Battle Brewery and Hartley Boats Blaze 30th Anniversary National Championship preview

Andy Wilson
9 hours ago
6 min read

Battle Brewery and Hartley Boats Blaze National Championship 2026.

Lee on the Solent Sailing Club 12-14^th June 2026

All roads lead to the Nationals! The 2026 Blaze Nationals will see the class coming together en-masse again in June for the season’s showcase event, and will be punctuated by the Blaze’s 30^th anniversary year celebrations. Since the Blaze’s inception and release to the market in 1996 there have been few other boats that capture what Topper had innovatively envisioned – a stable but fast racing skiff that captures, harnesses and transfers maximum power. In designer Ian Howlett’s own words “a refined single-hander for connoisseurs”. For an accessible, stable, performance single-hander, the Blaze has few rivals. Today, the class thrives on a membership dedicated to fun both on and off the water. Lee on the Solent Sailing Club hosts the 2026 Nationals on 12-14^th June, laying on an extended weekend of racing and repast. Early-bird entries ended on 22^nd February and had attracted the maximum sponsored 50 boats to kick us off, with thanks to the generosity of Goodacre Boat Repairs. Entries remained open until 5^th June and we’re excited to be welcoming 54 boats to the start line this coming weekend. After a formal-ish sit-down dinner on Friday evening (courtesy of Blaze Class Association) Chairman Charlie Matthews will deliver a welcome to the class and guide us through the 30^th anniversary toasts. The long-awaited reveal of a commemorative ‘Blaze Beginnings’ video documentary featuring input from designers, builders, sailmakers and other venerable figures from Blaze development over the years will round off the formal proceedings before the raffle draw for 2 chances to win back your race entry fee, gifted by Off Grid Pro. The class retain generous support from Battle Brewery, who for the second year open their taps to the Blaze Nationals with plenty of top-notch liquid refreshment. And Hartley Boats continue their solid dedication to the class from top to bottom with provision of another trove of enviable prizeware. The Blaze Class Association AGM is scheduled after racing on Saturday, followed by a birthday buffet with cake and candles, and an opportunity to drain a selection of sponsored Battle Beers. The racing itself will be fierce, as usual. This year’s Blaze Nations Cup is to be run alongside the National Championship and records the best three sailors from each competing nation. Wales took the inaugural title home in 2025. Word on the vine is that 2021-2025 Nationals Champion, Ben Harden, will not be defending his title. Frustrating for (or maybe welcomed by) Porthpean-based Alan Harris-Guererro who’d pushed Ben all the way to the final finish in 2025 and, were it not for a ditched final gybe (in brutal conditions, to be fair) might’ve scraped the win. However, Alan has his entry firmly in place and we expect another masterclass (minus capsizing) from him. As 2025 Traveller Series winner, Alan hasn’t been seen at any of the 3 BCA Blaze events this spring but his current form is not likely to be questioned. Blaze Class’s most prolific traveller, Pembrokeshire’s Chris Smart, will be hoping for gentler conditions than last year to suit his lighter weight. At Burghfield SC’s season opener this year, Chris showed us his vulnerability in heavy winds. But, at a calmer Westerns at North Devon YC in late April, Chris had obliterated the remainder of the fleet taking 5/5 bullets. Might his exemplary finesse pull him ahead of the heavyweights at Nationals? Stacey Bray, a compatriot-come-rival of Alan at Porthpean, was new to the Blaze in 2025 and had immediately shown his mettle. With a 4th at Nationals, 4^th at Westerns, and a win at Scottish Champs in 2025, Stacey will certainly have his own eye on the Nationals trophy. Royal Corinthian / Burnham sailor Charlie Matthews has been targetting the Nationals win for several years, coming closest with a 3^rd in 2024. Charlie had taken the recently-raced Easterns at Isle of Sheppey by the scruff of the neck finessing his way to the front of all but one of the 6 races. In addition to being a lightweight who knows how to get the most from his boat in gentler winds, Charlie had also wrestled a fantastic 5^th place from last year's 30knt Nationals. The trophy in 2026 would certainly be a good fit for the Class Chairman. Displaced Scot, Douglas Clow, has a habit of cleaning up at his West London home puddle, Island Barn Reservoir, and his form translates well to the Blaze championship arena. Most recently Doug has bagged 3rds at each of Inlands 2025, Burghfield Open 2026, and Easterns 2026. A disappointing 14^th at Nationals 2025 exposed a lack of practice in waves but if the weather shines on the relative lightweight, he’ll surely be a contender this year. Helensburgh SC, just north of Glasgow, boasts the biggest Blaze fleet of all clubs and Ali Gray is a serial winner of the popular Blaze series there. Ali will be taking the long trip south to see how his Scottish Champion status holds up at Blaze Nationals. He’ll certainly be a keystone of the Scottish contingent chasing a Nations Cup win and looks in good shape to make his tartan mark on the Nationals results. Isle of Sheppey SC’s Russell Wheeler is never far from the front action. Although Russ’s Blaze travelling has been limited to Nationals in recent years, a spirited display at his home-club 2026 Easterns had earned him 2^nd place. We shouldn’t be surprised by an improvement on his Nationals 10^th place in 2025. Another Porthpean challenger is youth and relative newcomer Charlie Nunn. He’ll no doubt be watched closely by his clubmates, but otherwise unknown to most championship travelling Blazers, his impressive recent 2^nd at Westerns 2026 should make everyone take note. Great to see Nick Ripley’s fire still burns in the Blaze fleet after nearly 2 decades on the racks. Since Nick’s 2^nd at the 2019 Nationals, he has continued to shine intermittently earning podium places in individual races at Nationals in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Never write this heavy-weather Grand Master off to take his stand on the champion’s podium again. Alex Porteous has shown steady progress through the fleet since her debut in 2020 and attacks the 2026 Nationals on the back of a well-raced 5^th overall, and 1^st lady, at the 2026 Eastern Champs in Sheppey. As current ‘Best Improver’ continuation of her trajectory is going to see Alex pushing into prizes well beyond 1st lady. Pembrokeshire’s Julian Owens is another steady improver and has given a glimpse of his Nationals potential with 4ths in each of his last 3 events - Scottish Champs 2025, Blaze Inlands 2025 and Blaze Westerns 2026. Julian will also be a key player in the Nations Cup title defence for Wales. Challenging for the youth trophy is Tom Twist. Tom breezed into class racing a day after taking delivery of his first Blaze at the windy Burghfield Open in March. He’d impressed with a debut 4^th, followed up by a 6^th at light-wind Westerns and 4^th at Sheppey Easterns. He’s proven to be a wily contender, transferring his Aero skills seamlessly. While he continues to hone his Blaze settings, we haven’t yet seen the best from Tom. A quality Blaze export from RCYC, we’re pleased to see Malc Hutchins entering Nationals for one final fling before leaving the class. A popular character in the fleet, we’re sorry to see him go. However, with a Nationals 3^rd in 2022 as a highlight, and a raft of Blaze results both in and out of class events over the years, we’ll not be surprised to see Malc mixing it at the front end.

With thanks to Island Barn Reservoir SC Blazer, John Oldham, for the trophy refurb.

Whoever the National Champion turns out to be, they'll take possession of the newly refurbished Holt Trophy which Ben Harden will be happy to see finally updated with a deeper base, heavy with shields bearing his name. A tough act to follow!

Glassware will be awarded by LOSSC in 6 categories. Finishers down to 5^th (at least) will be rewarded by Battle Brewery, Hartley Boats and BCA, as well as prizes given for Master, Grandmaster, Great Grandmaster, Lady, Youth, Midfleet, Endeavour, 1^st Fire sail, 1^st Polyester hull and more. Also, the Faff award for the most hyperbolous fettler and the pink flamingo race bib and eveningwear pyjamas for ‘d**k of the day’, voted in good nature daily by the fleet.

The event will be expertly captured again by Blaze Class' own, Petru Balau Sports Photography.

To commemorate 30 years of Blazing, personalised rugby shirts will be available for order from Stitchprint before and after the weekend at https://blazenationals.stitchprint.co.uk/ (Not just for Nationals entrants).