Staunton Harold Sailing Club

31/08/2026

Staunton Harold Anniversary Cup, Sunday 30th August - A Blustery Day of Close Racing!

Twenty-one sailors gathered at Staunton Harold Sailing Club for the annual Anniversary Cup, greeted by a blustery Sunday with a good, steady breeze and, fortunately, no rain. The wind was in a favourable direction for much of the day, allowing race officer Charles to set three excellent courses.

The first race got underway cleanly, with Steve and Charlotte Graham in their Scorpion quickly establishing an early lead. They sailed an excellent race, gradually extending their advantage to take a convincing win. Whilst Nigel & Diana Pepperdine, came second on the water, handicap times saw them bumped to 5th in the corrected results. Pete Gray, sailing his Streaker, was always in the mix, finishing second, followed by Matt Lathoud and Mark Harris in Laser full rigs - Matt just edging ahead of Mark by 0.01 of a second.

Next was a break for lunch, thanks to Reita and Liz for keeping everyone suitably fuelled.

Post lunch the wind had shifted slightly, so Charles set a straightforward windward/leeward course using almost the full length of the lake.

Race two produced a fascinating battle on the water between the Scorpion (Steve/ Charlotte) and Sam Jones in his RS400. Sam crossed the line first on the water, but the handicap results pushed him back to 10th. Meanwhile Pete Gray sailed a great race to finish first on handicap with Matt Lathoud and Mark Harris (Laser full rigs) taking 2nd and 3rd respectively and pushing Steve and Charlotte back to fourth.

Following a well-earned tea break — or whatever beverage was preferred — the fleet headed back out for the final race. With the wind had swinging back towards its original direction,a new course was set, which included a couple of tricky, tight reaches - very challenging for the spinnaker boats. Could they fly their kites? The answer was mostly yes, although discretion occasionally proved the better part of valour, with some crews dropping their spinnakers part-way along the reach or waiting until they had headed up slightly after the gybe.

Pete Gray was again on top form, taking another handicap victory, with Matt Lathoud second and Nigel and Diana Pepperdine third in their RS200 — their best result of the day. Steve and Charlotte also finished strongly, following Nigel and Diana across the line by a mere two seconds in the final battle.
With two race wins and a second, Pete Gray was the clear overall winner of the Anniversary Cup, finishing with an impressive scoreline of 2, 1, 1. Matt Lathoud took second overall in his Laser, while Steve and Charlotte Graham secured third. Mark Harris had an excellent fourth overall, counting only the first two races.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable day's racing, with a good breeze, varied courses and plenty of close competition throughout the fleet. A huge thank you goes to Charles for setting three superb courses, as well as to the race team, rescue crews and everyone in the galley for making the day such a success.

At the prize giving, Pete thanked everyone for a great day's sailing and reminded the fleet that the Autumn Series starts next weekend — so there will be little time for those tired sailing limbs to recover!

For the full race results please go to:-

https://results.shsc.org.uk/shscresults/2026/anniversary.htm

21/08/2026

Huge congratulations to Staunton sailor Rachael Gray who was back at Staunton.earlier this week, after a phenomenal J70s Mixed-Plus World Championship in Copenhagen, crewing on GBR's Jiraffe.

We caught up with Rachael in the bar after the racing on Wednesday and asked her to sum up the champs, "Absolutely loved it! Great racing, amazing experience and would love to do it again!"

With top talent from around the globe to compete against, and an incredible team in the boatt, Jiraffe finished fifth overall, just six and five points respectively behind the second and third placed Danish and US boats.

38 boats with crews of four or five people battled it out over 11 races between the 10th and 15th August

Click on the link below to read the full report.

Joan Cardona Mendez's Yupi (ESP) has successfully defended its title at the 2026 J/70 Mixed-Plus World Championship, hosted by the Royal Danish Yacht Club.

13/08/2026

Partial Eclipse treat for Staunton Sailors/ SUPs last night

15 dinghies and multiple Stand Up Paddle boarders took to the water at 1900 hrs last night. With a temperature of 31 degrees and a wind speed of just 6 gusting 8-10 knots it was definitely a great night for SUPs and a challenging one for sailors.

For the sailors trying to find what little breeze there was and then keep it was a real art / luck! And as expected in a partial eclipse the wind was unpredictable with spinnakers flying at times on every leg of the course. A huge well done to all the sailors for making it round the course.

For the paddle boarders, the conditions were spot on. They also enjoyed the best views of the partial eclipse. A flock of geese honking and flapping as they took flight signalled the height of the partial eclipse, otherwise I'm not sure many of us really noticed a dip in light - although the photos seem to show a distinct drop.

Thank you to our photographers Jackie and Amanda - you can just make out the eclipse in the lens flare/reflection…a small green crescent moon on the water in Amanda's photo.

BBQ, bar and banter were all enjoyed after the on the water session, with people lounging on the club patios as they soaked up a Costa del Staunton evening.

Thank you to our OOD Joe Penhaul-Smith and his team for this one off opportunity to take to the water during a partial eclipse.

09/08/2026

Today, we're all cheering on Staunton sailor Sam Jones, sailing aboard Jetpack (JPK 1010) as he competes in the 50th Round Britain and Ireland Race!

The gun goes off at 13:30, with 33 boats vying for the best possible start.

The fleet will sail approximately 1,805 nautical miles, starting from Cowes, heading east out of the Solent, around Britain and Ireland, and back into Cowes. This is one of offshore racing's most demanding courses — so we’ll be following Sam’s progress every step of the way!

📍 Follow Sam’s progress on the tracker:
Click the link below:
https://pro.yb.tl/rbni2026/team/10

For the latest news, updates and background on the race, head over to Royal Ocean Racing Club

Good luck, Sam — we’ll be cheering you on! 💙⛵️🏁

08/08/2026

1st, 2nd, 7th and 9th for Team Staunton at the Scorpion Nationals! 🏆

Wow — what a Championship!

All four of Staunton’s teams finished in the top 10, making them the highest-scoring team of the event.

🥇 Whilst Tom Gillard / Rachael Gray sailed a superb event, with a faultless string of bullets to finish 21 points clear at the top, the rest of the top 10 places were all up for grabs as the competition entered its final day.

🥈 Stevie Hall/ Stephen Graham tenaciously held on to second place, with two boats snapping at their heels just one point behind.

7️⃣ In seventh place, after a challenging week and a bumpy start to the final day, Peter Gray / Rich Pepperdine pulled it back with some great tactical sailing, securing a fourth and a third in the final two races.

9️⃣ And for Paul Cullen / Simon Forbes , they saved their best until last, securing a very convincing first place in the final race after leaving the rest of the fleet in their rear-view mirror from the start.

Well done to all the sailors — what a week! 👏

Sit back and enjoy the final race report, and check out all the results by clicking the link below. ⬇️

As day 5 dawned in lovely Looe, there was a nervous sense of anticipation in the air. Sailors unwrapped their chariots, spliced their mainbraces, and hoisted their mizzens.

06/08/2026

Peter Gray / Rich Pepperdine having a blast, Race 5 (which they won), yesterday at The Scorpion National Champs!

06/08/2026

Day 4 at the National Scorpion Association Championships - three Staunton boats in the top 10!

Another great day for our sailors, in this talented fleet.

Tom Gillard / Rachael Gray extended their lead, with a string of firsts in all but one race which was won by fellow Staunton sailors Peter Gray / Rich Pepperdine.

Stevie Hall/ Stephen Graham held onto second place, discarding a spectacular capsize in the second race of the day. They will need to keep the pressure on today with 3rd placed Ben Whaley/ Oliver Rayner (Shoreham SC) on equal points.

Paul Cullen/ Simon Forbes moved into eighth place.

And, Peter Gray/ Rich Pepperdine finished the day in 14th. After a 4th and an impressive win in race 5, propelling them up the leaderboard, the duo were forced to retire in the final race yesterday.

Here's to a fantastic day on the water today!

Go Staunton!

Race four of the championship got under way in challenging fashion after a lengthy sail down to the committee boat. The second day of racing brought more wind than the previous day and, to match this, the race committee shortened the gate time.

05/08/2026

Staunton sailors currently in 1st and 2nd place after one day of racing (3 races) at the 2026 Scorpion National Championships at Looe Sailing Club!

Read the superb, shared report courtesy of the National Scorpion Association for all the race action so far.

Huge shout outs for our sailors:--

Tom Gillard / Rachael Gray who are currently leading the Championships with a clean sheet of bullets.

and

Stevie Hall / Stephen Graham who are in second!

Also shout outs to

9th placed - Paul Cullen / Simon Forbes
28th placed - Peter Gray / Rich Pepperdine

For the full results please click below:-

https://sailscorpion.co.uk/Nationals2026/results.html?fbclid=IwdGRjcATgK8NjbGNrBOArvWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHqLgMiqtuCcWM2Qe_qZCXvEHnkUi9TyX_46I92jLgqeOZhNbJAgnI_xuxhRs_aem_39LTMlgcKv_Et1mQzFtK_g