Day One at the 2025 UK National Championships

11 June 2025

The Royal Thames Yacht Club 250th Anniversary Regatta got underway in blistering fashion with the RS Elite Class, competing in their National Championships, opening their regatta with two highly competitive and tactical races. Windward/leeward 1.1-mile legs were set over on the Hillhead plateau with the Committee Boat sat just off the West Knoll marker buoy and with a solid 12-14 knot dead easterly breeze over a bumpy seaway, it was a tough opening day.

The tide was firmly on the ebb as the first start got away on time just after midday with the fleet taking very different approaches to the first leg initially. The winning move appeared to be to sail to the left side of the course just on the bank and then play the middle up to the windward mark, and it was Joe Llewellyn helming alongside America’s Cup star Chris Draper as middle-man and James Grant on the bow on ‘Team Musto’ who made the best of it, to round ahead of Russell Peters, Greg Wells and Zeb Elliott on ‘Riff Raff.’

These two outstanding crews enjoyed a blistering battle around the first lap, but the key moment came on the second upwind when Peters wound up on the inside of a lift on starboard tack just enough to be able to make a port tack cross of ‘team Musto’ and seize the lead. However, the lead was short-lived as Llewellyn called a brilliant layline at the final windward mark and, coming across on port, just tacked around ahead to bear away to the spreader mark ahead, as Peters marginally overstood. Fine margins!

Down the final 0.9-mile leg to the finish, with the tide, it was desperately close but a smart gybe by Peters onto port first and a completely filled spinnaker down a wave proved crucial as inch by inch the ‘Riff Raff’ team clawed over the top of ‘Team Musto.’

There was little that Llewellyn could do and as Peters soaked down to the finish line, he knew that first blood in the National Championship was going the way of the defending National Champions. Thrilling racing to open the championships.

The second race of the day saw the seaway increase and some more consistent pressure down the racetrack. The pin end of the line was identified early by the fleet as being favoured and saw a large gaggle fighting for the optimum position. Joe Llewellyn was right in the mix again and appeared to get the jump on the fleet from the starting signal, but with Principal Race Officer Tim Hancock displaying a ‘U’ Flag meaning no boats to be over the starting line in the final minute of the sequence, ‘Team Musto’ fell foul and unbeknown to them having sailed a stunning race, having lead the fleet from wire to wire in a masterful display, only learnt of their UFD disqualification as they crossed the finish line.

Russell Peters, who couldn’t close the gap to ‘Team Musto’ gratefully accepted the race win, leading a condensed pack that saw Tom Hewitson’s ‘Soak Therapy’ take second, and Ossie Stewart’s ‘More T Vicar’ in third.

The UFD disqualification sees ‘Team Musto’ shuffle down the pack overall to 11th but with ten races planned for the RS Elite fleet, they will be eyeing the discard system to get onto the podium. Peters leads with two race wins from two on the opening day, with Hewitson and Steward making up the podium places. All to play for in this red-hot fleet full of World, National, European, Olympic and (possible) America’s Cup champions. Tom Hewitson, Ossie Stewart, Barry Parkin & Matt Abbiss are all tied on 9 points.

Tomorrow sees the start of the regatta for the rest of the fleets, and the Royal Thames Yacht Club’s 250th Anniversary Regatta is all set to welcome competitors and their families to Cowes for what is shaping up to be a remarkable festival of sailing.

Yachts have been arriving all day into the Cowes Yacht Haven, Shepards Marina and the laid harbour moorings to come ashore to the warmest of welcomes from the Royal Thames Yacht Club at the dedicated Race Village in the Cowes Yacht Haven, and at the clubhouse on the Parade.

For further details, the Notice of Race, Competitor Safety Key Information and specific Sailing Instructions for courses A, B, C and D, please see the dedicated regatta website: www.racing.royalthames.com

Racing can also be followed on tracker.

Image files: attached / Photo credit: Magnus Wheatley 

Report by: Magnus Wheatley 

1 A0252 RS Elite Riff Raff 20 russell peters russell peters 1.0 1.0 2.0 2.0
2 A0302 RS Elite Soak Therapy 100 Tom Hewitson Tom Hewitson 7.0 2.0 9.0 9.0
3 A0083 RS Elite More T Vicar 67 Ossie Stewart Ossie Stewart 6.0 3.0 9.0 9.0
4 A0240 RS Elite SAPPHIRE 69 Barry PARKIN & David Nicholls David Nicholls 5.0 4.0 9.0 9.0
5 A0045 RS Elite Disco Inferno 3.2 61 Matt Abbiss Matt Abbiss 4.0 5.0 9.0 9.0
6 A0176 RS Elite The Doctor 46 Pete Copsey Pete Copsey 3.0 7.0 10.0 10.0
7 A0184 RS Elite Foudafafa 76 Adrian Williams Adrian Williams 9.0 9.0 18.0 18.0
8 A0367 RS Elite Urafiki 92 James Yearsley James Yearsley 8.0 12.0 20.0 20.0
9 A0047 RS Elite Craic Addict 15 Nick Peters Nick Peters 10.0 10.0 20.0 20.0
10 A0195 RS Elite Vagrant 65 Toby Strauss and aidan Mitchell Toby Strauss and aidan Mitchell 16.0 6.0 22.0 22.0
11 A0361 RS Elite Team Musto 7 Joseph Llewellyn Joe Llewellyn 2.0 21.0 UFD 23.0 23.0
12 A0090 RS Elite All the Gear 107 Neil Fulcher Neil Fulcher 11.0 13.0 24.0 24.0
13 A1377 RS Elite Lazy Daisy 66 Tommy Darling   14.0 11.0 25.0 25.0
14 A0059 RS Elite Blind Squirrel 83 Bill Blank Bill Blank 18.0 8.0 26.0 26.0
15 A0073 RS Elite Lite Bloo 6 Ady Ward Ady Ward 12.0 15.0 27.0 27.0
16 A0119 RS Elite Eclipse 44 Elliot Caldwell Elliot Caldwell 15.0 14.0 29.0 29.0
17 A0208 RS Elite Ellanore 13 Graham Dale-Jones Graham Dale-Jones 13.0 21.0 DNF 34.0 34.0
18 A0205 RS Elite Wombat 55 Mark Holliday Mark Holliday 17.0 17.0 34.0 34.0
19 A0238 RS Elite Merlin 93 Simon Radford Simon Radford 19.0 16.0 35.0 35.0
20 A0231 RS Elite Aurora 84 Nick Roberts & Fraser Elms Fraser Elms 20.0 18.0 38.0 38.0

 

Update cookies preferences