Wayfarer Eastern Championship at Blackwater Sailing Club
by Andrew Wilson 6 May 17:08 AEST
2-3 May 2026
Race five start during the Wayfarer Eastern Championship at Blackwater Sailing Club © Zoe Nelson
Seven Wayfarer teams attended a training day on Friday 1st May at Blackwater Sailing Club. They were given boat set-up and tuning tips from class legend Michael MacNamara, followed by an afternoon of on-the-water drills. They then had two days of racing for the Eastern Championships to put their newly acquired skills to the test.
The benefits of Mike Mac's wisdom would become apparent over the weekend as several of the training day participants found themselves mixing it at the front of the fleet - a testament to the value of these sessions and to Michael's generosity in sharing his extraordinary knowledge.
Five additional boats arrived for the weekend's racing, including Andrew Wilson and Graham Hoy who had finished first and second respectively at the 2023 Nationals held at nearby Dabchicks Sailing Club. Saturday's racing began under a rather light and fickle easterly breeze - the kind of conditions that test patience and reward cunning in equal measure.
With a well-timed port approach to the pin, Steve Perkins comfortably won the first race start, but Graham Hoy and Rob Haigh in 'Jay Jay' gained by going to the port lay-line and led around the windward mark. Andrew Wilson and Sam Pygall sailing 'Restless' squeezed past Steve and Mike Mansell in '11043' down the first reach and gave chase, eventually pipping Jay-Jay to take the win.
In race two, while most of the fleet went left, it was Jeremy and Sarah Evans in 'Selkie' who correctly chose the right side to lead around the windward mark. On the next beat it didn't work so well and they lost out to 'Restless' while, further back, Alan and Janet Hoy were holding off Jay Jay to take third place.
With the tide now turned, it seemed the whole fleet arrived together at the windward mark for race three, with Nigel and Belinda O'Donnell in 'Guinness III' just rounding clear from Restless. With the fleet closely bunched, the two leaders managed to pull away on the off-wind legs. Restless again found a way to hit the front, leaving Guinness III in second and Jay Jay first of the followers.
Sunday brought a bit more wind, but it was still very up and down and shifty as the clouds passed above. Race four started in a pleasant south-westerly, meaning the tide was lifting the fleet up the beat. Restless won the pin and after a couple of minutes managed to cross the fleet on port to lead at mark one with Brian Lamb and Paul Berry sailing 'Wild Thing' in close attendance. On the second beat, Restless lost out badly to the boats that went all the way to the port lay-line, but with some smart spinnaker handling from Sam, they managed to recover their lead to win narrowly from Jay Jay and Wild Thing.
With the wind swinging west, the ever-efficient race team made quick work of re-setting the course for race five where again Restless and Jay Jay did battle with Restless just edging it again.
With the ebb setting in and the wind fading the course was shortened for the final, sixth, race. Selkie won the start by the committee boat and led around the first mark with Restless well down. A close battle down the reaches ended with spinnaker issues for Selkie. A big left shift up the second beat set up Jay Jay, 11043 and Guinness III with a healthy advantage; on the final beat Restless gambled on a repeat, found pressure and lift and was able to tack under Jay Jay to lead around the windward mark. A tight battle down the final reach saw 11043 pip Jay Jay and Guinness III to take second.
So Andrew Wilson and Sam Pygall used their considerable experience of Wayfarer championship racing, along with more than a modicum of luck, to win all six races and the Championship. Their results don't truly reflect the closeness of the racing where a bad shift, a clump of weed or a fluffed spinnaker drop could easily drop you five places. The MacNamara training had clearly helped many, with most teams having their moment near the front.
Overall a great weekend's racing, excellently run by the race team who managed six races for each of two classes, Wayfarers and Snipes, over the same course in some testing conditions. Many thanks to Blackwater Sailing Club for their customary hospitality - with both food and a band laid on for Saturday evening entertainment.
The National Circuit now heads to Grafham Water Sailing Club for the National Championships from 26th to 28th June - an inland freshwater venue that promises a different set of challenges entirely. We look forward to seeing you there!
Overall Results:
| Pos | Boat Name | Sail No | Helm Name | Crew Name | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | Restless | 11093 | Andrew Wilson | Sam Pygall | Datchet | ‑1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 2nd | Jay Jay | 10925 | Graham Hoy | Rob Haigh | Blackwater | 2 | ‑4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 12 |
| 3rd | Selkie | 11323 | Jeremy Evans | Sarah Evans | Priory | 3 | 2 | ‑6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 18 |
| 4th | | 11043 | Steve Perkins | Mike Mansell | Blackwater | 5 | 5 | ‑9 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 20 |
| 5th | Guinness III | 11458 | Nigel O'Donnell | Belinda O'Donnell | Swarkestone | 6 | ‑7 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 24 |
| 6th | Wild Thing | 10875 | Brian Lamb | Paul Berry | Dabchicks | 8 | ‑9 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 27 |
| 7th | | 11356 | Alan Hoy | Janet Hoy | Blackwater | 7 | 3 | 8 | ‑10 | 9 | 7 | 34 |
| 8th | Quicksilver | 10947 | Dominic Fisher | Georgina Fisher | Blackwater | ‑11 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 38 |
| 9th | Nomad | 11183 | Clemency Evans | David Evans | Blackwater | 9 | 6 | ‑10 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 39 |
| 10th | | 10706 | Paul Trueman | Graham Fisher / Ian Smith | Blackwater | 10 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 10 | (DNC) | 43 |
| 11th | Pickle | 11305 | Chris Scott | Toby Hetherington | Broxbourne | 4 | 11 | 12 | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | 53 |
| 12th | | 11131 | Gregory Thompson | Kay Thompson | | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | (DNC) | DNC | 59 |