Seafly National Championship 2025 at Chew Valley Lake Sailing Club

Seafly National Championship at Chew day 2 © Chris Meredith

Four Seaflys competed in the 2025 Nationals at Chew Valley Lake. After a detailed briefing where the race committee helpfully pointed out some large 'enter at your peril' areas of weed that affected parts of the lake, the fleet headed out to the start line in a sudden downpour of torrential rain.

The Seaflys were the last start after the Fireballs and Scorpions, by which time the rain had stopped and the wind had settled to a relatively steady force 2-3.

After a bunched up start by the committee boat into the Fireball fleet rounding the bottom mark, Tom and Mary in 639 broke free to lead the fleet on the first two legs. John Claridge and Peter Sanders in 704 (the current boat builder and sail maker respectively) were pushing them hard, and by the end of the third leg back to the line the fleet had sailed over 639.

On the 'sausage' lap the wind dropped to virtually nothing and the fleet limped to the finish with John and Peter leading and George and Harry in 640 taking second, with Tim and Ben in 702 in third.

For the second and third races the wind got up to a force 4-5 and got shifty (standard for Chew), and overcast with occasional rain. Despite a couple of great starts, including a port tack flyer, Tom and Mary in 639 didn't manage to capitalise on them, whilst John and Peter secured two more wins leaving 640 and 702 to battle for second place, with Tim and Ben securing a second place over George and Harry in the third race.

The planned fourth race was abandoned for the day. Unfortunately George and Harry in 640 were not able to sail the second day and left on Saturday evening.

Seafly National Championship at Chew day 2 - photo © Martin Rose

On the Sunday, the race committee set out with the intention of getting four races completed and, with some deft management of the fleets, succeeded.

By the 11am first start the wind had got up to force 4-6 southwesterly, and remained there for the rest of the event. 702 had somehow lost its jib halyard into the mast overnight but managed to jury rig a temporary fix, and was less than a minute late for the first start, leaving 704 to take another win, and 639 second. 639 made another good start in the second race but fell victim to Chew's shifts on the first beat, falling to third by the top mark, 704 taking the win and 702 second.

By the third race it was looking like 704 was unassailable, but Tom and Mary in 639 were starting to find their form in the strong winds and there was some second place swapping with Tim and Ben in 702. 639 rounded the final top mark in second place, where they were greeted by the unusual sight of John and Peter taking a swim after what John described as a 'lazy gybe'. 639 took the win with 702 in second, while 704 retired, securing their discard, and Peter no doubt went below to relight the Aga.

In the final race of the event, 704 led from the first mark, leaving 639 and 702 to battle it out for second. This time it was Tim and Ben's turn to take a swim, and they also had a minor collision with a port tack Scorpion on one of the beats. Tom and Mary in the classic Seafly had adopted a 'keep the mast out of the water at all costs' strategy for the day as they couldn't afford a flooded boat and a retirement to shore, and successfully secured another second place.

By the finish, John and Peter in 704 had secured another Nationals win with six wins and a DNF, while there was only 1 point between Tim and Ben in 702 and Tom and Mary in 639 in second and third.

A massive thank you to Chew and the race team for hosting the Nationals and running a very slick event - and managing to squeeze the seven races in. The sailors all left with aching legs and smiles on their faces after a great weekend's racing.

The next event in the calendar is the Seafly Open at Blakeney Sailing Club in Norfolk, 13-14 September.

Overall Results:

Seafly National Championship at Chew day 2 - photo © John Smalley