darren Tulley	Theo Tulley	RYA		1.199	9	6	11	7	11	(DNF)	44
12th	Ramp Tramp	Shearwater Spinnaker	2026	Peter Jary	Joshua Jary	Weston SC		1.199	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	65