Welsh Phantom Championships 2025 at Llandegfedd Sailing Club

Welsh Phantom Championships trophy © Nick Morley

Born from a chat over a few pints at the Sunderland Nationals, we found ourselves seven months later looking out over Llandegfedd reservoir, the home of a fledgling Phantom fleet at the venue for the first ever Welsh Phantom Championships.

The brainchild of the Welsh Phantom sailors, Will Willett pulled the event together over the last few months, virtually single handed... much like his sailing, with every eventuality covered, nothing left to chance.

The plan was simple, put on an event to maximise the fun stuff. Five races planned: two of around 30-35 mins, back ashore for a quick feed and then out again for three more. Our race officials, Guy and Julie Boswell turned things around quickly so we could maximise the sailing and squeeze it all in.

Will and I spend a lot of our "sailing time" coaching youth and junior sailors in Wales and we figured it would be good to put them to use in a complete role reversal: they could look after us... Thus, our safety and many of the shore team were made up of RYA coaches who have come out the other side of the RYA pathway and were looking forward to critiquing and watching their former coaches deal with the conditions they regularly sail in...

They were not to be disappointed; the debrief was going to be brutal.

Saturday morning greeted us bang on forecast - 18-25 knots from the NE, a reasonably stable direction for the reservoir but still an inland venue surrounded by rolling Welsh hills. It was a slightly subdued vibe in the dinghy park as sailors arrived, a little apprehensive as some thunderous gusts blew through the already whipped up white caps. Who turned the fan on?

First ever Welsh Phantom Championships, at Llandegfedd - photo © Nick Morley

Much discussion going on amongst the sailors wishing for a few knots less, downward glances, sharp intakes of breath and scuffing of feet as more gusts blasted through... But we're Phantom sailors. And the dragon was here in all its fire breathing glory...

The course was set, two laps round a reverse P, the sailors got afloat and headed to the starting area.

Race 1 - a fairly square line saw most of the fleet in the waiting room and committee boat end as the gun went. Many held on to starboard with only a few clearing out on port tack into the right side. As is often the case though the starboard tack started to lift as the fleet headed into the northern half of the reservoir and picking your moment to come back across from the left side was crucial.

At the finish it was Sam Coxon (1450, Chase SC) who put a marker down, with the home club's Ben Dancer (1478) in a close second, Stephen McDonald (1259, Starcross) third, Jonny Everett (1427, Llandegfedd) fourth and Jeremy Deacon (1423, Broadwater) fifth. It might have been different but a few were seen with the mast in the water at the gybe mark but keeping track of who they were wasn't easy...

First ever Welsh Phantom Championships, at Llandegfedd - photo © Nick Morley

Race 2 - with the big breeze continuing, some shifts and holes near the windward mark, and flat out reaching downwind it was another exhilarating race... This time Ben (1478) got his nose in front but Sam stuck to him like glue, staying in phase with the shifts, the pair of them gradually working out a lead from Chris Pope (1220, Chew Valley) who'd found his afterburners following a double-figures finish in race one. Steve (1259, Starcross) was fourth and Ed Child (1340, Lee-on-Solent) made up the top-five...

Race 3 - after a short break and lots of cake ashore, it was back out for more. The sailors' choice was to keep to the same course, and rightly so.

With the breeze still well up and pulling right, the pin was moved forward a touch and Will Willett (1393, Llandegfedd) clocked it and began reaching to the pin end with 20 second to go only to see Jonny (1427) already out there winding it up on port tack... Jonny hit the pin end on the "B" of "Bang" as the gun went and he crossed the fleet by a country mile... He stood on across the fleet into the right side and it looked all over from there, far enough ahead that you couldn't see his sail numbers.

First ever Welsh Phantom Championships, at Llandegfedd - photo © Nick Morley

But Sam (1450) and Ben (1478) were not done... Not only racing each other they were hunting down Jonny and when the fan shut off for Jonny approaching the last leeward mark they pounced. In the last short beat to the finish Sam got his nose in front to take his second win by less than a foredeck, Jonny holding on for second, Ben third. Chris (1220) put in an impressive fourth and Andy Smith (1405, Hollingworth) pulled through into fifth for his first result in the top-five...

Race 4 - there was an order beginning to establish itself as the thighs, arms and hands all began to burn. The Welsh dragon's fire was still blowing a good 16-20 knots but a few more holes were appearing at the top end and gear-changing started to become really important. Sam took the win from Ben, Chris third, Stephen fourth, and Alex Spurgeon (1274) up into fifth. The reaches down into the leeward end past the committee boat were electric...

At times there would be four of five boats alongside or barely inches astern of each other and planning flat out into the gybe marks (one of them under the eastern shore where a gathering crowd of spectators had a grandstand view) was heart-stopping at times. Often with a boat outside you, it was victory or hospital, and only one way to do it: reach for the falls as the boat levels and go for it...

First ever Welsh Phantom Championships, at Llandegfedd - photo © Nick Morley

For some there was more swimming and centreboard inspection, for others more flat out reaching downwind. Simon Lennane (1439, Llandegfedd) never came off the plane as he came inside Will at the penultimate mark and took a well-deserved sixth.

Race 5 - by now the top-two looked decided, and with Sam having three bullets it looked like it was all over. Even with a win in the final race Ben couldn't catch him and Sam would surely become the inaugural welsh champion...

But it's the sign of a true class as a competitor that Ben fought to the very end and took out an impressive win in the final race of the series. Sam took second to make it beyond doubt, and Chris cemented his third place overall. Behind them it was Olly Greenslade (1497, Starcross) who banked an impressive fourth, Jim Hopton (1493, Shustoke) in fifth.

With racing done for the day, the fleet headed ashore, sun still blazing, wind finally dialling down... tired but grinning sailors were greeted by more of our Welsh youth and junior sailors grabbing trolleys and handing out a cold (zero alcohol) beer at the top of the slipway (they know how their coaches roll).

First ever Welsh Phantom Championships, at Llandegfedd - photo © Nick Morley

The mood in the dinghy park was buzzing... The morning's trepidation had been replaced by tales of high-octane sailing, thrills, stunts and speed... lots of speed. Race dissection, mark roundings, botched starts, crosses, near crosses, crosses that shouldn't have been... alongside the inevitable tales of physical exertion and of course the capsizes, plenty of capsizes..... all played out over cold beer in the late afternoon glorious Welsh sunshine.

Then there was the cake... bara brith and Welsh cakes aplenty to refuel...

Prize giving... there were Kingstone ales and slate coasters for everyone, along with Ovington prizes for the top ten... and among them, TopCat sails holdalls fully branded with the Phantom insignia awarded for the furthest travelled (Stephen Popple, 1460, Shoreham), oldest boat (Eric Gillam, 1065, Llandegfedd) and first Welsh based sailor overall.

First ever Welsh Phantom Championships, at Llandegfedd - photo © Nick Morley

In amongst all this the very generous Hartley Boats Championship Lottery was decided... and... before the new champion was crowned, Clay Sanderson-Wood was invited forward to present the new Trophy. Clay, who had been crewing the photo RIB, (helmed by Sam, one of his ex squad mates), is one of many young sailors at the host club who travel the length and breadth of the country racing on the junior and youth circuits each weekend and his father Matt had hand-crafted our incredible perpetual trophy - a dragon hewn from fifty year-old, genuine Welsh steel made at Port Talbot, mounted on a block of Welsh Sycamore, thin slips of brass for the eyes staring out at you with a Phantom gaze...

Prizes awarded, cake eaten, speeches made, hands shook......all that was left to do was head home listening to the 2025 Welsh Phantom Championship Spotify playlist and reflect on a great days sailing. It was without doubt the best days racing I've experienced on inland waters....

Massive thanks to our sponsors, please show them some love, without them this stuff couldn't happen: Kingstone Brewery, Hartley Boats, Top cat sailmakers, Ovington Boats.

First ever Welsh Phantom Championships, at Llandegfedd - photo © Nick Morley

Although there was still the debrief to come and it was brutal.... After the standard "what were you thinking?" and "call that hiking?" chat, some interesting observations were made, .... Ben Willett, Welsh 29er coach on safety had this to say... There appears to be no space for weakness in a Phantom anywhere. Your fitness, sailing brain, boat set-up, old sails, all need to be taken care of. One bad decision, being at the wrong end of the line, missing the lifted tack, one bad tack or gybe and half a dozen boats go through you....

There's no point in sailing in a class where everything is easy and there's no challenge and he understands now why we do it.... Also adding that whether you have a good race or a bad race in a Phantom, you don't just know, you really know...

Sam Coxon wins the first ever Welsh Phantom Championships, at Llandegfedd - photo © Nick Morley

Overall Results:

First ever Welsh Phantom Championships, at Llandegfedd - photo © Nick Morley