Dinghy Racing Reports

6-7 June 2026

Yachts and Yachting write up by James Morland 10 Jun

The Rooster RS600 Warsash open event got off to an ominous start with an announcement on Friday evening that all racing on Saturday was cancelled due to the heavy forecast. With peak wind speeds recorded on Saturday of 43.5 knots, this turned out to be a great call from the race officer and allowed the competitors to relax for the day and enjoy other activities.

Sunday dawned to a more reasonable 20-25 knots. The perfect hangover cure from the night before. The sea state was still large so made the conditions punchy but perfectly sail-able. 4 races were scheduled with no starts after 13.30 so everyone headed out straight after the briefing to get settled in for a long day.

Race 1 started with a committee boat favoured end. George Smith had a slight wobble with around 30 seconds to go but recovered the boat quickly to start on time off the windward third of the line. With Jamie Mawson just to leeward, and Will Russell and James Morland just to windward, it was a drag race out to the left-hand side of the beat.

James Morland tacked out first, taking the transoms of the others, and at the first top mark, it was George, followed by Jamie and then James. After a few position changes, the race finished with George Smith 1st, Jamie Mawson 2nd and James Morland 3rd.

Race 2. A full fleet of RS600s crossed the start line, which also turned out to be the beginning of a war of attrition for much of the fleet. Warsash local Tim Norris won the committee boat end and was going well up the first beat. The heavier crews had a bit of an upwind speed advantage, and at the first top mark, it was George in the lead again with Jamie and James chasing hard.

The positions held until the last upwind leg when James Morland broke a trapeze wire and headed to the beach to make repairs. The drama continued through the fleet when Tim Norris’ mast decided to reef itself through his foredeck. This left George Smith to take his second win of the day, followed by Tim Cutsforth in 2nd and Jamie Mawson in 3rd.

Race 3. With wind speeds between 20 and 25 knots the racing was fast and frantic. George Smith and Will Russell showed excellent speed and boat handling to come in 1st and 2nd, with Will pushing hard. The fight for third place was won by Tim Cutsforth, who sailed consistently to fight off Jamie Mawson, who finished fourth.

It was also a particularly costly race for some of the fleet, with James Cowen suffering a broken mast, forcing him out of the remainder of the day.

Race 4. With George now owning a perfect scoreline, he did not need to do the last race, so he headed home for a lie down. This caused some confusion with Will and Tim heading home as well, thinking the racing had finished for the day.

This left James Morland and Jamie to finish out the day. With James back on the beach refitting his diamond wires (they came loose and fell off in race 3) and Jamie struggling to keep his rudder on his boat due a damaged pintle, it was Jamie who made the start with James making it to the line around 30 seconds late.

Jamie sailed the course with few mistakes, James swam round most of the course but just needed to finish to regain a complete scoreline which he did.

Jamie got a well deserved win for his efforts and on the way home his rudder gave up completely and came to join him in the cockpit.

At the end of the day George Smith took the win, Jamie Mawson was second, James Morland third and Tim Cutsforth was fourth.

We all had a fantastic weekend. Thank you to Warsash Sailing Club and all the volunteers for keeping everyone entertained throughout the weekend and for making the most of the Saturday by getting 4 races in for 3 fleets in challenging conditions.

Finally, thank you to Rooster Sailing for supporting the RS600 class with great prizes!

Overall Results:

Pos	Sail No	Helm	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	Pts
1st	1005	George Smith	Bough Beech Sailing Club	1	1	1	(DNS)	3
2nd	1001	Jamie Mawson	Notts County SC	2	3	‑5	1	6
3rd	898	James morland	Warsash SC	3	(DNF)	4	2	9
4th	800	Tim Cutsforth	Felpham Sailing Club	5	2	3	(DNC)	10
5th	1011	Will Russell	Grafham Water Sailing Club	4	4	2	(DNC)	10
6th	668	James Cowen	Weston SC	7	5	(RET)	DNC	21
7th	811	Timothy Norris	Warsash SC	6	(DNF)	DNC	DNC	24
8th	942	Bradley Field	Warsash SC/ Benfleet YC	(DNF)	DNF	DNC	DNC	27

Photo header credit: RS600 Rooster National Tour Event 2 at Warsash © Laurie Callaghan

All photo credit to © Laurie Callaghan

2nd May 2026

Warsash Sailing Club hosted its annual Club Championships on Saturday, 2nd May. The variety of conditions and 25 classes of boat across the 64 entries reflected the diversity of sailing available at the club. This event was for the dinghies, with four races taking place in Southampton Water across Fast, Medium, Slow and Junior fleets.

Peter Knight and his experienced race team set a trapezoid course, which provided incredibly close racing. So close in fact that first and second overall in each fleet were to be decided by a single point or on count-back.

The first race started in about 6 knots and glorious sunshine. It seemed that going left upwind paid, which is typically where the leaders emerged from. Races two and three took place in 11-14 knots, providing planing conditions for most boats and making it challenging for the asymmetrics to hold their kites on the reaches. The closely fought racing and proximity to the mouth of the River Hamble provided a great spectacle for the Bank Holiday Weekend traffic, with one spectator quipping that the top reach was like watching a SailGP start.

Mother Nature mixed things up for the fourth and final race, with a bit of much needed liquid refreshment falling from above, killing the breeze for a while. The excitement returned on the sail home with a squall under dramatic skies.

There were smiles all round in the club afterwards for the prize-giving and social. A warm round of applause in recognition of the volunteers’ efforts kicked things off, with another in gratitude for our sponsors; Henri-Lloyd, North Sails and our local chandlery; Xtremity Sports. All had generously provided a variety of prizes for the top three in each fleet and spot prizes besides. Thank you.

With the fleet podiums decided, focus turned to hearing who had become the Club Champion of 2026. The numbers were punched into the Warsash supercomputer to determine the fastest boat across all fleets in the last race, based on average lap times. The well-deserved winner and ex-British Sailing Team member was Pete McCoy in his Finn. Only he will know whether this win means more to him than his U23 Finn European Champion title.

Congratulations to the winners, to all who took part and those who worked behind the scenes to put on a great event. Thank you once again to our sponsors for supporting a vibrant club at the mouth of the River Hamble.

Junior Fleet podium:
1st William, Optimist
2nd George, Optimist
3rd Bear, Optimist
Full results

Fast Fleet podium:
1st Tim Norris, RS600
2nd David Swift & Rob Burgess, RS400
3rd Bruce Mills & Andrea Jarman, RS400
Full results

Medium Fleet podium:
1st Merrick Stanley & Victoria Upton, RS200
2nd Pete McCoy, Finn
3rd Martin Hughes, Finn
Full results

Slow Fleet podium:
1st Henry Noel, ILCA 6
2nd Maxwell & Leo, RS Feva
3rd Julie Maidment, Solo
Full results

Overall Warsash SC Club Champion 2026: Pete McCoy, Finn.

We’re just a few days away from one of the highlights of the year for Warsash SC sailors; the Club Championships, which will take place on Saturday 2nd May.

Entries have been flooding in; volunteers have been finalising plans and sorting logistics. Our chef, Billy has been beavering away to ensure we can be fed after the racing, pre-order your food here and the bar is ready to refresh thirsty competitors and their supporters.

Thank you to our sponsors – Henri Lloyd, North Sails and Xtremity Sports – for their generous support and to the volunteers who have stepped forward to help run the event, with particular thanks to Peter Knight and his experienced Race Team.

We’re still looking for a RIB driver and three RIB crews. If you’re available and would like to join the action then please volunteer via the Duty Roster. Thank you.

Key points

Before the event:

• Entries should be completed 48 hours before the event in order to help final preparations
• Order your food by Saturday 10am for the post-racing social
• Familiarise yourself with the Sailing Instructions

On the day:

• Four races for Fast, Medium, Slow and Junior fleets in Warsash SC Bay (formerly Cat Head Bay)
• Briefing at 11:00 in Shore House
• First start at 12:15
• Races run back-to-back
• Prize-giving ASAP after racing
• Food from 17:00
• Social continues into the evening

We know just how many people are looking forward to the friendly, competitive event that the will ultimately crown the Warsash SC Club Champions of 2026. Come and join us!