Kippford Week and RNLI Regatta 2025 at Solway Yacht Club
by Ian Purkis 17 Aug 17:23 UTC
With a strong entry from sailors from around the UK, it was particularly pleasing to have many recent SYC Cadets moving up to the faster fleets, along with one GP14 crew from Sweden and Australian visitors, all arriving to enjoy great sailing on the "Scottish Riviera".
After Cadet Week when the tides were early, Kippford Week followed a fortnight later with late tides. Initially poor, the weather forecast was improving as the week progressed.
RNLI Regatta Cruisers Race
This year the RNLI Regatta Race was unusually planned for the first day before Kippford Week, and with local radio promoting the event, everything was set for a great day on the water. Unfortunately, the weather had other ideas with the forecast strong winds putting everything in doubt. Sure enough, Saturday dawned very unsettled with gusts of over 30 knots so Principal Race Officer (PRO), Willie Patterson, decided it was only safe to run a race for the larger cruising yachts within the more sheltered River Urr Estuary.
The dinghy fleet was stood down leaving it to just five cruisers taking to the start, others deciding the conditions were not for them. Nevertheless, a close race followed with all five never far apart, line honours going to Fiona and Gordon Blandford in their Hawk 20 but with the NHC handicapping applied, Gary, Avril and Katherine Arkley in another Hawk were declared the winners. To ensure the Regatta Race was still run for the dinghies, a race later in the week would be nominated as the dinghies' RNLI race.
Kippford Week
On Sunday, the main sailing week series got under way and in now near perfect conditions, a large and varied fleet took to the water, having a brisk sail out to the Committee Boat and the start line. A special two-minute silence was held before the first race in memory of the late Lindsay Tosh, a hugely popular and highly respected past commodore of the Club and previous Kippford Week PRO. Once the signal for the end of the silence sounded, the starting sequence started with the fast handicap (HCP1) fleet including the Flying Fifteens going first, slower handicap (HCP2) next and third, the now full turn-out of the cruiser fleet.
Race 1 had the HCP1 fleet on the two long laps out between Castle Point and White Port Bay while the HCP2 fleet were on a shorter course. Meanwhile the cruisers were further out into the Solway. HCP1 winner was the Flying Fifteen of Scott Train and Anne Stewart with Ian Holden and Peter Nelson second in their RS400, while Hamish and Sally Mackay in their Laser 2000, rather cheesily renamed "Acturrly Ourr Lazurr", won HCP2. Race 2 and both HCP fleets sailed the shorter courses, and again the Scott Train / Anne Stewart crew won HCP1, but this time Andrew and Liz Bell in their Albacore were second with the Mackays again winning HCP2. The one Cruiser race went to Richard Carson with his crew of Ian Coke and Lewis Carson in another Hawk 20.
Day 2 and light winds beckoned with warm sunshine. With a few needing a tow out to the Committee Boat, there were repeat HCP1 wins for Scott and Anne's Flying Fifteen, Ian Holden and Pete Nelson having another second in their RS400. Hamish and Sally's Laser 2000 won the first race in HCP2 but were beaten into second by 2024 Club and Cadet Champion Toby Iglehart's ILCA 6 in the second race of the day. The Cruisers race was again won by the Carson crew.
Tuesday was nominated as the replacement day for the dinghies' RNLI race, but it would also count as one of the main Kippford Week series. An additional boat that had only entered the Regatta race joined the main fleet, particularly welcome as entry fees for this annual race are always donated to the Kippford RNLI. In warm sunshine and light winds, the fleet had a rather slow but no less competitive race with boats ghosting round the course with frequent position changes while crews searched out the patches of wind round the bay. Once again, the Flying Fifteen of Scott and Anne sailed where they found the wind to win in HCP1, with the HCP2 race going to the Mackays. The cruisers found it tricky sailing in the light stuff with only four finishers, the race going to Gary and the Arkley family crew.
Back to two races on Wednesday with a pleasant breeze in more warm "Riviera" sun. By now the Train / Stewart Flying Fifteen was dominating the HCP1 fleet with back-to-back wins, although the other "podium" places were being closely contested. HCP2 fleet was getting competitive with John Broadbent and Louise Allen getting their first win of the week in the trusty GP14. Nevertheless, it was back to winning ways for Hamish and Sally in the second HCP2 race of the day. In the Cruisers' race it was a first win for Angus Campbell and crew, Anna Dawson and Christine Smith in yet another Hawk.
On to Thursday and the now very late tide meant just one race to round off the series. To complete their clean sweep, Scott and Anne's Flying Fifteen was again superbly sailed to the hugely deserved HCP1 series win. The final HCP2 race was again won by the Mackay father and daughter crew with the final cruiser race going to Fiona and Gordon, their Hawk getting a well-deserved first handicap win.
That was the sailing, but Kippford Week is famous for its superb social events. Sunday night was the traditional Commodore's Reception with a superb buffet and great socialising with friends old and new. Monday a very well supported quiz and Tuesday the barbecue and games, many enjoying the balmy evening on the club lawn until late. Wednesday was "Race Night" with several helms and crews bravely trading boats for, and "riding", miniature wooden racehorses. Race wins went to jockeys with familiar faces but very unfamiliar names, not least "Thunderpants", culminating in a closely contested, raucously supported final!
After sailing on Thursday, it was the serious business of the Prizegiving. With the Club's stunning collection of silverware going to the winners along with commemorative prizes, there were the special trophies and prizes for the best SYC Cadet, Toby Iglehart; the best u15 Callum McRobert; the outstanding performance, Scott Train; the best presented boat, the beautiful 1956 built Firefly of Alex Cleaver; Fiona Blandford for her greatest contribution of the week, and not forgetting Alex Noble and Huw Williams, "posers" of the week in their Dart 18, thanks to them speeding around everywhere but rarely where the course intended!
Finally, there was a special new trophy, "Sue's Spoon". After a chance meeting with past Commodore Ian Purkis, Sue (nee Rickerby) had been welcomed back to the Club last year after an absence of more than sixty years. She'd sailed with her father Joe in the 1950s and had only ever won a silver teaspoon with the Club's enamel burgee on the handle, donated to the Club last year. For 2025, it had been incorporated onto a new solid yew wood model yacht trophy to be presented to the most senior helm of the week. In graciously accepting the award, Flying Fifteen helm Gordon Daly claimed to be twenty-five years old with another sixty years' experience and recalled how he too had enjoyed sailing with Sue's father back then.
RNLI Regatta Handicap 1 (HCP1):
1st Scott Train and Anne Stewart (Flying Fifteen)
2nd Graham Young (RS Aero)
3rd Steve Gaughan and Beatrice Overend (Osprey)
4th Ian Holden and Pete/Nicola Nelson (RS400)
5th Andrew and Liz Bell (Albacore)
6th Andrew Johnson and Anna Milne (Flying Fifteen)
7th Keith Veasey (Finn)
8th Claire Stewart and Ellie Young (RS200)
9th John Sproat and Chris Nurney (Flying Fifteen)
10th Scott McColm (Finn)
11th Katie Bishop and Nicola McColm (RS400)
12th Gordon Daly and Jamie Gascoigne (Flying Fifteen)
13th Ellie Rowand and Lilli Bell (Fireball)
14th James Bishop and Alex Lammie (Fireball)
15th Katie Harris and Tamsin Wallace (RS200)
16th Alex Noble and Huw Williams (Dart 18)
RNLI Regatta Handicap 2 (HCP2):
1st Hamish and Sally Mackay (Laser 2000)
2nd Toby Iglehart (ILCA6)
3rd Simon Roberts (ILCA7)
4th Alex Cleaver and Emma Fairhurst (Firefly)
5th Tony and Peter Bamforth (GP14)
6th Anna Griffin (ILCA6)
7th Hamish MacDonald (ILCA6)
8th Simon Wilson (ILCA6)
9th John Broadbent and Louise Allen (GP14)
10th Finn Harris (ILCA6)
11th Mark Lewis and Joe Barnes (GP14)
12th James Colbeck (ILCA6)
13th Grant MacDonald (ILCA6)
14th Callum McRobert (ILCA6)
15th Emma Lane (ILCA6)
16th Grant MacDonald (ILCA6)
17th Ida Iglehart and Elise Reilly (RS Feva XL)
RNLI Regatta Cruisers (NHC Handicap):
1st Gary, Avril and Katherine Arkley (Hawk 20)
2nd John Searle and Gareth Jones (Pegasus 800)
3rd Ronnie Coutts and Mark Harris (Sadler 29)
4th Richard Carson, Ian Coke and Lewis Carson (Hawk 20)
5th Fiona and Gordon Blandford (Hawk 20)
Kippford Week Handicap 1 (HCP1):
1st Scott Train and Anne Stewart (Flying Fifteen)
2nd Ian Holden and Pete/Nicola Nelson (RS400)
3rd Andrew and Liz Bell (Albacore)
4th Graham Young (RS Aero)
5th Andrew Johnson and Anna Milne (Flying Fifteen)
6th Keith Veasey (Finn)
7th Steve Gaughan and Beatrice Overend (Osprey)
8th Scott McColm (Finn)
9th John Sproat and Chris Nurney (Flying Fifteen)
10th Katie Bishop and Nicola McColm (RS400)
11th Katie Harris and Tamsin Wallace (RS200)
12th Ellie Rowand and Lilli Bell (Fireball)
13th Claire Stewart and Ellie Young (RS200)
14th James Bishop and Alex Lammie (Fireball)
15th Finlay Train and Hannah Davison (RS200)
16th Alex Noble and Huw Williams (Dart 18)
17th Matt Murray-Downing (Contender)
18th Doug Dinwiddie and Olivia Cleaver (RS400)
19th Richard and Emily Colbeck (Buzz)
20th Gordon Daly and Jamie Gascoigne (Flying Fifteen)
Kippford Week Handicap 2 (HCP2):
1st Hamish and Sally Mackay (Laser 2000)
2nd Toby Iglehart (ILCA6)
3rd Simon Roberts (ILCA7)
4th Stephen Brisley (ILCA7)
5th Tony and Peter Bamforth (GP14)
6th Finn Harris (ILCA6)
7th John Broadbent and Louise Allen (GP14)
8th Alex Cleaver and Emma Fairhurst (Firefly)
9th Anna Griffin (ILCA6)
10th Hamish MacDonald (ILCA6)
11th Mark Lewis and Joe Barnes (GP14)
12th Simon Wilson (ILCA6)
13th James Colbeck (ILCA6)
14th Lucy Geffray (ILCA6)
15th Callum McRobert (ILCA6)
16th Ian Briggs (ILCA6)
17th Emma Lane (ILCA6)
18th Ida Iglehart and Elise Reilly (RS Feva XL)
19th Grant MacDonald (ILCA6)
20th Aleksei Wishart (Laser Pico)
Kippford Week Cruisers (NHC Handicap):
1st Richard Carson, Ian Coke and Lewis Carson (Hawk 20)
2nd Gary, Avril and Katherine Arkley (Hawk 20)
3rd Angus Campbell, Anna Dawson and Christine Smith (Hawk 20)
4th John Searle and Gareth Jones (Pegasus 800)
5th Fiona and Gordon Blandford (Hawk 20)
6th Ronnie Coutts and Mark Harris (Sadler 29)
7th Neil and Heather McCormack (Sunfast 20)