Day three of the 2026 Flying Fifteen National Championship at Tees & Hartlepool YC dawned with slightly cooler weather and a light but consistent wind and – mercifully – no sign of the visibility-reducing haze that had delayed proceedings previously.
The ambition was to catch-up on the event programme by sailing four races today and thanks to the efficient work of the club's shore-gang fleet launched quickly and assembled in the race area in plenty of time for the first warning signal which fired on the dot of 10:55hrs. Ironically the fleet's keenness to get things going did then result in two general recalls, following which the race officer raised the black flag which had the desired effect of curbing the sailors' impetuousness for the rest of the day.
The first beat of the first race saw a big split take place with a sizeable chunk of the fleet taking a long route on port tack out into the bay whilst the rest worked their way up the shore side of the course. Coming back together at the top mark saw some new names at the front, most notably the boats of Mike Preston & Mike Harris from Blackpool & Fleetwood YC and that of Steve Goacher & Tim Harper from Royal Windermere YC who eventually finished the race in that order, followed home by Bill Chard & Josh Preater from Chew Valley SC
This theme continued into the next race too, with Charles & Charlie Apthorp establishing a big lead early in the race which they held to the end, demonstrating the depth of quality in the fleet with each race so far having had a different winner. Tony Woods & Keith Jamieson of Royal Windermere YC delighted themselves with a second place in that race, followed by Ian Cadwallader & Steve Graham in third, whose consistency now takes them into the overall lead of the event with a nine-point buffer over Goacher & Harper in second place
Unfortunately the day, which had started so promisingly, was curtained at this point by a wind that was becoming increasingly erratic in direction and frequently dropping below the mandated 5mph minimum After a lengthy wait for conditions to improve the fleet headed home, meaning that we move into the final day of the event with only four races completed so far. Happily though the forecast for tomorrow looks much more favourable.