Ullswater Yacht Club Opens 2026 Season with the Magic Marine Daffodil Regatta

by Ullswater Yacht Club 1 May 15:31 UTC 25-26 April 2026

Ullswater Yacht Club opened its 2026 open meeting season in excellent style with a highly successful Magic Marine Daffodil Regatta. Despite light and often unpredictable conditions, the weekend delivered a strong start to the year, combining competitive racing across three course areas with a well-run and welcoming event environment.

Although the weather proved challenging at times, a three-race series was successfully completed across all courses. Saturday began with a postponement ashore as race teams waited for a stable breeze to establish. Once racing got under way, competitors were met with patchy, shifting conditions across the lake, making for highly tactical sailing where consistency proved key.

A late thermal later in the afternoon brought a more settled 6-8 knot breeze, allowing further races to be completed and securing a solid day's racing across the fleets.

Sunday required even greater patience. Competitors launched into very light conditions and faced an extended postponement afloat, with an initial start attempt abandoned as the breeze faded. By early afternoon, however, a southerly wind filtered through the narrows, building to 7-10 knots and providing the most consistent conditions of the weekend. Race teams acted efficiently to complete two further races within the time limit.

Across all courses, fleets ranging from Musto Skiffs and VX Ones, alongside RS200s, Tempests and 2000s, as well as fast handicap dinghies, cruisers, D-Zeros, OKs and junior sailors within the handicap fleet, enjoyed close and competitive racing. The variable conditions led to frequent position changes, particularly downwind, placing a premium on decision-making and adaptability.

Ashore, the club delivered its trademark atmosphere, with visiting sailors and members enjoying a warm welcome and a lively social programme, including live music on Saturday evening. As the first open meeting of the season, the regatta provided a positive early benchmark for the year ahead.

“We were delighted to host the Magic Marine Daffodil Regatta and to welcome visiting sailors alongside our members,” said General Manager Jack Allan. “It’s an important early-season event for the club, and the way the weekend was delivered across both racing and onshore activity reflects the standards we consistently aim to deliver, both on the water and across the wider event.” The event once again highlighted the scale of volunteer contribution required to deliver multi-course racing of this nature, with race teams and support crews working throughout the weekend to adapt to the conditions and complete a fair and competitive series.

More Tim Olin photos can be found here.

Overall Results:

Pos	Class	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Club	PY	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Pts
Slow Handicap
1st	SNIPE	30834	PAALMAN Eric	Eve Paalman	Budworth Sailing Club	1104	2	1	1	‑3	3	7
2nd	SNIPE	29676	HARRISON Nigel	Dianne Owen	Budworth Sailing Club	1104	1	2	2	‑9	2	7
3rd	RS FEVA XL	504	MARSH Jess	Evie Pickles	Hollingworth / Bassenthwaite	1248	‑9	3	7	4	1	15
4th	ILCA 6 / Laser Radial	216378	MCALEA Andrew		Ullswater Yacht Club	1156	5	5	6	‑10	4	20
5th	RS TERA SPORT	3829	PRIESTLEY Agnes		Ullswater Yacht Club	1452	7	9	3.5	2	(DNF)	21.5
6th	SNIPE	30227	PRESTWICH James	Paul Donnelly	Budworth Sailing Club	1104	4	6	‑9	8	5	23
7th	RS AERO 6	4640	MEYNELL Zoe		Scaling Dam Sailing Club	1098	10	8	3.5	‑11	6	27.5
8th	RS FEVA XL	3271	BROOKER Jennifer	Elizabeth Johnson	Windermere School	1248	‑12	4	10	6.5	7	27.5
9th	RS FEVA XL	8792	COWEN Henry	George Allan Harry Owens	Windermere School	1248	‑14	12	14	1	9	36
10th	RS AERO 7	2669	ANSON Stephen	Steve Anson	Morecambe Sailing Club	1062	3	10	11	12	(DNC)	36
11th	SUPERNOVA	1175	MACDONALD Andrew		Castle Semple Sailing Club	1075	6	7	8	(DNC)	DNC	39
12th	TOPPER	27594	MCKEEVER		Windermere School	1369	‑15	14	13	6.5	8	41.5
13th	RS AERO 7	3962	WALLACE Neil	Neil Wallace	Morecambe Sailing Club	1062	11	11	12	13	(DNC)	47
14th	FINN	59	Rob Copley		Ullswater Yacht Club	1049	8	(NSC)	5	DNC	DNC	49
15th	ILCA 7 / Laser	225666	LYONS John		Ullswater Yacht Club	1103	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	5	DNC	59
16th	RS FEVA XL	8518	MCDONALD Orla	Harry Owens	Windermere School	1248	13	13	15	(DNC)	DNC	59
17th	RS AERO 6	4500	LUNN Cathy		Leigh and Lowton Sailing Club	1098	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	72
OK Fleet
1st	OK	20	TUSHINGHAM Roger		Peek Freen Sailing Club	1092	1	1	1	1	(RET)	4
2nd	OK	91	HOPWOOD Ian		Bassenthwaite Sailing Club	1092	2	2	3	(DNC)	DNC	17
3rd	OK	44	TURNER Chris		Lyme Regis Sailing Club	1092	6	3	2	(DNC)	DNC	21
4th	OK	2166	BAINES Chris		Morecambe Sailing Club	1092	4	4	5	(DNC)	DNC	23
5th	OK	2238	MACGREGOR Hugh		Largs Sailing Club	1092	3	7	6	(DNC)	DNC	26
6th	OK	14	ROBERTSON Karen		Loch Earn SC / Dalgety Bay SC	1092	7	5	4	(DNC)	DNC	26
7th	OK	75	FAY Simon		Tynemouth Sailing Club	1092	5	6	7	(DNC)	DNC	28
8th	OK	17	BOURNE Dave		Herne Bay	1092	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	40
8th	OK	2176	LEWIS Paul		Ullswater Yacht Club	1092	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	40
D‑Zero Fleet
1st	DEVOTI D‑ZERO	307	HITCHMAN Wil		Shropshire Sailing Club	1029	‑3	1	1	3	2	7
2nd	DEVOTI D‑ZERO	333	POTTER Liz	Singlehanded	West Kirby Sailing Club	1029	‑7	3	7	1	1	12
3rd	DEVOTI D‑ZERO	191	AUSTIN N B		Cransley Sailing Club	1029	1	6	3	‑7	3	13
4th	DEVOTI D‑ZERO	336	BAILLIE Ian		Dalgety Bay Sailing Club	1029	‑10	2	2	4	5	13
5th	DEVOTI D‑ZERO	189	BRYANT Richard		Annandale Sailing Club	1029	2	‑11	5	6	4	17
6th	DEVOTI D‑ZERO	206	TAYLOR Peter		Dalgety Bay Sailing Club	1029	6	4	‑11	2	8	20
7th	DEVOTI D‑ZERO	366	KITCHEN David		Dalgety Bay Sailing Club	1029	4	‑9	8	8	7	27
8th	DEVOTI D‑ZERO	358	STEWART Gordon		NHEBSC	1029	5	7	10	5	(DNC)	27
9th	DEVOTI D‑ZERO	229	ELLIS John		Scaling Dam Sailing Club	1029	8	10	4	(DNC)	6	28
10th	DEVOTI D‑ZERO	160	LIMB Simon		Largs Sailing Club	1029	9	5	6	(DNC)	DNC	32
11th	DEVOTI D‑ZERO	57	LATIMER Martin		Largs Sailing Club	1029	11	8	9	(DNC)	DNC	40
2000 Fleet
1st		2318	THOMPSON Oliver	Elliott Thompson	West Riding Sailing Club	1122	1	1	1			3
2nd		2063	BANKS Alistair	Sam Lewis	West Riding Sailing Club	1122	2	3	2			7
3rd		2049	COOK Matt	Helen Cook	West Riding Sailing Club	1122	3	2	3			8
4th		22734	BRADLEY Trevor	Merrin Froggett	Thornton Steward Sailing Club	1122	4	6	4			14
5th		22694	ROSE Alistair	Phoebe Rose	Killington Sailing Association	1122	6	4	5			15
6th		22673	MCVEY Jonny	Simon McVey	Royal Air Force	1122	5	5	6			16
7th		2205	THOMPSON Ian	Andrew Bailey	Ullswater Yacht Club	1122	9	7	7			23
8th		2587	BOSWELL Guy	Julie Boswell	Llandegfedd Sailing Club	1122	7	8	8			23
9th		2399	WARNER Jane	Kate Sargeant Jonathan Dorey	Ullswater Yacht Club	1122	8	9	RET			27
Tempest Fleet
1st		1161	MODRAL‑GIBBONS Jon	Colin Meadows	Hornet SSC	942	1	1	1			3
2nd		1109	MUNTON Phil	Theodore Holmes	Carsington SC / Rudyard Lake SC	942	4	2	2			8
3rd		1114	HIGGENS Robin	Peter Robinson	Ullswater Yacht Club	942	3	3	3			9
4th		1089	BUDDEN Derek	Liam Gray	HSSC	942	2	4	4			10
5th		1125	THOMPSON Alexander	Luke Symmonds	HSSC / Hornet	942	5	5	5			15
6th		1091	THOMPSON George	James Thompson	Hornet SSC	942	RET	DNC	DNC			21
RS200 Fleet
1st		1003	SHARMAN Matthew	Oliver Sharman	Delph Sailing Club	1053	1	1	1			3
2nd		1606	SMITH Martin	Barbara Smith	Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club	1053	3	4	2			9
3rd		1657	PICKLES Chris	Lauren Marsh	Bassenthwaite Sailing Club	1053	2	3	5			10
4th		1560	WARD Jon	Heather Ward	Budworth Sailing Club	1053	5	2	4			11
5th		1520	TAYLOR Alex	Rory Taylor	Budworth Sailing Club	1053	4	5	3			12
6th		438	WHITELEY April	Annabelle Pound	Windermere School	1053	6	6	6			18
7th		1132	CLARKE Harriot	Chris Brooks	Ullswater Yacht Club	1053	7	7	7			21
8th		720	GRICE David	Chris Grice	Budworth Sailing Club	1053	DNC	DNC	DNC			27
Fast Handicap
1st	RS400	1515	MARSH Heather	Heather Marsh	Hollingworth Lake Sailing Club	945	1	‑3	1	1	1	4
2nd	DEVOTI D‑ONE	8	COATES Alistair		Leigh and Lowton Sailing Club	957	2	2	2	‑4	3	9
3rd	FlYING FIFTEEN	3517	CHANDLER Charlie	Ian Nichols	Tewkesbury Cruising and Sailing Club	1028	3	1	3	3	‑4	10
4th	FlYING FIFTEEN	4109	David Chandler	Nicola Abbatt	Ullswater Yacht Club	1028	‑6	5	4	5	2	16
5th	VX AIR	44	GROVES Ollie	Esther Groves	Yorkshire Dales / Beaver SC	870	4	‑7	5	2	5	16
6th	INTERNATIONAL 14	1565	Adam Ovington	Stu Keegan	Tynemouth Sailing Club	758	7	6	‑9	6	6	25
7th	K6	119	WARING Eddie	Mike Deane	South Windermere Sailing Club	900	5	‑11	7	8	7	27
8th	4000	4249	SPENCER Joseph	Andy Spencer	Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club	923	‑8	8	6	7	8	29
9th	INTERNATIONAL 14	15	SHELLEY Jonathan	Graham Priestley	Ullswater Yacht Club	758	9	4	8	(DNC)	DNC	34
10th	49ER	343	LYONS Matty	James Lyons	Ullswater Yacht Club	697	(DNC)	9	10	9	DNC	41
11th	29ER	1159	PRIESTLEY Laia	Hayden Gridley	Ullswater Yacht Club	900	11	‑12	11	10	9	41
12th	49ER	1111	FINDLAY Callum	Andrew Webster	Ullswater Yacht Club	697	10	10	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	46
VX‑One Fleet
1st	VX ONE	80	MATTHEWS Mike	Gary Rutherford	Staunton Harold Sailing Club	860	‑2	1	2	1	2	6
2nd	VX ONE	189	CLARKE David	Edmund Clarke	Ullswater Yacht Club	860	‑5	3	1	5	3	12
3rd	VX ONE	406	NOBLE Lester	Mark Simpson	Ullswater Yacht Club	860	1	‑5	3	3	5	12
4th	VX ONE	203	LEWIS Tony	Andrew Cutting	Ullswater Yacht Club	860	3	‑9	5	6	1	15
5th	VX ONE	267	WATSON Sam	Sam Hodgkins		860	‑8	2	6	4	6	18
6th	VX ONE	149	LOCKEY Keith	Paul Adams	Ullswater Yacht Club	860	‑9	7	9	2	4	22
7th	VX ONE	300	ROBSON John	Jason Bridgman	Ullswater Yacht Club	860	6	4	8	8	(DNC)	26
8th	VX ONE	394	NOBLE Anne	Tim Whitehead	Ullswater Yacht Club	860	4	8	4	(DNC)	DNC	27
9th	VX ONE	180	BLACKBURN Chris	George Rice	Ullswater Yacht Club	860	‑7	6	7	7	7	27
10th	VX ONE	173	COUCH Andy	Mart Couch	Blithfield Sailing Club	860	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	44
Musto Skiff Fleet
1st	MUSTO SKIFF	642	HURTER Euan		Dalgety Bay Sailing Club	830	‑8	1	2	1	1	5
2nd	MUSTO SKIFF	2	RICHARDSON Robert		Ovington boats	830	‑4	4	1	2	2	9
3rd	MUSTO SKIFF	651	HILTON James		Dalgety Bay Sailing Club	830	2	5	5	3	‑6	15
4th	MUSTO SKIFF	649	TROTTRR Daniel		Derwent Resevoir Sailing Club	830	‑7	2	6	5	4	17
5th	MUSTO SKIFF	414	SMITH Richard		WOBYC	830	(DNS)	8	3	4	3	18
6th	MUSTO SKIFF	481	MORAN Josh		Ullswater Yacht Club	830	3	‑7	7	6	7	23
7th	MUSTO SKIFF	633	PENTY James		Beaver Sailing Club	830	5	6	8	‑9	5	24
8th	MUSTO SKIFF	546	TROTTER Ian		Derwent Resevoir Sailing Club	830	9	3	4	(DNC)	DNC	30
9th	MUSTO SKIFF	448	REEKIE John		Bassenthwaite Sailing Club	830	1	(DNC)	DNC	7	DNC	36
10th	MUSTO SKIFF	334	TROTTER Robert		Derwent Resevoir Sailing Club	830	6	9	10	(DNC)	DNC	39
11th	MUSTO SKIFF	238	WATTS James		Ullswater Yacht Club	830	10	‑11	11	10	9	40
12th	MUSTO SKIFF	620	KERR Alistair		None	830	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	8	8	44
13th	MUSTO SKIFF	255	SCOTT Andrew		Dalgety Bay Sailing Club	830	(DNS)	10	9	DNC	DNC	47
Cruiser Fleet
1st	BENETEAU FIRST 21.7	3157	BROWN Colin	Samantha Harding	Ullswater Yacht Club	1105	1	1				2
2nd	BENETEAU FIRST 25.7	355	KING Steven	Jane King	Ullswater Yacht Club	1153	2	2				4
3rd	BENETEAU FIRST 21.7	35L	HOLLAND Phil	Chris Rawsthorne	UYC/Carsington	1105	3	3				6
4th	DEHLER 25	399	LOCKWOOD Stuart	Mark Robinson	Ullswater Yacht Club	1133	5	4				9
5th	BENETEAU FIRST 235	78T	PICKERING Jonathan	Amanda Pickering	Ullswater Yacht Club	1120	4	DNC				10

The club now turns its attention to its flagship event, the 64th Lord Birkett Memorial Trophy (4–5 July). With almost 190 entries already confirmed, the event is fast approaching a sell-out, underlining its continued national appeal and the strength of the 2026 programme. Book your space here.