Event: Ovington Inlands hosted at Grafham Water Sailing Club on 21 – 22 March 2026. [Non-Circuit]
Report by Rob Richardson
The Ovington Inlands was held over the 21st to 22nd of March at the sunny Grafham Water Sailing Club. The mixed class regatta is typically the first event of the season for most classes, and this year, around 80 boats attended including 15 Musto Skiffs – the second largest fleet.
Although the weather was warm and sunny, the wind decided not to play ball this weekend. Day one was forecast to be around 5-8 knots. Not a lot, but enough to get some good racing in.
The fleets were split between two different courses. The OK, K1, and Fireflies were on the slow course and the Musto Skiff’s were joined by the Phantoms, Flying 15s and 505s on the fast course.
The slow fleet managed to squeeze in a quick race in the last of the wind, but unfortunately the wind had already disappeared from the fast course. The race officer had to make the difficult decision to send the fleets ashore to wait for wind, which unfortunately, never came.
As we got to shore and looked out at the slow fleet drifting around, we suddenly heard hooters from the slow fleets committee boat. They weren’t really going to run a race in this were they?!? Oh yes, they were!
We then watched the slowest dinghy race ever, as some boats tacked their way to the top mark and the others were somehow running……. They managed to complete one lap when the race officer shortened course and sent them to the bar.
After sailing was wrapped up, we were then treated to a very generous portion of food back at the club. After a long winter, everyone really enjoyed sharing a couple beers and catching up on what everyone has been doing since last season and what’s to come for the new season ahead.
Sunday…….
The forecast for day two was looking worse than the previous day, with only 1-2 kts forecasted. We were all about to drop our masts when a pleasant 5-6knots came down the lake, filled with enthusiasm and completely sober (Turbo), we all jumped in our wetsuits to try get some racing in!
However, our enthusiasm was short lived. By the time we had all launched, the wind had died. And that was the day over.
Despite no racing for the Musto Skiff fleet, it was still a fun weekend, and it was great to see everyone again. We will just have to wait another few weeks until our next open to finally get some racing in and kickstart the season before the ACO Musto Skiff World Championship in Carnac this June.
Image Credit: Musto Skiff small Mainsail X / © Richard Bowers
