Miracle Welsh Area Championship 2026 at Shotwick Lake
by Shan Stapley 25 Sep 23:29 PDT
19-20 September 2026
The Welsh Area Miracle Championship, hosted by Shotwick Lake Sailing Club was held on the 19th and 20th September.
Day 1
Saturday's forecast was for a moderate breeze with gusts of 30mph, great conditions for an open aspect club like Shotwick. The wind was strong in the morning accompanied by rain, two races were scheduled for the afternoon.
Nine Miracles registered, with four visiting boats, from Shustoke, Delph, Staunton Harold and Leigh and Lowton.
Wind was a brisk WNW but thankfully the morning rain eased off turning into a perfect day for some fast sailing. The Officers of the day, Conrad and James were able to set a long figure of eight course utilising the whole lake with an excellent broad reach across the diagonal of the lake preceded with a tricky gybe and ending with another one!On safety, were Mark and Jeanette.
The fleet got away cleanly for the first race, with Dave and Zara at the windward mark first, followed closely by the rest of the pack.Then the fun began, a fast downwind leg followed by a quick gybe, and an exciting planning reach across the lake. Everyone was going super-fast, spinnaker up or not, with crews getting drenched with spray. To end the leg another gybe where the gusts seemed to lurk, although our intrepid Miracles all conquered the conditions with no one going for a swim. After the first leg, Dave was 5 seconds in front of Wayne, with a great performance from Matt and Julie just in front of Miracle pro's Graham and Helen.
It was a long hard beat back down the lake but this time Wayne and Angela nudged in front of Dave and Zara. Further down the fleet, positions were changing with close sailing between Mark and Ian and Dave and Shan. Ian was quickly learning spinnaker skills on the move, an enthusiastic replacement for Mark's injured crew Sara. Sailing serenely, a little behind was Geoff, an 80+ helm with an unmistakeable lifejacket, thoroughly enjoying the conditions with Dav who had volunteered to crew expecting a more moderate breeze. After six hectic laps and an hour on the water, the final places were, 1st Wayne and Angela, 2nd Dave and Zara, 3rd Matt and Julie.
There was no time for tea, as the wind threatened to build and six crews took to the water for race 2. This time Matt and Julie were too keen and were recalled, they were in 6th place at the windward mark with a lot of catching up to do. Meanwhile Dave was in first place and he gradually extended his lead at the front, from 14 seconds ahead of Wayne on lap 1 to 90 secs at the finish!The rest of the fleet, maintained positions in exhilarating conditions on the water, plenty of waves and gusts to contend with, the safety crew remained vigilant but not needed.
Everyone enjoyed a very well deserved tea and cake, provided by our lovely galley ladies, Dot and Sandra. Whilst the talk was of the fun sailing and sore body parts, the O.D's were totting up the scores. After two races, two boats tied for 1stplace, Dave/Wayne both on 3 points. With three crews in third on 8 points, Matt/Mark/Graham.
Whilst the Miracle sailors freshened up, Dot and Sandra were busy in the galley preparing supper, in our cosy clubhouse, decorated in nautical style. All went to bed happy with the promise of easing winds and blue skies for the morning. Three more races, everything to play for.
Day 2
Sunday morning dawned bright and blustery with a definite Autumn chill in the air;crews gathered on shore looking at the lake, white horses again! The wind direction was consistent with Saturday, ideal for Shotwick, coming off the estuary. Ashleigh and Danielle joined us for the day from Leigh and Lowton in a similar FRP Miracle to Dave and Shan's.
Conrad and James were once again in charge of the race, with Les and Dave on safety duty. The course remained the same for the two back to back morning races. Club sailors raced in a handicap fleet 5 minutes behind Miracles, although a few regulars were put off by the weather!
It was a clean start for all the Miracles in the first race of the morning, race 3, with everyone close at the windward mark, Wayne, just in front of Dave and Matt.The first three boats had to be on their game, with fast and furious close racing throughout the 5 laps. Some great spinnaker work from crews Zara, Angela and Julie. Eventually Dave took line honours, just in front of Wayne as he sailed into weed before the finish. Graham and Helen/Mark and Ian continuously changed places throughout with Mark crossing the line in front. With the battle of the FRP Miracles next, often racing alongside each other, eventually Ashleigh and Danielle crossed the line first. Miracle 4108, lovingly built by Geoff actually had the first finish of the day, just a lap behind, but sailed well by Geoff and Dav.
The wind was building for race 4, but with a clean start and a difficult beat through waves and gusts, Wayne reached the windward mark first and took only 8 minutes to complete the lap, followed closely by Dave. This race saw close sailing between Mark and Matt, the fast planning reach was super scary with a spinnaker, Matt and Julie opted out but Mark and devil may care Ian, hoisted, managed to hang on to it, and made up considerable distance in the strong gusts.
On the final lap, Matt and Julie, still in third place, decided they had to use the spinnaker, Julie had the spinnaker flying, was strong and determined, a gust hit, Matt bore away and... they lost steering, boat spun round; chasing boats, spectators were baffled but Mark and Ian continued the course, crossed the line third behind Dave, with another 1st for Wayne. Meanwhile Matt and Julie, dropped sails and limped home, their rudder had sheared off, the safety crew found it floating on the lake. This was sadly the end of their open, everyone was impressed with the standard of sailing of both Matt and Julie, and hoped to see them on the water very soon.
As we enjoyed our picnic lunch outside, talk was of the great sailing, unfortunate breakages and the scores on the leaderboard. The top two Miracles were level on 8 points each. The Championship would be decided on the final race.
The final whistle blew, Dave was pushed out of the start by the windward boats, missing the start completely, whilst Wayne surged ahead. At the windward mark, Dave and Zara had made up most of the ground lost, to round second behind Wayne and in front after one lap. The following three boats changed places throughout the race, but it was Dave and Zara in Championship form who pulled away from the fleet to take line honours and the Miracle Welsh Area Championship again. They even sailed a lap of honour, too excited to hear the hooter!
The prize-giving was held in the clubhouse to a packed audience. Dave Thomas, Shotwick Sailing Secretary, thanked everyone for attending, including the race team and the galley girls. And of course, all the competitors from home and away who made the event special.
The overall winner of the Welsh Area Championship, and retaining their title were Dave and Zara, with visitors Wayne and Angela in second place. This year we decided to also give a prize to the highest placed club boat. As many of our visitors were seasoned Miracle sailors, with National credentials, we thought our boats would struggle to make the podium. It was good to be proved wrong, with two club boats in 3rd and 4th place. Mark and Ian highest club boat, 3rd and 4th place to Matt and Julie.
It was a fantastic weekend of sailing with great competition on the water, looking forward to our Miracle Open next year, when we hope even more visitors will attend our great little club.
Shotwick Sailing Club has an active Miracle fleet if you want more information about the club see our website, www.shotwicksailing.org
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Crew | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 3794 | David Turtle | Zara Frankton | Shustoke | ‑2 | 1 | 1 | ‑2 | 1 | 3 |
| 2nd | 4121 | Wayne Atherton | Angela Sweeney | Delph | 1 | ‑2 | ‑2 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 3rd | 4010 | Mark Nield | Ian Duncan | Shotwick Lake | ‑5 | 3 | ‑4 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| 4th | 4011 | Matt Bennett | Julie Dolman | Shotwick Lake | 3 | 5 | 3 | (RET) | (DNC) | 11 |
| 5th | 4114 | Graham Watts | Helen Jacks | Stauton Harold | 4 | 4 | 5 | (DNC) | (DNC) | 13 |
| 6th | 401 | Ashley Southwell | Michelle Raine | Leigh & Lowton | (DNC) | (DNC) | 6 | 4 | 4 | 14 |
| 7th | 4103 | Dave Thomas | Shan Stapley | Shotwick Lake | ‑6 | 6 | ‑7 | 5 | 5 | 16 |
| 8th | 4108 | Geoffrey Weir | Dav Turtle | Shotwick Lake | 7 | (DNC) | 8 | 6 | (DNC) | 21 |
| 9th | 3705 | Jim Young | Chris Draper | Shotwick Lake | (RET) | (DNC) | RET | DNC | DNC | 30 |