Landyachting Season 2026–27 Gets Under Way at Brean Land Yacht Club

Landyachting Season 2026–27 Gets Under Way at Brean - Chris Wilson in Class 3 © Dave Mayes

Changing beach conditions, tactical starts and high-speed turns set the scene for the opening regatta of the new season

The 2026-27 landyachting season got under way at Brean with a promising forecast and a welcome return to the beach. The event was squeezed into a busy calendar, between the Parra Kite event the previous weekend and the Mini Yacht Europeans at Terschelling in a fortnight.

Beach access began on Thursday. With an early high tide, competitors started arriving around midday, ready to make the most of the falling tide and the expanding expanse of sand.

Unfortunately, Thursday's forecast failed to materialise. A soft beach made progress tricky, with only just enough wind for a few trial runs. Maintaining momentum through the turns proved difficult, offering an early reminder that speed come from reading the beach is as important as handling and speed.

Friday delivers the best conditions

Friday brought the best forecast of the weekend. A building onshore breeze provided a long beat on one tack, followed by a broad reach to the south. As the tide fell, more routes opened up, although competitors had to pick their way between patches of hard and soft sand.

The public on a day out to the beach were treated to the yachts travelling at spectacular speeds, and between races were able to speak with the pilots and kick the tyres.

We would like to thank the cooperation of the public in ensuring the well marshalled event took place in a secure and safe environment for all.

The northern end of the beach proved particularly important. A well-timed bear-away was essential to build apparent wind and carry speed down the initially narrow stretch of beach. The Mini Yachts and Standarts faced the additional challenge of gybing downwind in the early races, while Class 3 yachts could make the most of a successful bear-away to establish their speed early. As this wind increase all classes were sailing flat out down the beach.

Video (Facebook Reel): Friday - Class 3 fly by

Landyachting Season 2026–27 Gets Under Way at Brean - Darren Rhys in the Standart class - photo © Dave Mayes

Mini Yacht: Close racing in changing wind

Dave and Ed made strong starts in the Mini Yacht fleet, with the pair trading places at the front. Jake Cookson and Martyn MacDonald showed good speed in the stronger breeze but found conditions more challenging as the wind eased. Conversely Emma Green showed good speed in the lighter air but struggled to find her form in the breeze.

Race duration of 10 minutes, covering approximately 7-8 miles with max speed of 35-40mph.

Timing and positioning of the approach in the dial up were critical. Soft sand, beach gradient and the choice of line all affected how quickly competitors could get up to speed. Arriving just 10-20 seconds late could mean starting in disturbed air, with fewer options to find clear sand and build speed. This caught a few people out on occasion.

As the breeze strengthened in races three, four and five, the short course near the beach entrance became more rewarding. The yachts were able to reach at greater speed, producing closer racing and more opportunities to challenge for position.

Landyachting Season 2026–27 Gets Under Way at Brean - Class 3 - photo © Dave Mayes

Class 3: Speed and precision turns

Class 3 racing delivered some great action, with the yachts at full power and regularly hiking on 2 wheels. With the wind and beach conditions favouring outright speed, however simple sausage course had challenge high speed U-turn on the wet and with speed in excess 60 mph, getting the turn right meant balancing grip, line and power to maintain momentum and secure a clean exit back up the beach.

In Race 1, Tim eased into the lead at the first mark, followed by Chris, Nick and Graham. Chris ran wide at the downwind turn, allowing Nick through, for a few laps the gap varied for a few laps until Tim had a puncture after the big turn allowing Nick his first Class 3 win. The yachts finished in quick succession after a closely fought race.

Race 2 saw Tim back at the front, with Nick squeezing past Chris on the final run to take second place, using a hard, fast line to the finish.

Race 3 initially followed a similar pattern, with Tim establishing the lead. As the breeze built, however, Chris and Nick found opportunities to get through at the turn and challenge for the front. Nick was pushing hard when he lost control at just over 60mph on the run towards the southern mark. Lap average speed of A front wheel puncture brought his race to an abrupt end. Chris went on to finish followed by Tim and Graham.

Race duration of 15 minutes, covering approximately 10-12 miles with max speed of 60+mph.

Saturday brought lighter winds down the beach, making it particularly important to maintain speed through the changing angles. Tim and Chris enjoyed another close tussle at the front. Nick showed good upwind speed however struggled on the downwind leg, allowing Graham's experience to come through and show how it should be done as he moved into third place.

Video (Facebook Reel): Saturday - Mini race 6

Landyachting Season 2026–27 Gets Under Way at Brean - Tim Spears wins Class 3 - photo © Dave Mayes

Standart fleet

The Standart fleet had a reduced entry, with several competitors absent through injury and college commitments. The fleet sailed on Saturday only, in the lighter conditions, adding another dimension to the challenge of maintaining speed along the beach.

2025-2026 Championship and looking ahead

The 2025-26 season offered limited racing opportunities after delays in securing the Hoylake beach permit led to the cancellation of two regattas. With insufficient events completed, the Class 2, Class 3 and Standart British Championships could not be awarded.

Only the Mini Yacht British Championship had enough qualifying regattas to be decided:
1st Ed Ingles
2nd Nick Heather
3rd Keith Ecroyd

This was a disappointing outcome following the successful staging of the Class 2, 3, 5 and Standart European Championships at Hoylake in October 2025, which brought together an international fleet and a substantial organising team.

There are, however, reasons for optimism. The beach licence is expected to be secured for the next five years, providing a more stable basis for planning the domestic calendar. Class 2 and Class 3 sailors have also been travelling to Belgium and France to gain valuable beach time, and plans are being developed to include selected international regattas in the British Championship qualification process for Class 3 next season.

With the new season under way and a more secure future for beach access in prospect, the hope is that British landyachting can look forward to a fuller programme of racing and a return to championship competition across all classes.

Check out www.britishlandsailing.org.uk

Landyachting Season 2026–27 Gets Under Way at Brean - photo © Dave Mayes

Class 3 Results:

Mini Results:

Standart Results: