Sunday saw the annual St Mathew Cup contested between the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, Royal Burnham Yacht Club, Burnham Sailing Club and this year’s hosts, Creeksea Sailing Club.

The RCYC team gathered at the Corinthian before racing for a team briefing from Rear Commodore Justin Waples, who talked through the race, tactics and, most importantly, reminded everyone to enjoy the occasion.

There was also a simple message for the team: although everyone would naturally be racing the boats around them, this wasn’t about beating the other boats in your own class. With the Cup decided by the combined finishing positions of each club’s boats, every place counted. Sail your own boat as cleanly and quickly as possible, help your teammates where the opportunity arose, and keep fighting for every position right to the finish.

There were a couple of late changes to the RCYC line-up. A last-minute emergency meant Nick Peel stepped into the Laser in place of Keith Gilmore, while Christie Peel joined Trevor Bawden and Adam Prior aboard the RS Elite.

From there, the team headed to the Royal Burnham for the official race briefing. With Creeksea hosting this year’s event and a southerly breeze establishing itself, the course was set from the Creeksea line to West Quay – No. 9 – No. 13 – Cliff – Finish, with all marks rounded to starboard.

Then it was time to get afloat and the team headed downriver to Creeksea in good spirits, well most of them; some may have been reflecting that an earlier night on Saturday would have been a better tactical decision!

Conditions developed nicely for the race. It was a warm and dry day, with the southerly breeze building through the morning. Some stronger gusts provided plenty of pressure to keep the varied fleet moving well throughout the race.

28 boats, one start line

On paper, the course looked straightforward. In practice, putting 28 boats of very different sizes, speeds and handling characteristics onto one start line produced something rather different.

The majority of the keelboats congregated towards the pin end, while several of the smaller dinghies opted for the opposite end, understandably keen to find clear air and avoid being blanketed by the larger boats.

All 28 boats got away, with the race team commenting on what a spectacle it created from the Creeksea race box as the fleet charged towards West Quay in the sunshine and building southerly.

The faster Elites and Phantoms were among the first to arrive, but they were soon joined by the rest of the fleet. The result was a sizeable swarm converging on the first mark, accompanied by plenty of calls for mark room.

With the ebb tide well established and nobody particularly keen to explore the shallows, everyone was looking for a tight rounding before settling onto the best line towards No. 9.

At No. 9 there was another busy starboard rounding and increasingly obvious team tactics. Where possible, boats gave a faster teammate the opportunity to sail through cleanly, while others found themselves covering rival clubs and making life just a little harder for the opposition.

The reach towards No. 13 produced another good battle. Crews searched for the strongest pressure around Wallasea Marina, balancing the need to cover nearby opposition with the hunt for clear air and boat speed.

By the time the fleet converged on No. 13 for another starboard rounding, it had begun to spread out, although there were still some interesting combinations racing closely together. Squibs, Lasers and 707s found themselves in the same patches of water on the long run towards Cliff, everyone looking for the next puff and, where possible, a little surf to gain another precious place.

At Cliff, the fleet rounded to starboard for the final mark rounding. Despite the distance already sailed, several groups remained tightly packed, making mark room and a clean exit crucial before the final beat back towards the Creeksea finish.

One by one, the finishing hoots sounded from the race box and immediately the mental arithmetic began.

Who finished where? How had the other Corinthian boats done? How many opposition boats were between us? Had we done enough?

There was no immediate answer. That would have to wait until the prize-giving at the Royal Burnham.

A real team effort

One of the strengths of the St Mathew Cup is the opportunity it provides for sailors from different fleets and generations to race together. This year was no exception, with five Otters forming a cruial part of the Corinthian team.

Justin Waples, helming the RBOD, summed that up:

“It was great to have the opportunity to sail with Emily Buckley and Jess Wright aboard the RBOD, with the reassurance of Dave Hyde on the foredeck. The event allows lots of different crew combinations and an important part of the Corinthian team was involving the Otters as well.”

Back ashore, boats were packed away, crews had a quick freshen-up and the team descended on the Royal Burnham for the prize-giving, still trying to work out who had finished where and, more importantly, where that left RCYC overall.

The results were announced one by one until eventually only the overall result remained. Winners of the 2026 St Mathew Cup — Royal Corinthian Yacht Club.

A fantastic result and one earned by the efforts of the whole RCYC team. Every boat and every finishing position had contributed.

It was particularly fitting given the message before racing: take part, sail hard, sail with a smile and enjoy being part of the team. Winning the Cup was a very welcome added extra!

It was also a brilliant way to round off the week’s sailing and a wonderful result for the Corinthian.

And now we have another small matter to deal with…

RCYC hosts the St Mathew Cup next year – and we’ll have trophies to defend!

Yes, trophies because the Corinthian completed the double, also winning the inaugural St Mathew Cup rowing event. But that’s another story that others will share in a separate report.

The RCYC Team

707: Steve Hall (helm), Ally Hall, Seb Warren, Sammy Buckley, Paul Buckley
RBOD: Justin Waples (helm), Dave Hyde, Emily Buckley, Jess Wright
RCOD: Nick Bacon (helm), Luca Winfield, Donald MacNeil
RS Elite: Trevor Bawden (helm), Adam Prior, Christie Peel
Squib: Mickey Wright (helm), Nathan Flynn
Phantom: Charlie Mathews
Laser: Nick Peel

And a special mention to Keith Gilmore, who was part of the original team but unfortunately had to withdraw at the last minute.

Nick Peel
Team Captain