Wayfarer Western Championship at Datchet Water Sailing Club

by Andrew Wilson 17 Mar 10:09 UTC 14-15 March 2026

The Craftinsure National Circuit for 2026 got under way at Datchet Water Sailing Club in a meeting held jointly with Flying Fifteens and Wanderers on 14th/15th March. It was a weekend with contrasting weather which provided challenging conditions for the competing crews.

Saturday needed eyes out of the boat, with a shifting wind which varied from near calm to full hiking in some gusts. In the first race Andrew Wilson and Sam Pygall held a narrow lead for the first two laps, then extended as they found breeze while others were becalmed.

Their luck was not to last as they found their own calm spot and then got on the wrong side of a large shift, allowing John Clementson and Mel Titmus to pass for the win. In each of races two and three, John and Mel combined their speed edge with a knack for picking the right shifts to take the wins. Andrew and Sam, initially tried to keep within touch or find a way past, but found themselves having to focus instead on defending their second position against the Harris's in race two and then the Evans's in race three.

Sunday presented a rather different work-out for boats and crews, with the base wind increasing through the morning from 15 to 20 knots - and with gusts peaking at over 27 knots. The race officer set a trapezoid course to keep the fleets, along with club racing, well separated - but having essentially only reaching legs in the strong winds meant that spinnakers stayed stowed all day.

Race four saw Andrew and Sam hold a slender lead at the first mark with John and Mel closing on the downwind legs but dropping back slightly on the beats. With Jeremy and Sarah Evans ashore fixing their boat, it was Nick Harris, now with Luke Howells crewing who followed in third place. Race five again had Andrew and Sam leading the way upwind, but this time a big right shift allowed them to extend to a more comfortable lead over John and Mel. The Evans's boat now fixed, they held off Nick and Luke to take third.

It looked like the championship result was going to hang on the last race, where a win would give Andrew and Sam first overall, but before the race start a loud bang on their boat indicated a snapped kicker anchor plate on their mast and the end of their racing for the day. John and Mel comfortably held off Jeremy and Sarah to take their fourth win of the series and overall victory.

Congratulations to reigning National Circuit champions John and Mel on getting their 2026 season off to a flying start with an excellent win. Many thanks go to the Datchet Race team led by George Hoskyns, to Derek Lambert for arranging the event and the provision of after-race refreshments, and to Craftinsure for their sponsorship of the Wayfarer National Circuit.

Overall Results:

Pos	Helm	Crew	Sail No	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	Pts
1st	John Clementson	Melanie Titmus	11101	1st	1st	1st	2nd	2nd	1st	6
2nd	Andrew Wilson	Sam Pygall	11093	2nd	2nd	2nd	1st	1st	DNS	8
3rd	Jeremy Evans	Sarah Evans	11323	4th	4th	3rd	DNS	3rd	2nd	16
4th	Nick Harris	James Howells	11223	3rd	3rd	4th	3rd	4th	DNF	17
5th	Derek Lambert	Simon Etter	10828	5th	5th	5th	4th	DNC	DNC	26
6th	Conrad Payne	Martin Dolling	W9416	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNS	DNC	DNC	35