D-Zero UK Nationals at Dalgety Bay Sailing Club - Runners & Riders
by Martin Latimer 17 Jun 02:46 NZST
25-28 June 2026
Fast starting at Lee-on-the-Solent in 2025 © Jamie Robinson
The D-Zero fleet is thriving and has a reputation for providing great, close and very competitive racing on the water and brilliant craic and friendly support onshore. It attracts top names along with some seriously quick club sailors, and the champions don't always get it their own way. There is bucket loads of talent in this fleet.
This year the Nationals return to Scotland but this time on the East Coast just north of Edinburgh at Dalgety Bay SC, where there is a growing and very competitive fleet of D-Zeros. Harken return as loyal, repeated and much appreciated headline sponsors, with Tunnocks, famed biscuit & cake manufacturers, providing much needed calorific energy to power the fleet.
The big question is who, out of the predicted 35 boat entry, will take this year's crown and who will be there to keep them honest? Here is a run down of just some of the frontline runners, those who think they might be in with a chance and a few famed not for winning but for epic splashes or catastrophes.
With designer Dan (Holman) three times D-Zero Champion not making an appearance - Prime among the front runners are:
2025 National Champion - Adam Cockerill first showed his pace in the D-Zero at the Euros in Weymouth, 2024, by coming third to the winner Ben Flower and topped that winning the Lee-on Solent event. In a recent open meeting Adam even beat the multi-class national and world champion, Nick Craig. People will need to get up early to beat this flyer! Will he be the "Cock of the North"?
Nick Craig - current OK world champion and 2022 D-Zero champ is on fire this year and will be hard charging in heavy airs especially as he'll be one of the bigger guys in the fleet. No one can argue that he doesn't have the credentials to take the event by storm. Nick has a target on his back..... so look out Mr Craig, the D-Zeroists are out to prove that this is a difficult fleet to beat.
Ian Baillie - the "prof", was our 2023 champion, and is a past RS300 champ, and is known for his analytical style and speed in all conditions. Although an "old campaigner" he is fit, fast, has local knowledge and has been putting in the training, he is regularly at the top of the fleet....... He can't be ruled out and may teach us all a lesson.
Alistair Higgins - from the competitive ASYC fleet showed great speed and worked out the right way up the courses in tricky conditions, to take the win, at the recent Largs One Design. How will he perform in the national fleet, or will Aberdonian generosity mean he hands to the win to someone else?
Jon Basset - has had all sorts of good results over the years and has been generally getting faster, at Llandudno, he was narrowly beaten by the prof and could be worth a watching this year, although he claims to be going only to enjoy himself this year..... yeah, yeah Jon.
David Valentine - has bucket loads of talent, because he won't share it with the rest of the fleet, he loves a blow, and has been training hard so could this be his year for the top three? He thinks so!
The Dalgety Bay fleet has been coached by the prof to a high standard and there are some real contenders, armed with local knowledge, that could appear at the top - could it be a local that takes the overall champions trophy in 2026?
Elsewhere we have Jon Aston, from Grafham, who can be very quick has been famed for leaving his boat in style, could put in some good results. Liz Potter, has got Zippy going well, and flying downwind, and no doubt will have plenty of stories to tell post-race. Gordon Stewart will no doubt be fast and noisy and if Martin Latimer makes it anywhere near the top ten in a race he'll drop the tiller, hit the mark or fall out the boat, so he's no threat!
Theres quite a few new names at this years event so there could be some surprises and its all to play for at Dalgety Bay for the Devoti D-Zeros at the end of June. Watch this space for the race reports, and remember "you're always fast when you have a Tunnocks bar aboard".