Rooster 505 Southern Area Championship 2025 at Hayling Island Sailing Club

The Rooster 505 Southern Champs at Hayling Island Sailing Club delivered a weekend of contrasting conditions and a timely reminder of why Hayling remains one of the UK's premier venues for high-performance dinghy sailing.

Saturday's racing fell victim to the weather. Strong winds and challenging sea conditions made racing impractical, with the forecast across southern England warning of a notably unsettled and windy weekend. Gusts approaching 50 mph were seen on Chimet, the local weather station so the fleet were more than happy to sit out the day.

Andy Smith and Jonny Mildred - Rooster 505 Southern Area Championship at Hayling Island - photo © Ingrid Abery / www.ingridabery.com

Fortunately, Sunday brought a significant improvement. While still breezy enough to keep crews on their toes, conditions settled sufficiently to allow the race team to complete four excellent races. Forecasts for Hayling suggested south-westerly winds with gusts around 17-19 knots, providing classic 505 conditions with enough pressure for exciting racing without the excesses seen the previous day.

The fleet of twenty boats enjoyed a full day's competition. Consistency at the front proved decisive, with Roger Gilbert and Ian Mitchell producing a dominant display, recording three race wins and a second place to take overall victory. Michael Sims and Carl Gibbon secured second place through a string of solid results, while Rob Gullan and Paul Childs completed the podium after a strong opening three races.

Ben McGrane and James Ross - Rooster 505 Southern Area Championship at Hayling Island - photo © Ingrid Abery / www.ingridabery.com

As the day progressed, the attritional nature of Hayling's conditions began to take its toll. By the final race several crews elected to head ashore early, either carrying damage from the earlier races or making the sensible decision to avoid turning minor issues into major repairs ahead of the busy summer season leading up to the world champs next month. The reduced fleet size in the last race was a reflection not of diminishing enthusiasm, but of the respect Hayling's sea state commands when the breeze remains up all day.

With four races completed on Sunday after a weather-enforced lay day on Saturday, competitors left Hayling having enjoyed a full and worthwhile regatta. The event provided an excellent warm-up for the up coming world champs and a valuable opportunity for crews to test themselves in the kind of conditions for which Hayling Island has become famous.

Roger Gilbert and Ian Mitchell, overall winners - Rooster 505 Southern Area Championship at Hayling Island - photo © Ingrid Abery / www.ingridabery.com

Overall Results: