Junior Autumn Championship

Published 18:33 on 29 Oct 2025

Day 1 - early forecasts were showing we would not be short of wind and would need good patrol boat coverage to keep safe all those afloat. Thank you all those who stepped forward as patrol boat coxes & crews, unfortunately winds in the revised race area did not come up to forecast and were down to 8-12 knots, with occasional 15 knot puffs.

Issues with Escort led to a last minute change of race area and a late start, but we managed to get in a short race to get back on schedule for race 2.

With the first day's racing completed; in the Open, Ella and Emma disadvantaged with spinnaker issues lost time to Ben, who lead the day with 3 bullets. Visiting sailors from MRSC, Lilly and Erin taking a win in race 3 lay 2nd in RS Feva, also Laura from MRSC climbing up the order, 5th, 4th then 2nd to place 4th overall. Jack lead the Oppi, ahead of Olivia, with 3 wins vs 3 2nd's. In regatta fleet it was Daisy's day with 3 wins.

Day 2 - with Escort still out of action, racing again from the pontoon in the lee of the shore, we managed to get in another 3 races. For the 420 crew of Beanie and Georgie, it was not a good day - they missed race 1 due to a kit bag left at home and gear failure forced retirement from races 2 and 3. Close battles between the remaining 420 and Laser 4.7 thru every race, ending with Ella & Emma nursing their 420 home with a broken vang in race 3, with Ben just 3 seconds behind on the water.

The highlight performance of the day saw Jack in his Oppi lead the Tera fleet on the water for almost a lap before bring passed.

Day 3 - racing continued on the Club front with a westerly 12-15 knots across the course made for another great day's racing from the pontoon, offering a great spectacle for parents and onlookers to view the racing.

In the open fleet, Ben continued his winning streak, as did Rory and Kipp. In the Teras, a rare mistake by Felix taking a swim took him from 1st to last in the first race of the day, whilst in the Oppi Jack was being kept of the top spot by a fantastic sail by Zoe.

The regatta fleet did fantastically well almost all keeping upright and coping well with the winds, especially after losing so many races in 2025 due to high winds.

Well, that's the last of the Junior Championship Regatta for 2025; 4 Championship events, 13 days of racing scheduled; 2 days lost due to weather, 28 races competed. As the Race Officer afloat on Escort, it's been a very enjoyable and rewarding season to see our young sailors grow in confidence and enjoy their time afloat.

A big THANK YOU to all those who helped aboard Escort, crewed RIBs, ran the tallies/beachmaster, helped on the terrace & slipways, our Junior Coordinator and event organisers and to our Bosun Nigel, for keeping all the kit in working order to support these events.

A great season, THANK YOU ALL, and see you on the water in 2026.

Rob, Hailey, Matt and Brian