RS100 Rooster National Tour at Paignton Sailing Club's POSH 2026

Mostyn Evans - POSH Regatta at Paignton © Tom Wildy Photos

Paignton supplied sunshine, 8-10 knots of north-easterly winds reducing over the day for Saturday, and the prospect of rough weather on Sunday. The RO planned 4 races for the Saturday but three were achieved due to dropping wind.

The RS100s shared the course with the rest of the handicap boats on a trapezoid course with two beats. The reaches from the first windward mark and to the finish line were tight, often too tight to fly the spinnaker, as Mostyn Evans found out, when a gust forced him so far downwind that he had to drop his kite.

David Smart forgot how to attach his rudder, but remembered how to sail. He banged the corners and achieved bullets in the first two races, with the second being an overall win as well as a bullet in the 100 fleet, doing well to keep ahead of Ian Gregory in the light conditions, but Ian stayed in front from the start in the third race, securing another overall race win for the 100s. They pushed each other so well that Dave also came second overall on handicap in the POSH Open event.

In the first two races Mostyn Evans managed to keep ahead of Darrell Sleep, at times also threatening Ian Gregory, much to the surprise of both of them. The effort was obviously too much for Mostyn who then failed to pull the trigger in the last race, watching Darrell disappear into the distance.

Ian Gregory - POSH Regatta at Paignton - photo © Tom Wildy Photos

The 100 sailors arrived good and early for the second day, an improvement on timekeeping for the class dinner the evening before.

Day 2 proved to be as expected, gusting over 20 kts and apparently with a swell of up to 3 metres in the race area, with the sea state likely to deteriorate. The RO decided the fleet should not go to sea due to the conditions, and there was no objection. Getting out of the harbour looked very challenging, but getting back in would be more so. The safety boat went out for a look and was back in about 5 minutes.

Rooster provided prizes for the 100s and Pinnell & Bax did the same for POSH.

The next RS100 Rooster National Tour event will be at Lymington Dinghy Regatta on 20/21 June 2026, online entry is open. The fleet are also reminded that early entry for the Noble Marine National Championship, Brixham YC, 16-20 Sept, ends on 1st June.

Overall Results:

David Smart - POSH Regatta at Paignton - photo © Tom Wildy Photos