The class motto – Serious Sailing, Serious Fun…. Ullswater Yacht Club did not disappoint – it is a glorious setting, surrounded by stunning mountainous scenery, friendly and well organised plus we were blessed with sunshine and wind (but not much).
The Snipe designed in 1931, has a massive international following and a huge variety of sailors. It is an easy boat to sail but is difficult to sail well due to its technicality and fierce competition.
Friday morning, the fleet were met with a glassy looking lake but Sean – the local race officer was confident there would be racing. After a postponement the wind filled in, so we hit the water for some fun and interesting races. Large mountains around made sure the light wind was shifty, and puffy with plenty of opportunity for gains and losses throughout the day.
Two windward/leeward races were completed, and a third race was started but abandoned as the wind became more unstable late in the afternoon.
It was Joe Warwicker and Andy Service who got to grips with the conditions and started the series with a dominant two first places, Yohei Koso and Katia Royer followed closely behind with two second places. The tricky conditions and individual recall on the second race start meant some possible contenders had already added some high points to the score sheet which they were hoping they would be able to discard.
On Friday evening the Serious Fun, after the Commodores BBQ, mayhem of a class games night ensued, won (by fair means or foul) by the All-Star team with a special award to Chris Surridge for his enthusiasm and ingenuity!
Three races on Saturday were again held in “snakes and ladders” conditions. There were plenty of opportunities to be had, with patches of wind funnelling down the lake.
During Race 3 Tim and Kay Tavinor built a good lead but were chased hard by Yohei and Katia who finally finished within a few boat lengths. Guy Marks and Sam Boniface finished third.
Race 4 saw Joe and Andy leading again with the Wolstenholmes and Neil Martin chasing hard. Concentration was vital with small dark patches of wind visible across the course but not always easy to get to!
Race 5, at the end of a long and mentally challenging day, proved things are “never over until the fat lady sings.” The leading bunch lost count of the number of laps (four) they had sailed and started heading back upwind instead of going to the finish, this reshuffled the leaders with Yohei and Katia taking first place. Lloyd Roberts and Emma Preen second, and Matthew Wolstenholme and Eichi Higuchi 3rd.
The Race Officer assured us they had recorded a 20.6 knot gust during the racing, but I think most of the sailors blinked and missed it.
A splendid dinner and celebration of the long-standing Snipe Class chairman Brian Gregory’s birthday filled Sunday evening. Our event sponsors P&B and Allen Brothers received plenty of mentions by the master of ceremonies and received great cheers of support from the participants.
Sunday morning – mirror conditions on Ullswater again. After a postponement, a start was attempted but abandoned as the wind failed to sufficiently stabilise, so we all headed ashore.
Despite the challenging and tricky conditions everyone enjoyed the venue and racing. With five races completed a discard kicked in and Yohei and Katia who sailed remarkably consistently took the UK Snipe National Championship 2025.
Report by Kay Tavinor
Results:
