Comet and Topper sprint racing 2026 at Durleigh Sailing Centre

by Tamsin Hoult 21 Oct 10:08 BST 17 October 2026

Twenty boats and 30 sailors took to the water at Durleigh Sailing Centre on Saturday 17th October for the third and final Comet class event of 2026, rounding off a series which has seen increasing numbers at every event.

This year, Durleigh has introduced sprint racing to its sailing calendar, with the first two events consisting of four short, 20-minute races. However, with 12 Comets and eight Toppers requiring separate starts, the final event saw a slight change of format to two 40-minute races, with a break in between.

All the club's hire boats had been booked out more than a week in advance, resulting in a waiting list. Throughout the year, juniors have been encouraged to venture outside their comfort zones and sail three-up in Comet Trios. However, with 12 juniors keen to take part and demand for the hire Trios exceeding availability, the decision was made to introduce a separate Topper fleet. This allowed eight juniors to compete in Toppers, while the remaining four joined the Comets, freeing up some of the Trios for adult members on the waiting list.

These events have brought together sailors from across the club, including regular sailing members, juniors, training members and their families, with plenty of different ages and levels of experience sharing the water.

The start was slightly delayed while the safety boats assessed the depth of water around the racing marks. When the feedback came back as "about 45cm", safety boat crew Joe rather heroically covered himself in mud while lifting the buoys so they could be dragged further into the middle of the shrinking reservoir.

Once racing finally got under way, the wind provided plenty to keep everyone on their toes, shifting by around 20 degrees and varying by as much as 10 knots in strength between laps.

The Comets set off first, with the Toppers following two minutes behind.

In race one, Andrew Knowlson and Helen Newman in Comet Trio 301, Alexander, managed to break clear of the fleet. Making the most of the clear air, they maintained their advantage to take the first win of the day. Andrew and Susie Tye, sailing Trio 456, Piglet, followed in second, with Tom Darlington and Denver Hall (Trio 491) taking third.

Among the Comets were two all-junior crews. Sammy Addinall and David Pop sailed a spare Trio, while Aaron Mattravers and James Walker took out a Comet Duo, having spent the morning training in an RS Feva. Both crews held their own amongst the adults, finishing fifth and sixth respectively in the opening race.

Race two saw Andrew and Susie Tye take a commanding lead, eventually winning by a country mile. Combined with their second place in race one, this secured them a well-deserved overall victory.

Meanwhile, Geoff Bowyer, sailing Comet Versa 313, had a cracking second race, leading a group of four Comet Trios around the opening lap (and yes, photographic evidence was obtained!). After handicap corrections, Geoff finished second, behind only the Tyes, securing third place overall. Andrew Knowlson and Helen Newman's third place in the second race was enough to secure second overall.

Andy Wright and Adam Tye, sailing Comet Trio 339, also showed just how much could change between races. Having finished ninth in the opening race, they made an impressive recovery to take fourth in race two, securing fifth place overall.

In the junior Topper fleet, brothers Hugo and Alexander Murray battled for the lead in both races, with Hugo taking two bullets and the overall win and Alexander finishing second. They were certainly not left to race alone, however, with Grace Fear and Freddie Faulks pushing hard and taking third and fourth respectively in race one.

The second race produced remarkably similar results at the front, although the finishing positions did little to reflect the battles happening on the water. Joshua Chisalita, who had finished fifth in the opening race, made the most of the lighter breeze in race 2 to challenge the Murray brothers, eventually taking third.

Grace Fear's consistent third and fourth places saw her take third overall, followed by Joshua in fourth and Freddie Faulks in fifth.

Freddie's younger brother, Frankie, meanwhile, provided some additional entertainment for spectators as he seemingly invented his own course around the reservoir, complete with an unscheduled stop on a submerged tree trunk! He eventually finished seventh overall, behind Orla Bridgewater in sixth.

With so many boats taking part, boat park manager, James Wright, had earlier set off armed with a roll of neon yellow duct tape and a Sharpie to produce temporary 'event tags' for all the trolleys. The intention was to make boat recovery as smooth as possible, and the system certainly worked. Thanks to the slick operation of our resident trolley dolly, every dinghy and powerboat was out of the water and up the slipway before I had even made it back from the race hut with the results!

A huge thank you goes to everyone who helped make the day possible, particularly the parents who stepped up to crew the safety boats, and Rachel Addinall for the supply and distribution of homemade cake, which was very much appreciated!

It was fantastic to see so many boats on the water, and well done to everyone who took part, both on Saturday and throughout the three events this year.

We look forward to seeing everyone back on the water for our next event, the Christmas Pudding Race, on Sunday 13th December!

Comet Results:

Pos	Class/SailNo	Helm	Crew	R1	R2
1	Trio 456	Andrew Tye	Susie Tye	2	1
2	Trio 301	Andrew Knowlson	Helen Newman	1	3
3	Versa 313	Geoff Bowyer		4	2
4	Trio 491	Tom Darlington	Denver Hall	3	8
5	Trio 339	Andy Wright	Adam Tye	9	4
6	Trio 320	Chris Pearson	M. Mulholland	7	7
7	Duo 89	Aaron Mattravers	James Walker	6	9
8	Trio 396	Sammy Addinall	David Pop	5	10
9	Trio 397	Sandra Long	Matt Gilbert	11	5
10	Trio 493	Vince Gaddy	Richard Walker	10	6
11	Trio 351	Chris Moyes	Simon Dawton	8	12
12	Versa 265	Mike Tasker		12	11

Topper Results:

Pos	Helm	R1	R2
1	Hugo Murray	1	1
2	Alexander Murray	2	2
3	Grace Fear	3	4
4	Joshua Chisalita	5	3
5	Freddie Faulks	4	5
6	Orla Bridgewater	7	6
7	Frankie Faulks	8	7
8	Georgia Kunda	6	DNC