DF95 National Championship 2025 at East Kent Radio Sailing club (Barton’s point, Isle of Sheppey) – Report and Results

East Kent Radio sailing club at Barton’s Point is a gem of a venue on the NW corner of the Isle of Sheppey just west of Sheerness. The surrounding countryside is flat without trees, and the prevailing wind runs straight down the lake. It is one of the few venues which has a spit of land on which to house a control area which means you can sail in just about any wind direction. There are ample launching points, and the best news is there is no weed to catch the unwary fin and spoil competition.

The lake has locked, quiet overnight parking for motorhomes, a café which sadly closed on Sunday and a selection of hotels and restaurants to retreat to after racing to share stories and the successes of the day.

This was the venue for the DF95 National championships. 52 competitors arrived for registration on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning and after a thorough briefing by Wayne Stobbs the PRO who introduced the race team and the course, the seeding races got underway shortly after 10 am.

Racing under the Heat Management System the fleet was split into 3 heats of 17 boats for one round of seeding races. Your finishing position determined which heat you would be subsequently sailing in and to spice things up, in each heat there were opportunities to be one of the top or bottom 6 to be promoted up or demoted down from one heat to another. There was drama from the start. In the C seeding race, which was the first on the water, there was confusion by one of the two favourites Craig Richards as to which heat he was in and with 30 seconds to go he was pulling his boat off the water. After realising he was in the heat, he literally threw his boat on the water and charged to the start line to round the outer mark 20 yards behind the last boat. Like a man possessed he charged through the fleet and had passed half the boats by the windward mark, and it was no surprise to see him take the win at the finish. It was astonishing to watch his constant progress around the course. The other winners of the seeding races were Colin Honour and Dave Adams. The other main favourite John Tushingham was 5th in his seeding race.

After the seeding races the heat board was set and the main racing of the day got underway. C heat first, then B and A. After three races the two favourites hit the top of the leader board closely followed by Tjakko Keizer (Netherlands), Derek Priestley and Peter Baldwin. With the wind in the south, racing took place opposite the café and car park. The slightly elevated banks gave good visibility for both the competitors and the spectators. The only niggle for the race officer was the wind flicking from left to right by 30 degrees, but Wayne kept his nerve and maintained good courses and start lines based on the average wind. By the end of day one after 6 races, Craig Richards was top of the leader board and led John Tushingham by three points followed by Peter Baldwin, Derek Priestley and Tjakko Kaizer who made the trip over from the Netherlands. On day two the leaders battle continued and by race 9 John Tushingham had closed the gap and was level on points. In the next race, he took a 2-point lead setting up a battle royal with Craig Richards in the last race. Craig won that but John held his nerve to finish second and win the championship.

The other story of note on Sunday was the wind. Early on it held Southerly nicely for us to continue racing opposite the café but as the morning went on and as per the forecast it shifted from South to Southeast making setting a course off the café impossible, so we all moved to the point about 100 yards from the café. The course was set and the first C heat successfully got round the course but then come B heat the wind backed meaning the fleet laid the first mark in one, so the race was abandoned. The course was shortened to get a better beat and marks set to starboard and of course with a short beat and marks to starboard there was carnage at the first mark, and the race was abandoned. The wind then died suddenly as forecast but then filled in again from its original southerly direction meaning a course off the café was perfect, so back we all shuffled. After a quick course reset, we were able to get two more heats before close of play.

Wayne Stobbs as PRO did a marvellous job keeping cool and managing the variability of the wind. These events are only made possible by the help of our volunteers. Some are East Kent club members, but several came from afar. It’s funny how the same names appear over and over again. Thank you all for sacrificing your valuable time. Thanks to you this weekend went so efficiently without any kind of a hitch as far as the author could see.

Registration & general help Debbie La Roche & Kath Hounsell
PRO & start line Wayne Stobbs
ARO, finish line & organiser Jim La Roche
Finish recorder & heat board Judith Baldwin
Finish recorder Sharon Plested
Finish recorder & scorer Richard Jones
Judge Rob Owens
Course & recovery boat Rob Owens/Ed Coxon Saturday, Jamie Blair/Ed Coxon Sunday
Observer Marshal Ralph Wilkinson/Andy Nicholls Saturday, Ralph Wilkinson/Spencer Pope Sunday
Lunches were provided by Sheppey Sea Cadets.
A Derek “In it to win it” raffle for various items donated by sponsors was held before the prizegiving. Everyone then left looking happy with the weekend.

Author Nigel Barrow.

Results – prizes and other photos