Icicle Series 2026 at Bough Beech Sailing Club - Day 2
by Nick Marden 12 Jan 22:19 PST
4 January - 22 February 2026
Bough Beech Icicle Series day 2 © Sarah Seddon
As the fleet launched for the second round of Bough Beech's Icicle Series, many sailors would have welcomed temperatures several degrees higher than the previous week's freezing conditions. Any relief was short-lived, however, as conditions on the water proved tougher.
The breeze steadily built, with chunky gusts touching 20 knots. Where boats and gusts arrived together at gybe marks, there were predictable consequences, and the wind chill soon made itself felt by all.
Race Officer Barry Wolfenden set a figure-of-eight course making full use of the length of the reservoir, including a long beat. The 43-boat Conventional fleet got away cleanly at the first attempt under the I-flag. On the water, George Smith's RS600 — the only trapeze boat in the fleet — quickly stretched into a significant lead.
After four laps and nearly an hour of racing, the provisional handicap results saw Rob Gorrod take first place in his ILCA 7, followed by Smith in second and David Bone third in an ILCA 6. John Reed, having swapped his Snipe for a Solo for the day, sailed impressively to fourth in conditions that were not Solo-friendly. The Snipes of Chris Surrige/Mile Ker and Lloyd Roberts/Emma Preen finished fifth and sixth respectively.
Misfortune struck the Snipe helmed by Matthew Wolstenholme, which had built a significant lead over all the PY 1100+ boats and was almost certainly heading for victory, but was forced to retire on the final lap following a hand injury to the crew. With multiple — and in some cases repeated — capsizes across the fleet, around a quarter of the boats failed to finish. A shout out to junior sailor Sophie (Bough Beech), who took her Optimist out and mixed it with an intimidating number of much larger boats.
Fewer than half of the Conventional fleet stayed out for the second race. Honours went to last week's second-race winners, Guy Marks (Wayfarer), crewed this time by Sam Pygall, with Smith's RS600 finishing second. Wolstenholme returned to the water with hastily substituted crew Rory Moppett to claim third. The Snipes of Surridge/Ker and Roberts/Preen filled fourth and fifth places.
Thirteen boats competed in the Asymmetric fleet on a windward/leeward course. In the first race, Paul Cullen and Verity Hopkins (2000) picked up where they left off the previous week with another win, followed by Jonathan and Hayden Ching (2000). Third and fourth places went to the Musto Skiffs of Graeme Oliver and Matthew Peake, (both Medway YC.)
The same four boats filled the top positions in the second race, this time with Oliver taking the win, followed by the Chings in second, Cullen/Hopkins in third, and Peake again in fourth.
Thanks as ever to all those supporting the racing both ashore and afloat — and particularly on this occasion to the rescue crews, who were in near-constant action throughout the day.
Series Results so far: