OK Border Trophy
Ullswater YC 26/27 April / East Lothian YC 7/8 June
This coming weekend sees the first half of the OK Border Trophy being sailed at the Ullswater YC Daffodil Regatta. The Border Trophy started in 2023 as an initiative to help grow the fleet in the North of England and Scotland and consists of two events, one on each side of the Border. The 2025 edition of this mini-series consists of the Ullswater Daffodil Regatta in April and the East Lothian YC Regatta at North Berwick at the start of June. The winner is the sailor who has the best cumulative score over the two events and it was won in 2023 by Chris Turner from Lyme Regis and in 2024 by Keith Byers from Morecambe SC.
Daffodil Regatta – Ullswater YC 26/27 April
This is the third year the class has attended and at the time of writing we are currently the 2nd largest class attending the event with 11 entries coming from as far afield as Hayling Island and Lyme Regis in the south as well as more local entries. In previous years Ullswater has proven to be a tricky place to sail, with luck, guile and a keen eye for windshifts proving essential and we expect more of the same this year!
Sailors to watch out for include Ovington Boats MD Chris Turner who is always quick, Adam Savage from Elton SC who placed 9th at last years Nationals, Matthew Webb from Blithfield who was showing great speed at the Inlands in March and Mike McMillan from Loch Earn who has bought the 2023 Worlds winning boat and is also showing great potential.
In a change to previous years, the club have organised a mobile Fish and Chip van to come onsite to feed teh sailors on the Satuday night after successfully doing this at the Birkett Regatta last year. We are assured however that the well stocked UYC bar will still be open!
Entries are via the Sailracer website at https://enter.sailracer.org/events/enter-series-mobile.asp?eventid=226970.
For more detail sof how to get there and where to stay visit our UYC venue guide at the following link https://www.okdinghy.co.uk/venue/venue-ullswateryc/
ELYC Regatta: Scottish Nationals – 7/8 June
A strong attendance at North Berwick last year as well as fantastic conditions and hospitality sees the OK Fleet returning to ELYC once again in 2025. With the re-vamp of the OK Grand Slam series and creation of the UK Ranking list, the event is included as the Scottish & Northern region event and one of the three sea events. For those who have not sailed at North Berwick before, the event has great atmosphere from the expected 100+ entries, great open water sailing with great waves and just enough tide to make it interesting.
It’s no wonder that it is a favourite venue for many classes to hold their Nationals at. Last year saw travellers from as far afield as Bristol and Oxford with Tom Lonsdale from P&B and currently #2 in the UK Ranking list reveling in the conditions to take the win and we hope he comes north again to defend his title.
Entries are via the ELYC Website at https://www.elyc.org.uk/regatta25/
Venue Guide - East Lothian Yacht Club, North Berwick
East Lothian Yacht Club is located in the pretty seaside town of North Berwick. There are good road links and for those who want to make more of the trip there are excellent rail links in to Edinburgh.
The club operates out of a large building close to the harbour and will be making use of Elcho Green above the West Bay for dinghy parking during the event with launching from the beach below. If approaching the town from the West (Edinburgh side), the green is off Beach Road after you come down Station Hill. It is best to arrive early if you want your boat close to the ramp down to the beach and parking on the adjacent road. However there is plenty of room for everyone on the green overlooking the beach and there is plenty of parking just a few minutes away around the town.
Please do not attempt to bring your dinghy down to the harbour area as you will be faced with a tricky journey through or around the town to get to the Elcho Green dinghy park.
The standard club racing marks are shown below, but for the Regatta we expect the same course arrangement as last year with one course to the west of Craigleith Island and a second course to the East towards the Bass Rock.
Accommodation
There is a good range of accommodation available in the town, although it’s wise to book early as this is a very popular event.
Tantallon campsite (https://www.meadowhead.co.uk/parks/tantallon/) is located above the town and it’s possible to walk from the campsite to the club. There’s a bus service which also operates although the route from the campsite to the club goes round the villages – it’s quicker on the way back! As well as offering pitches for motorhomes, caravans etc the park also has static caravans and wigwams for hire.
There are various agencies offering holiday cottage lets – most of these will be for a week but check AirBnB as well.
https://www.northberwickholidayhomes.co.uk
and www.gonetothebeach.co.uk are worth a look.
There’s a good number of hotels and guest houses, try booking.com or the tourist information office for more details.
Parking
Parking is available on most of the streets around the town and along the sea front, but motorhomes are specifically excluded from parking along the seafront. There is no parking at the club/harbour area.
Social Events
It’s not yet clear what arrangements will be in place for the Saturday evening but expect the club to be offering a range of food options throughout the event. Last year the class had a meal together in a local restaurant.
Other Stuff!
North Berwick is a lovely traditional seaside town with fantastic beaches, some very nice independent shops and a good range of cafes and restaurants. It’s a great place for non-sailing family members – look out for The Seabird Centre, enjoy the trips out to the Bass Rock (great views of the racing to be had from the boat), or make the most of the chance to hop on a train and head into Edinburgh. Luca’s ice cream is to die for – look out for their ice-cream van near the harbour.
There are a number of supermarkets in the town centre and on the outskirts including Co-op, Aldi and Tesco.
EV charging is provided at a number of points around the town.