Battle Brewery and Hartley Boats Blaze national Championship 2026 REPORT

By Allan Orton

Thursday 11^th June and the Blaze fleet gathered from all corners of Great Britain at Lee on the Solent Sailing Club. A fantastic entry of 55 boats had included a turnout of six boats from our Scottish friends at Helensburgh alongside four from Wales. The remainder from widespread English locations had made this Championship worthy of its National credentials. The fleet were greeted by a fierce breeze howling across an unwelcoming Solent. A much more hospitable welcome from the LOSSC bar team had encouraged most to leave rigging until the morning. Those choosing to camp were buffeted overnight, but the tent pegs did their job. Friday 12^th June In the morning, the fine fleet of epoxy & polyester were demounted from their chariots, and the sailors enjoyed a brief welcome from Class Chairman, Charlie Matthews. Peter Weeks the Beach Master and Gordon Kingston-Minnis the Race Officer were introduced, whose briefings informed us of the intentions for the day. The directions for water access and egress through the on-shore chop were given, and with that, the fleet headed for the water. Weather reports continued to show the wind building to around 30 knots, accompanying a sharp Solent chop over the relatively shallow banks of the intended race area. Bobby Deards (Wilsonians SC) had been the weekend’s first recipient of the Class pink flamingo ‘D**k of the day’ pyjamas for forgetting his trolley wheels, and donned the matching pink race bib sportingly.

Unusually for a fleet of this size, and despite the ominous wind, almost every boat left the shore to bravely give the conditions a go, showing confidence in the now 30-year-old design of the Blaze, as well as the excellent ushering by the beach team volunteers.

On leaving the beach a beat to the committee boat had Blazers locked onto racks, punching through the chop. In just 5 minutes we’d reached the race area. Turning away from the breeze, the difficulty imposed by the short, steep waves became apparent. It was inevitable that these conditions would send many swimming, and nosediving and pitchpoling off the wind appeared the most common mode of capsize. While not usually a problem for weather-hardened Blazers, the deceptively shallow waters meant some masts embedded in the brown/grey mud of the Solent bringing a snappy end of the championships for a couple of sailors.

Meanwhile, the locals taking their Friday strolls along the Solent beach path had been enjoying the spectacle. And several sailors, having beached at Hill Head (the next town along) to escape the conditions, had joined the dogs and prams on the promenade, exercising their Blazes on the walk of shame back to the clubhouse.

With the LOSSC safety boat team at full stretch, the Race Officer made the sensible call to abandon racing before the first warning was sounded. The majority of the fleet returned to shore more comfortable travelling under bare poles.

The fleet returned to the safety of the LOSSC Signal Station where complimentary ale was distributed to sailors straight off the water courtesy of class sponsor Battle Brewery. Despite not crossing a start line, we felt we’d earned it! A browse to the local National Coastwatch Station’s website later confirmed that the wind had been recorded at a steady 33 knots throughout the day.

The evening drew the fleet back together for a silver-service three-course meal - courtesy of BCA - in the well-appointed facilities of the main LOSSC club house, in celebration of 30 years of Blaze sailing. Chairman Charlie guided the room to a Happy Birthday toast before attention was given to ex-class owner and builder, Mike Lyons, to offer some short but poignant words. The exclusive premiere of the Class’s new ‘Blaze Beginnings’ documentary was shown on the big screen, which records the inception, production and development of the Blaze through the years with contributions from the key players themselves. Thanks go to Blaze Great Grandmaster, Pete Barlow, for doing the legwork for interviews and to Trevor Francis for production. More Battle Brewery ale was available for all, of course. 'Blaze Beginnings' video is available to view here.

Saturday 13^th A more comfortable night for the campers, though still breezy, had given way to a bright dawn with the winds dissipating. The Solent itself looked much more enticing below blue skies and was showing good signs of potential for excellent racing. Force 3 and sunny all day was the forecast.

The RO, with full agreement from the fleet, intended to catch up with the racing programme by running 4 back-to-back races.

The fleet cast off the beach into much more manageable waves, and the beach team enjoyed a much less stressful operation.

Race 1

After just the one general recall the well-mannered Blazers escaped the line cleanly under good pressure towards Calshot, fully hiked on the racks, using all the grunt the sail plan could provide.

Some of the fleet, not anticipating the tide, massively overshot the black windward mark, and ended up reaching in on port tack, watching frustrated as their more astute competitors turned onto the first reach of the of the “reverse P” course. Charlie Matthews (834), of Royal Corinthian showed the way downwind while being harassed by Cornish championship hopeful, Alan Harris (848) leading the chase group of his Porthpean SC comrades, Charlie Nunn (767) & Stacey Bray (812). The positions of the lead pair stayed firm throughout the remainder of the race with Charlie M taking the Race 1 win. Alan, Charlie N and Stacey finished respectively. Light weather specialist and ex-national champ from Pembrokeshire, Christian Smart (884) made an excellent recovery from mid-fleet to take 5^th, followed closely by Allan Orton (881) to give Porthpean SC four top ten finishes.

Race 2

Race 2 got away cleanly in very similar conditions. The sailors flat hiking from the Blaze’s racks capitalising on what the Blaze does well. It doesn’t get any better! The Solent continued to kick-up a few waves but at a much more pleasant frequency and amplitude.

This time Allan O lead around the windward mark with a comfortable lead, enabling him to sail his own race downwind. The chasing pack battled amongst themselves, but Chris Smart eventually emerged from the pack developing a widening gap to unleash his downwind onslaught on Allan O. The finish came too soon for Chris and Allan O held on for the win. The two grandmasters were followed across the line by youth sailor Tom Twist (86) of Felpham SC in third and Charlie M in fourth.

Race 3

The fleet again got away cleanly into what was a slightly diminishing wind, though the Blaze still easily punched over and through the chop.  A close battle developed at the front between Charlie M and Chris, this time with Chris taking line honours to show off his new Hartley Mk.4 sporting the new Selden rig.  A resurgent Alan H took third place after a disappointing race 2, followed by a consistent and persistent Tom Twist in fourth place.

Race 4

A short delay was taken by the Race Officer. Calling on his local knowledge, he’d been holding out for the existing westerly force 3 to be amplified by a sea/land breeze (who knows what it is around the Solent / Isle of Wight!). It was worth the wait. The wind that eventually breezed through was at least a handsome force 4, possibly low force 5 by the time the first warning sounded.

The fleet got away cleanly again and there was a clear leader from early on – Cornishman Stacey Bray lead around the windward mark, displaying his superior ability to harness the horsepower in the stronger conditions. Stacey extended downhill, with a masterclass in strong weather sailing, grinning his way through the fantastically exciting reaches.

Stacey took the gun followed by Porthpean team-mate Alan H in second. A neatly-sailed third place was secured by youth Mark Ripley of Paignton/Warsash SCs.  Allan O had sailed around in 4^th place but a turn taken on the line for an earlier infringement relegated him to eighth. The ever-consistent Tom enjoyed another fourth and Charlie M took fifth showing his strength across a range of conditions.

The day finished with Charlie M having carved a narrow lead over Alan H with one discard in place. It was all to play for on the Sunday.

With able assistance from the beach team, the fleet alighted to be presented with a fantastic range of complementary home-baked cakes (sponsored by BCA) which would put the efforts of most WWI Squadrons to shame! Many thanks to Sarah Coles and her team for their dedication to refuelling the fleet. More complementary Battle Brewery beer was enjoyed again, of course. Race disqualification seemed overly harsh for Adam Edwards (Warsash SC) for sticking his numbers upside-down on his sail, but he wasn’t to escape the ignominy of D**k of the day. A good sport, Adam rocked the pyjamas well throughout the evening and was to be clearly seen on the water the next day in the race bib. The evening began with the Blaze Class Association AGM which saw the welcoming of Tom Twist (Youth Representative) and Alan Harris (Technical Representative) to the committee. Charlie Matthews announced his resignation from the Chairmanship after 3 years at the helm, but we’re delighted to retain Charlie on committee with re-election as Secretary. BCA Web, Marketing and Communications lead, Andy Wilson, will be taking over as Chairman and we expect Andy’s boundless energy for all things Blaze - already proven over four years of dedication to the committee - will help keep the Class growing into its 4^th decade. AGM was followed by another excellent meal where a buffet was presented, catering to all tastes.

As the Battle Brewery ale continued to be consumed, the Blaze 30th birthday celebrations were marked by choruses of “Happy Birthday” along with multiple birthday cakes distributed amongst the tired sailors and esteemed guests!

Sunday 14^th

Dawn broke to silence. The wind which had battered the competitor’s campsite at the east end of Lee-on-the-Solent had subsided completely, leaving the water looking like a mill pond.

Much of the fleet were reluctant to launch and a vote was taken to gauge the appetite for racing -whether to launch and hope to run two races, or to stay ashore and wait for the wind to build before attempting 1 race.

The vote was split exactly 50:50, so in the end the decision was left in the Race officer’s hands!

Race 5

The fleet were given the nod to launch at around 11am and, after an abandoned initial sequence, enjoyed relaxed chat and banter on the water while waiting patiently for a breeze to build and stabilise.  Eventually the second sequence started and set the fleet off into a cagey beat, with only the lightweights managing to deploy onto the racks. While just about raceable, two laps of reaches and runs while playing statues in boats to retain momentum had been enough. Alan H had fallen behind on a mis-sailed beat and found himself out of the running.

Mark Ripley’s youthful finesse had taken him across the finish line in first place followed by the ever-neat Charlie Matthews. Tom had maintained his familiarity with the front runners to take third. Once he’d picked himself out of mid-fleet after the first lap, Chris Smart was emphatically the fastest boat on the water cruising himself past many on the runs to steal fourth.  Keith Gilmore from Burnham SC took 5^th spot enjoying the lighter conditions, just ahead of Terry Hunt of Netley in 6^th.

The final results showed Charlie Matthews as the new Blaze National Champion, followed by Grandmaster Chris Smart in 2^nd. Tom Twist impressed again at only his third Blaze Championship event taking third overall and first youth, suppressing Mark Ripley’s challenge for the final podium place and his own youth champion dreams. Allan Orton had rounded off the top 5 claiming best Porthpean sailor of a strong Cornish contingent. So, congratulations to Charlie Matthews for a skilful display of sailing in a range of conditions. The most deserving of recipients of the Nationals trophy and a fitting farewell to his BCA Chairmanship.

Excellent for the class to see two youth sailors in the top 5. The future is bright! As the sun shone outside, prizegiving was held in the comfortable air-conditioned main clubhouse. Every prize category was rewarded with a neatly boxed 3-pack of Battle Brewery bottles. Fantastic support from Battle Brewery throughout the weekend meant we were always well catered for. Cheers Battle! (if only they did a breakfast ale!) And a huge thank-you to Hartley Boats who once again showed their love for the class by gifting a dazzling spread of prizes featuring an absolutely stellar NEW BLAZE MAINSAIL as their top prize.Charlie had gallantly passed this over to make sure that the top youth was rewarded in line with the focus of the class. Bravo to Tom Twist for bagging this fantastic prize. A big cheer for Hartley Boats!

8 beautifully engraved glassware trophies were awarded by LOSSC down the categories. A solid turn-out from Scotland and Wales hadn’t been enough to keep the Blaze Nations Cup win from home-nation hands. The three best placed English boats were Charlie Matthews, Tom Twist and Mark Ripley who each take home a Nations Cup Winners mug.

Many thanks must go to all involved at Lee-on-the-Solent SC for being so welcoming, and opening their wonderful facilities for the Blaze fleet to use.  Also, thanks go to those within the Blaze fleet and the sponsors for organising & arranging these events for us all to enjoy.

Lastly congratulations from the whole fleet to the new Blaze National Champion, Charlie Matthews, for taking control of a championship much enjoyed by all. Results: 1^st – Charlie Matthews (Royal Corinthian YC) 2^nd – Christian Smart (Pembrokeshire YC) 3^rd – Tom Twist (Felpham SC) 4^th – Mark Ripley (Paignton SC and Warsash SC) 5^th – Allan Orton (Porthpean SC) 1^st Master – Christian Smart (Pembrokeshire YC) 1^st Grandmaster - Allan Orton (Porthpean SC) 1^st Youth - Tom Twist (Felpham SC) 1^st Lady – Alex Porteous (Royal Corinthian YC) 1^st Polyester – Adrian Hosey (Haversham SC) 1^st Fire – David Entwistle (Burghfield SC) John Abbott mid fleet – Bobby Deards (Wilsonians SC) Endeavour - Adrian Hosey (Haversham SC) Full results at https://www.lossc.org.uk/results/untitled-89