Ajax National Championship 2026 at Royal Harwich Yacht Club

Ajax Nationals 2026 at Royal Harwich Yacht Club © Tim Clark

Ajax Nationals 2026 at Royal Harwich Yacht Club © Tim Clark

The Royal Harwich Yacht Club hosted the Ajax National Championship 2026 from 19-21 June, with racing held in the familiar waters of Dovercourt Bay.

A fleet of 12 boats assembled for three days of largely light wind racing, with some curveballs thrown in to keep sailors and the Race Officer alike, on their toes.

Day 1 - Light airs, big tide, and patience required

Race 1

The Championship opened in 6-7 knots from the SSE on a two lap windward-leeward. A square line and strong adverse tide held much of the fleet back, with Avocet (Doug / Ian Sharps) near the pin, Thunderer (John Williams) and Storm Petrel (Jackie Mackellar) mid line, and Orwell (Josh Richardson) at the committee boat.

Early tackers Mars (Thomas Davey), Telamon (Gordon Sutton), Indefatigable (Chris / Derek Mayhew) and Orwell headed right into less tide, while Avocet, Thunderer and Storm Petrel initially led left before tacking off. Indefatigable picked the perfect shift to cross back, with Avocet rounding ahead of Dionysius (Phil Mayhew) and Prometheus (Tim Archer) at the first windward mark.

Down the run, keeping clear air and resisting the temptation to sail too low proved more important than the tide. Thunderer broke through into third, while Mars claimed inside rights on Telamon and Prometheus to round fifth behind Dionysius.

The breeze then collapsed to a couple of knots, turning the final beat into an agonising crawl against the tide to a shortened 1 lap finish. Indefatigable held on for the win ahead of Avocet, with Thunderer third.

A postponement followed while the sea breeze was supposed to build. It never materialised and we ended up with a return to about 6 knots from the same direction for race 2.

Race 2

With the same course and a slightly boat biased line, Avocet won the committee boat end cleanly, with Indefatigable starting mid line. Most of the fleet tacked early into the favourable right hand tide relief.

A developing left shift rewarded those who delayed their first tack, Avocet leading with Indefatigable and Orwell also in contention. The left shift made the run largely one sided, and the committee relaid the windward mark 20° left for the second beat.

Avocet extended up the next beat, while Indefatigable needed a covering tack on Orwell at the end of the second lap to maintain second. Thunderer finished just ahead of Mars for fourth.

Prometheus again featured prominently at the first windward mark, a welcome theme of the weekend.

Race 3

After lunch the breeze built to 8-9 knots, and a sausage-triangle (2 laps) was set. The line was again boat favoured and again won by Avocet, with the fleet heading right in search of the now familiar tidal relief.

Avocet and Indefatigable led early, chased by Dionysius and Storm Petrel. Through the triangle and final sausage, Indefatigable proved the quickest in the strengthening but patchy breeze, extending steadily to take a comfortable win. Dionysius closed on Avocet, while Orwell pulled through to fourth as the wind faded and the race was shortened after the second sausage.

Indefatigable and Avocet led from Avocet overnight, both having taken the top two places in each race. The rest of the fleet largely decided that they had used their discard at some point during the day, such was the closeness of the racing.

Day 2 - Big shifts, and a tactical workout for all involved

Race 4

A broadly Southerly course axis with skies that looked like a sea breeze was in order set the scene for a two lap windward-leeward for the start of Day 2. The line was again boat biased, with Orwell, Thunderer and Avocet nearest the favoured end.

Thunderer tacked out early with Mars and Teal, catching a big right shift that saw them look extremely handsome for a while. Orwell and Indefatigable also made gains from a lefty on the other side of the course. Thunderer rounded ahead of Indefatigable and Orwell, and a very deep run allowed the leader to extend slightly before covering up as best they could up the next beat. Indefatigable rounded inside at the final windward mark. An early gybe on the run allowed Thunderer to roll and lead at the bottom, eventually securing the win by half a boat length. Avocet slipped past Orwell late in the race for third.

Race 5

The same wind axis remained for the start, but the race quickly turned into a game of huge shifts on a two lap sausage-triangle. Orwell won the boat end with Thunderer just to leeward.

The right hand side repeatedly paid in shifts that no one expected, bringing Teal (Giles Wright), Dionysius, Avocet and Indefatigable into the leading group. The breeze progressively rotated right throughout the race, making both triangles broad reach out / tight reach back affairs.

Indefatigable escaped first and made the most of the being out front. Behind them, Thunderer got the luckiest with the shifts, passing Avocet on lap 3 and then Mars and Dionysius on lap 4. Dionysius held off Avocet for fourth.

Credit to the Race Officer and mark layers for managing to move the windward mark hundreds of meters over the course of the race to true things up as best they could.

Race 6

A three lap windward-leeward began in fading breeze, leaving most of the fleet very late to the line. Orwell, Avocet and Indefatigable were closest to the line at the gun.

The first beat was all about hooking into the right shifts and tacking in the gusts with boat speed. Indefatigable mastered this and was not seen again. A left shift turned the first run into a broad reach, with Prometheus initially well in the mix.

The breeze collapsed again at the leeward mark, punishing those who tacked without boat speed. Indefatigable and Orwell caught the new pressure first and stretched away on the right hand side of the final beat. Avocet and Thunderer fought a tight battle for fourth, decided only in the final metres.

Indefatigable needed a shocker of a final day to be beaten for the title, while second through to fifth was wide open.

Day 3 - A surprise breeze, then a slow fade

Race 7

A surprisingly punchy NE breeze greeted the fleet for a planned three lap windward-leeward (later shortened to two as the breeze, once again, faded) and had us reaching for something waterproof. The weekend's only general recall was followed by a heavily pin biased restart.

As they love to do, Avocet won the pin biased line, with height to burn up the first part of the beat, reaching the first shift comfortably bow forward. Most of the fleet went right, but the left paid, allowing Avocet to lead from Mars and Indefatigable.

The run was even, but Indefatigable climbed through on the next beat, while Orwell made major gains on the left. Several boats misjudged the lay line and paid heavily in extra tacks. Thunderer passed Mars for third, with Orwell close behind in fourth as the race was shortened in a dying breeze.

With the top two effectively decided, the final race still held plenty of interest for the chasing pack.

Race 8

Another pin biased start saw Avocet, Thunderer, Orwell and Mars stacked at the favoured end. Once again the left paid, and Orwell led at the top mark from Avocet and Mars.

The second beat reinforced the pattern, with Avocet losing out on the right to those who committed left. Orwell stretched away to a clear win in Josh's first championship steering an Ajax, Mars held second under the command of young Thomas Davey, and Avocet jumped Thunderer on the final beat for third.

The 2026 National Championship delivered three days of tactical variety: light air tide management, unexpected shifts, and a final day breeze that arrived and vanished on its own schedule. Overall Chris & Derek Mayhew and James Deaton in Indefatigable were a class ahead of the chasing pack. They were consistently in the right place at the right time and sailing very fast upwind to boot. After losing out to Avocet at last year's East Coast Championships, they sailed an extremely clean regatta to return the favour this year. Elsewhere some new faces to steering Ajax's in Josh Richardson and Thomas Davey showed showed huge potential to be right at the front in coming years. The return of Apollo (Jonathan Prosser) to Championship racing was also most welcome.

Race Officer Neil Collingridge and his team did an exceptional job of keeping races fair, turning them round with minimal delay and deserve a lot of credit. Class captain Graham Aubrey (Polly Oliver) organised the event brilliantly, including a wonderful BBQ on Friday evening and the Championship Dinner at the RHYC on Saturday.

Overall Results:
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