Royal Varuna Yacht Club Masters Championship Day 1
by Mark Jardine 30 Jan 10:26 PST
30 January - 1 February 2026
At sixes and sevens in paradise
It's tricky to say no when you're asked to sail at an event at the Royal Varuna Yacht Club in Thailand, so when John Higham of Element 6 Evolution - the manufacturer of the Switch One Design foiler and a vast number of ILCA dinghies - invited me to the Masters Regatta, I naturally jumped at the chance. The club is hosting an eclectic bunch of ILCA 6, 7 and International OK sailors, making for a lively atmosphere on shore and on the water.
Sitting on the club's veranda enjoying a morning coffee while catching up on emails and one of their variety of breakfast options is idyllic. Travelling from the UK, where we've apparently endured the wettest January on record (which is quite a feat for a country famed for its rain) getting up in shorts and t-shirt is more than welcome. It's a sailing paradise with friendly staff and welcoming members.
While you can sail all year round, the main season is November to April, which makes it the ultimate getaway for northern hemisphere sailors looking for a bit of respite from winter. It's remarkable how many sailors from other nations, such as Australia and India, also come here to compete. Sailors from ten nations are taking part this weekend, including a number of world and continental champions in various classes, and French offshore legend Bruno Peyron competing in the ILCA 7 class.
When it comes to advice on the local conditions, thoughts from club members very much reminded me of the Blackadder episode 'Potato' where Captain Redbeard said, "Opinion is divided on the matter." The wind is generally light in the morning before a westerly fills in, moving round to the south as the day goes on. The perceived wisdom says it should increase when it goes south but, as we found out, that's not always the case...
In the ILCA 6 fleet Terry Sutcher dominated with three wins. The 505 European and ILCA Masters Champion had sage advice on which way to go, "If you're not sure, go left. It works every time until it doesn't."
Whitstable Yacht Club's Max Hunt took second overall, having finished as runner-up in the final two races of the day, but needs to step up a gear to push Terry at the top.
The ILCA 7 fleet is tight, with Switzerland's Beat Heinz leading by a single point from Georgii Pimkin, with Australia's John Sweeny a point further back in third. John excelled downwind, picking his routes in the strong ebb tide to perfection to gain places in the tightly-packed fleet. The wily Bruno Peyron, who has probably covered more miles at sea than the rest of the fleet put together in his 71 years on the planet, is in the mix and improved every race to finish the day in fourth.
As for me, it was a day of sixes and sevens... literally. Getting used to the dry air and shifts in a quality fleet was taxing, but seriously fun. I've learned a lot on setting the cunningham upwind in light airs, and working the boat on the chop, and I don't think I stopped grinning all day.
In the OK fleet, local legend Morten Jakobsen, hailing originally from Denmark, leads with a consistent 1,2,2 scoreline, with Martin Schroder second. Matt Norton is in third, making for a superb day for the Royal Varuna Yacht Club locals. Matt won the second race of the day, taking advantage of a left shift at the leeward mark to overtake Morten on the final upwind leg.
Six time OK World Champion Nick Craig endured a mixed day to lie fourth overnight, with another past OK World Champion Nitin Mongia from the Royal Bombay Yacht Club in fifth.
The Royal Varuna Yacht Club is hosting the OK Worlds in 2027, where over a hundred boats are set to compete. It's going to be an incredible event.
The entire fleet assembled at the beach bar for sundowners post racing, questioning local wisdom on the wind and discussing the pros and cons of various classes. It's hard not to fall in love with the Royal Varuna Yacht Club; it truly is racing in paradise.
Full results so far can be found here.