The Staunton Blaster 2025 - Midlands Inter Club Series Round 3

by Andrew Wilde & Rach Gray 24 Feb 17:44 GMT 22-23 February 2025

Day 1

Perfect February conditions greeted competitors for the opening day of the Staunton Blaster, with temperatures reaching an unseasonable 12 degrees and steady winds between 7-14 knots. The event, part of the East Midlands Mini Series, attracted a strong fleet of 25 boats, with the home fleet from Staunton Harold SC (15 boats) welcoming visitors from Ogston SC (8 boats), Burton SC (2 boats), and Notts County SC (1 boat).

The day's racing consisted of two general handicap races of 55 minutes each, followed by an afternoon 75-minute pursuit race. The strongest breeze was seen in Race 1, where Craig Williamson (ILCA 7) from the home club showed excellent speed to take the win.

The final pursuit race of the day provided a thrilling finish, with Joe Scurrah (RS Aero 7) from Notts County SC making a spectacular last-minute move to claim victory, followed by Staunton's Rachel Gray in her Streaker in second, and Ogston's Andrew Wilde (Solo) completing the podium.

After three races, Joe Scurrah leads the event with an impressive score of 5 points, showing remarkable consistency with a 3,1,1 scoreline. Home sailor Craig Williamson holds second place with 8 points, while the Fireball pair of Pete Gray and Rich Pepperdine sit in third with 13 points.

The day wasn't just about the racing - competitors enjoyed post-sailing drinks in the club bar, with a special celebration for Ogston's Philip Wilson, who was marking his birthday with his crew Rosie in their Enterprise. The friendly atmosphere both on and off the water highlighted the strong community spirit of the Midlands sailing scene.

With Sunday's forecast suggesting gusts exceeding 30 knots by midday, two back-to-back races are scheduled for the morning, starting at 10:30am.

Thank you to Andrew Wilde for today's excellent report! Photos courtesy of Heather and Alan - thank you to you both.

Day 2

After the beautiful summer like conditions of day 1, the wind gods had definitely turned up for day 2. With the forecast of 40 knots in the afternoon the race team was hoping to get 2 races in before the weather hit. With big gusts blowing through the boat park, 6 boats took to the water in some fast and furious conditions, which made for some great spectating.

Race officer Alan Bennett set a windward leeward course using the whole length of the lake. Race 1 saw the Fireball of Pete and Rich stretch away to take the win, ahead of the battle of the single handers with Craig Williamson finishing second and Joe Scurrah in third.

Rach Gray and Andy Wilde decided one race was enough and with the wind and waves building, the final race was shortened after 2 laps.

The results at the top were super tight, with the Laser of Craig Williamson (Staunton Harold SC) winning the event overall, ahead of the Fireball of Pete Gray and Rich Pepperdine (Staunton Harold) who were second. Joe Scurrah (Notts County Sailing Club) was third in his Aero 7. Joe also won a year's membership to Staunton Harold Sailing Club - the prize for the highest placed visiting sailor.

Thank you to all the volunteers who made the event possible and to all the competitors for making it a lot of fun on the water.

The final event of the Midlands Inter Club Series is at Ogston Sailing Club next weekend. We hope to see you there!

For the full weekend's results please go to results.shsc.org.uk/shscresults/2025/blaster.htm

Thank you to Rach Gray for today's excellent report! Photos courtesy of Rach Gray / Paul Williamson - thank you to you both.