International Cadet UK National Championship 2026 at Plas Heli Welsh National Sailing Academy
by UK National Cadet Class Association 22 Aug 16:36 BST
15-21 August 2026
2026 Cadet Nationals at Plas Heli © Louisa Gregory & Nick Jones
The 2026 International Cadet UK National Championships at Plas Heli, Pwllheli, proved to be a week of two very different halves. What began with two days of frustratingly light winds eventually developed into some excellent and challenging racing, and a championship that remained wide open almost until the final few metres of the final race.
With 34 boats in the Main Fleet and a further five in Regatta Fleet, sailors arrived in Pwllheli hoping that Tremadog Bay would deliver. For the first couple of days, however, it seemed reluctant to cooperate.
Day one brought just 5-8 knots and enough breeze for a single race. The fleet returned on day two to find much the same story; another light and testing day, and again just one race could be completed.Two days into a six-day championship, with only two results on the board, there was suddenly a considerable amount of racing still to fit in.
Fortunately, day three was when the championship really came alive.
The breeze began to build and a swell developed across the race area, allowing Race Officer Bob Wainwright – better known to the Cadet fleet as Arky – and his team to make up for lost time. Four races were completed, transforming both the leaderboard and the feel of the event.
It also demonstrated just how competitive this year’s Main Fleet was. Race wins were being shared around and no single crew was able to take control of the championship. Consistency was becoming every bit as important as collecting bullets.
The following day brought another change in character. The wind strengthened offshore and, combined with a short, sharp chop, made the upwind legs particularly challenging. Keeping the Cadet driving through the waves became essential, and three more races were completed for the Main Fleet. The developing conditions proved a tougher proposition for the less experienced sailors, with the Regatta Fleet completing two races rather than the three sailed by Main Fleet.
By now a pattern was emerging at the front, but certainly not a runaway leader.
George Cox-Olliff and Evelyn Winchester from Waldringfield were putting together an impressively consistent series in Hypersonic. Frensham Pond’s Charlotte Noren-Topham and Harry Flood in
Mischief and Mayhem were taking a rather different route, collecting race wins and keeping themselves firmly in championship contention, while Mimi Windibank and George Blackwell, also from Frensham Pond,remained very much part of the battle in Never Look Back.
Behind them Ava Stoddart and Alice Boddy, and Monty Slump and Sam Flood, ensured that four or fiveboats still had a realistic interest in the title through the closing stages of the championship.
Thursday brought two more races, but unfortunately also the most serious incident of the week.Regatta Fleet sisters Megan and Amelia O’Kelly, sailing
Heat Seeker 8434, capsized and Megan suffered a significant injury after being struck in the face by the boom.
Thankfully Megan has made a good recovery. In true Cadet-sailor fashion she was apparently eager to get back on the water, although medical advice quite sensibly put an end to that idea for the remainder of the championship. We look forward to seeing both sisters back together and racing again at the next event.
Away from the water there was plenty to occupy sailors and parents throughout the week. A quiz and karaoke provided some of the evening entertainment, with a group of the boys taking the opportunity to form an impromptu boy band. Their enthusiasm perhaps exceeded their musical prospects, and it is probably safe to say the charts remain untroubled for now.
Thursday evening’s hog roast provided a rather more relaxed opportunity for sailors, parents and supporters to sit together, chat and reflect on the week before attention turned to the final races.
After eleven Main Fleet races the championship was still anything but settled.
The final day brought just one race and, after such a competitive week, it was fitting that the title would effectively be decided at the finish.
George and Evelyn had built their championship around consistency. Remarkably, despite eventually winning the Nationals, they recorded only one race victory all week. Charlotte and Harry, by contrast,had four bullets to their name and remained capable of taking the title.
The margins could hardly have been smaller.
Charlotte and Harry were lying sixth on the final beat to the line, a position which would have left them level with George and Evelyn on 43 points. With four race wins to George and Evelyn’s one, that would have been enough to give the Frensham Pond pair the championship on countback.
But Nationals are rarely quite that simple.
Two boats managed to get past at the finish, dropping Mischief and Mayhem from sixth to eighth. Those two places were enough to decide the 2026 National Championship.
George Cox-Olliff and Evelyn Winchester were crowned UK National Champions with 43 points.Charlotte Noren-Topham and Harry Flood finished just two points behind on 45, while Mimi Windibank and George Blackwell completed an extraordinarily close podium in third on 46 points.
Three boats separated by three points after twelve races tells its own story.
The final race also provided a fitting bookend to the week for Oscar Ward and Alex Starr of South Cerney. Having won the opening race of the championship, they returned to the front to win Race 12 as well.
The Regatta Fleet had its own close contest throughout the week and offered another encouraging glimpse at the younger sailors coming through the Cadet class.
Arthur Jenkins and Harriet Dearsley of South Cerney, sailing Hi-Velocity, eventually took the Regatta Fleet title on 12 points, but they were pushed throughout by clubmates Islay Bromhead and Polly Kornicka in North Star, who finished just two points behind. Roline Pillemer and Max Holroyd took third.
With some very promising sailors now emerging through the U13 and U14 age groups, there was plenty at Pwllheli to suggest that the next generation is already beginning to make its mark.
The prize-giving also provided an opportunity to recognise achievements from earlier in the summer.Bruce Ward and Alex Harker were presented with the Cadet Vase as the highest-placed GBR boat at the2026 World Championships on Lake Garda. The pair finished fourth in the World Championship after a superb week which included three race victories and even saw them leading the Worlds during the final day.
After a week that began wondering whether there would be enough wind to complete a championship,Pwllheli ultimately delivered twelve Main Fleet races across a wide range of conditions and produced one of the closest Cadet Nationals in recent years.
Huge thanks must go to Race Officer Bob Wainwright and his race team for making the most of the available conditions, together with Edwin Buckley and Bill Bradburn on the jury, the safety teams,volunteers and everyone at Plas Heli who helped make the championship possible.
The class would also like to thank main class sponsor Specsavers for its continued support, together with P&B Chandlers.
From 5-8 knot drifting conditions at the beginning of the week to swell, chop and increasingly physical racing later on, the 2026 Nationals tested a broad range of skills. More importantly, it remained competitive right to the end.
After twelve races, it came down to two boats at the finish. You can’t really ask for much more from a National Championship.
Overall Results:
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