Inaugural Mirror Spring Championship at Bassenthwaite Sailing Club
by Paul Allen 8 Apr 06:17 PDT
4-6 April 2026
Bassenthwaite's inaugural Mirror Spring Championship, sponsored by Ginger Boats, opened in dramatic fashion as Storm Dave forced racing to be brought forward on Saturday.
Strong winds caused major retirements, though James and Meris Date took the first win ahead of Will and Izzy Crocker, with Phil and Lucy Smith third. Andy and Olivia Tunicliffe won race two before conditions became too severe to continue. It was encouraging to see so many juniors braving the weather, including several all-junior helm-and-crew teams who handled the conditions impressively.
With Sunday blown off entirely, the fleet swapped sailing boots for walking boots and headed up Sale Fell. From the summit they could see the gale tearing across the lake, possibly even spotting the shifting patterns from above (unlikely at Bass!).
By Monday the transformation was complete, sunshine, a steady southerly and long, tactical upwind legs welcomed the full fleet back onto the water. Phil and Lucy Smith dominated with two wins to secure the championship, followed by James and Meris in second, Andy and Olivia in third, and Will and Izzy in fourth.
Bassenthwaite Sailing Club's famous social programme, organised by Ellie, kept spirits high despite the storm, with crafting sessions, live music and disco bingo entertaining both adults and juniors.
Overall a blast on and off the water, and useful preparation ahead of this year's Mirror Nationals, also being held in the North and on a lake, giving sea sailors a chance to practise shifty inland sailing.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Crew | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 71013 | Phil Smith | Lucy Smith/Oliver Smith | Bassenthwaite | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | ‑8 | 8 |
| 2nd | 70967 | James Date | Meris Date | Burghfield Sailing Club | 1 | 2 | 5 | ‑11 | 7 | 15 |
| 3rd | 70668 | Andy Tunnicliffe | Olivia Tunnicliffe | Bass | (DNF) | 1 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 20 |
| 4th | 70573 | Will crocker | Izzy Crocker | north lincs | 2 | (DNF) | 3 | 7 | 9 | 21 |
| 5th | 7096 | Thomas Chaix | | NYC | 4 | 5 | 7 | ‑8 | 5 | 21 |
| 6th | 319 | David Gebhard | Edward Gebhard | Derwent Reservoir Sailing Club | 6 | (DNF) | 9 | 4 | 12 | 31 |
| 7th | 70639 | Neil Baker | | Derwent Reservoir Sailing Club | (DNF) | DNC | 2 | 6 | 4 | 36 |
| 8th | 58171 | Fiona Rigg | Duncan Rigg | East Lothian | 8 | 4 | ‑17 | 13 | 11 | 36 |
| 9th | 71042 | Jonny McGovern | Milo McGovern | Port Dinorwic | (DNF) | DNC | 4 | 5 | 6 | 39 |
| 10th | 71059 | Matthew McGovern | Bodhi McGovern | | (DNF) | DNC | 15 | 2 | 3 | 44 |
| 11th | 70893 | Becky Priest | | Staunton Harold SC | 7 | (DNC) | 14 | 15 | 14 | 50 |
| 12th | 71069 | James Eastbury | Felix Eastbury | Gresford SC | 5 | (DNC) | 20 | 16 | 10 | 51 |
| 13th | 71053 | Ian Dobson | | HISC | (DNF) | DNF | 6 | OCS | 1 | 55 |
| 14th | 71080 | Michael Hanley | Ben Chaix | NYC/TBSC | (DNF) | DNC | 12 | 14 | 13 | 63 |
| 15th | 70608 | Tim Smith | | Bassenthwaite | (DNF) | DNC | 19 | 3 | 19 | 65 |
| 16th | 70142 | Naomi Smith | Oliver Smith | Bassenthwaite | (DNF) | DNC | 13 | 12 | 17 | 66 |
| 17th | 71037 | Jethro Gebhard | Evelyn Gebhard | Derwent Reservoir Sailing Club | (DNF) | DNC | 10 | 10 | DNC | 68 |
| 18th | NED 70883 | Matthew Bromley | Sebastian Bromley | RYA | (DNF) | DNC | 11 | 20 | 16 | 71 |
| 19th | 71062 | Kirsty Mitchell | | Leigh and Lowton | (DNF) | DNC | 16 | 18 | 15 | 73 |
| 20th | 69663 | Oliver Smith | | Bassenthwaite | (DNF) | DNC | 21 | 19 | 18 | 82 |
| 21st | 562 | Annelies Rooney | Noah Caliendo | Sligo Yacht Club | (DNF) | DNC | 18 | 21 | 20 | 83 |
| 22nd | 7098 | Ron Vass | | Reading SC | (DNF) | DNC | 22 | 17 | 21 | 84 |
| 23rd | 70667 | Joe Adams | | | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 96 |
