Wednesday Evening Handicap Series Two

Published 06:38 on 12 Sep 2026

Wednesday Evening Handicap Series Two 2026

Another summer of Wednesday evening sailing at Ripon came to a close at the end of August, following ten races, some extremely close competition, a partial eclipse of the Sun and, appropriately, a very large quantity of pizza!

Series Two attracted 40 different entries, with the handicap format bringing together the wonderfully varied collection of boats that makes racing at Ripon so much fun. RS200s, Solos, Streakers, ILCAs, Mirrors, Optimists, Toppers, Supanovas and an Enterprise all appeared during the series, with our younger sailors also getting involved and taking on the adults on equal terms.

Ian P set the early pace in his Streaker, winning the opening race before Lucy P took the honours the following week. Ian then put together an impressive run of three consecutive victories in Races 3, 4 and 5.

As the series moved into its second half, James R, sailing the RS200 with Sue R and Steph H, emerged as Ian's main challenger. James produced his own remarkable run, winning Races 6, 7, 8 and 9 to set up a fascinating finish to the championship.

There was plenty of good racing throughout the fleet too, with the Solo fleet well represented and some excellent performances from our younger sailors. Callum P, Felix F and Katie P all took their Optimists onto the Wednesday evening start line, demonstrating just how well handicap racing can bring together sailors of different ages, experience levels and boats.

Racing under an eclipse

One of the more unusual races in Ripon Sailing Club history took place on Wednesday 12 August, when the fleet raced beneath a partial eclipse of the Sun.

With the eclipse taking place during the evening's racing, sailors had the unusual experience of competing as the light changed around the lake. There was still the small matter of a race to concentrate on, though, and it proved to be an exceptionally close one.

James R took the win in the RS200, beating Ian P's Streaker by just 16 seconds on corrected time, with Lucy P only another 32 seconds behind. Callum P also produced an excellent result in his Optimist to finish fourth on handicap.

Wednesday evening racing at Ripon has produced plenty of memorable moments over the years, but sailing during an eclipse certainly takes some beating!

A fantastic final Wednesday

If the eclipse provided the most unusual evening of the series, the final race on 26 August provided the biggest.

The last Wednesday evening race attracted the highest turnout of the entire series, producing a fantastic fleet for one final blast around the lake. It was a fitting demonstration of just how popular Wednesday evening racing has become at the club.

Ian P chose the perfect moment to return to winning ways, taking victory in his Streaker ahead of James R's RS200, with Richard and Chloe F taking an excellent third place in the Enterprise.

Once the boats were packed away, attention turned from racing to the other important business of the evening: 20 pizzas!

The enormous pizza order was duly demolished as sailors, families and supporters gathered in the clubhouse to celebrate the end of another successful summer of Wednesday evening racing. After ten races, it was a suitably sociable way to round things off and presumably required rather less discussion over handicaps, protests and finishing positions.

A remarkably close championship

With six discards and four races to count, the final championship could hardly have been tighter.

Ian P and James R finished tied on just four points, both having recorded four race victories during the series. Ian ultimately took the Series Two title, with James second, while Lucy P completed the podium in third.

Steve J and Frankie J continued the strong showing from the Solo fleet by finishing fourth and fifth respectively.

Across the ten races, Series Two featured close racing, sailors of all ages, a huge variety of boats and some excellent Wednesday evenings at the club.

It also provided two statistics that may take some beating: one solar eclipse and 20 pizzas.

A pretty good way to spend a summer Wednesday evening at Ripon Sailing Club.

Last updated 06:39 on 12 September 2026