Shustoke Gauntlet 2026

 Sunshine has been difficult to find this winter, so when Shustoke Sailing Club threw down the Gauntlet to visitors to race against them on Sunday 1st March, 23 visiting boats took up the challenge and were treated to some rare winter sun.

Not since 2017 when a fresh faced Andy Davis got his hands on the fearsome gauntlet trophy has a visitor won the senior race. This year with its own active and growing junior section Shustoke Sailing Club also drew a crowd of juniors to compete for the junior gauntlet.

There was a fabulous fleet of 43 boats with16 different classes on the water with a large contingent of Solo's and a good number of Lightning travellers using the race to kick off their 2026 season.

With a light base wind flowing over the more sheltered clubhouse side of the water the occasional gusts made for challenging racing conditions. The sun though put smiles on the faces of most racers... even those climbing back in their boats following an early bath.

Race one was competitive from the start with the U18's, Fin Neal, William Clarke, Adam Collins, Thomas Croxton and Ed Croxton in the Toppers working their way around the course doing their best to hold off the bigger boats. The course and shifting wind provided ample opportunity for the racers to find an edge and the mass of the fleet changed places regularly. Matt Thrushfield in his Supernova and local lad Adrian Padro and crew Hatty Connolly climbed the ladder through the fleet and as the racers neared the end of the first race, Andy Davis in his Finn slipped past Adam Froggatt in the Phantom to take the first bullet.

The break for lunch was well received and recharged everyone's batteries ready for what turned into being a more gusty afternoons race.

Some fabulous racing from William Clarke in his Topper saw him hold off the larger boats until the dying minutes when Oliver Davenport in his Solo and Andy Davis in the Finn ran through to take second & first place respectively.

With two wins out of two Andy Davies romped home to take away the Senior Gauntlet trophy, with Olly Davenport a close second & Adam Froggatt in third. A fabulous performance by Will Clarke secured him the junior Gauntlet trophy with Tom Croxton in second and Ed Croxton in a commendable third position.

Big thanks go to the race team, rescue crews, galley team, DJ and all the volunteers who helped make the event possible - a great day enjoyed by all!