First Watersports of 2026 and Racing Programme Released

Published 22:07 on 30 Mar 2026

This Sunday 5 April (Easter Sunday, this year) is the beginning of the 2026 watersports season and the first races, counting towards the Icebreaker Series. Despite having to cancel our second work party due to high winds, we've already made great progress in getting the club ready for the season, so thank you to all our volunteers who have helped out both this month and throughout the winter to fix and improve our facilities. I for one am looking forward to getting back on the water (and hoping to not successfully defend the Capsize Cup). I think we'll need to dress up warmly, though!

Looking ahead, we've updated the website for our Racing Programme for 2026. This shows the schedule of racing series and one-off events, together with the key information you need to know, including timings, our sailing instructions and our updated list of handicaps for 2026, based on the RYA's latest release. Please get the dates in our diaries! If you're new to racing and want a brief introduction as to what to expect, please take a look at our Start Racing Guide.

This time last year, we announced the introduction on a trial basis of an Evening Series on Wednesdays through the summer. We had some absolutely fantastic sailing, but as racing didn't work out, we're planning to run these as social-only watersports evenings this year from the outset. Otherwise, the main change to our programme for 2026 is the introduction of a re-arranged pursuit series. This will run during the Summer on select Sunday mornings, alongside two 'normal' races back-to-back in the afternoon - which will count towards the handicap Summer Series.

I'm planning to be down at the club this Sunday, so (weather permitting - please keep an eye on the forecast), I hope to see you there!

Phil

Race Officer