Association
Welcome To The
INTERNATIONAL CLASS ASSOCIATION
The ultimate single-handed dinghy with a lifting keel
RESULTS AND REPORTS
Here you can find all past events results and reports.
2023 Results
K1 Racing in Europe
The K1 is a very active class throughout the UK with 180+ boats now registered. The reputation of the K1 dinghy as a fast stable boat has spread far and wide with owners as far flung as USA and Australia.
We are rapidly developing the class in in Europe and this is a report from Dave Pritchett of his journey to race with colleagues in Switzerland.
Travellers series report
The Travellers Trophy racing started this year at Datchet Water with the National Inland Championships. Held in chilly conditions with wind variations from force 3-5 which ended up a great tussle between Ben and Simon Hawkes.
Broxbourne open
There was a strong entry of 17 boats for this last event in the K1 Class Travellers Trophy series for 2023 on Saturday 28th October. All six boats, comprising the Broxbourne K1 fleet, were joined by eleven visitors, who had trailed from Barnt Green, Burton, Rutland, Tewkesbury, Lyme Regis, plus the usual suspects from Datchet Water.
K1 National Championships 2023
Plymouth
The K1 National Championship was held over the long weekend of 8th, 9th & 10th September 2023. For those unfamiliar with the Mount Batten Centre, it lies opposite the thriving Plymouth Waterfront with direct access to Plymouth Sound, offering numerous options to set courses which maximise the favourable wind directions and minimise tides.
A very close Championships was filmed by drone photography which gives a fabulous insight to the racing and certainly will be used by the training team for those members unlucky enough to have missed a super event.
The Championship was won by Simon Hawkes
2nd Place Ben Flower
3rd Place Ian Jay
4th Place Andrew Wilson
5th Place Jeremy Hudson
In the K1 fleet we are proud to recognise and celebrate our demographic:
Over 60 Champion Simon Hawkes
2nd Place Jeremy Hudson
3rd Place Graham Butler
Over 65 Champion Andrew Wilson
2nd Place Richard Sims
3rd Place Geoff King
Over 70 Champion Chris Swallow Simon Hawkes. National Champion 2023
2nd Place David Pritchett
The K1 National Championships were sponsored by Ovington Boats who kindly gave spot prizes to all participants.
2nd Overall 3rd Overall 4th Overall and 5th Overall and
Ben Flower. Ian Jay over 65 Champion. 2nd over 60
(collected by his father) Andrew Wilson. Jeremy Hudson
Other Winners:
3rd over 60. 2nd over 65. 3rd over 65. 1st over 70. 2nd over 70
Graham Butler. Richard Sims. Geoff King. Chris Swallow. David Pritchard
Other Pictures from the Nationals:
Full report here
Full results can be found here
Drone taster footage can be found here,
professional Pictures can be found here
The K1 Midland Area Championship
Rutland sailing club
The K1 Midland Area Championship was held over the weekend of 8th/9th July at Rutland Sailing Club. It was held together with the Formula One National Championship (the yachts not the cars) although the British GP was also being held over the same weekend at Silverstone which is not far from Rutland Water.
Visitors who dropped their boats off on Friday afternoon were greeted with bright sunshine, temperatures in excess of 28 degrees and a constant breeze of between Force 3 gusting Force 5. All looked excellent for the weekend, however what a difference a day makes. Saturday was what can only be described as a race officer's nightmare with flat calms followed literally by electrical storms. Very sensibly after the fleet had been on the shore waiting for either a breeze or a clear 30 minutes after the last electrical storm the races were cancelled for the day. A fabulous BBQ was supplied on Saturday night by the club, which allowed the fleet to catch up with each other in a social setting and all were looking forward to Sunday where the race team had arranged a four race series back to back, so an early start as weather forecast looked favourable.
Sunday dawned with clear skies and a light southerly wind. The fleet left the shore and after a slow 30 minute sail to the sailing area were held by the race team for the predicted increase in wind to fill across the reservoir. The wind duly obliged and the windward / leeward courses were set.
The first race saw Jeremy Hudson (RYA) together with Ian Duke and Hilly King both from Datchet Water SC heading along the shore, whilst Geoff King (Tewkesbury and Bartley) Phil King (Bartley) and Anthony Evill (Rutland) took the opposite bank and the predicted port lift. Place changing was taking place throughout the fleet but at the windward mark Hilly had established a lead from Jeremy and Ian. The off wind leg was a choice between staying in pressure or taking a more direct route to the gate. Hilly and Ian selected the pressure whereas Jeremy and Geoff took the direct route. Antony still improving slipped past Phil and Mike Morgan and David Pritchett (both from Rutland) selected different gate marks trying to pick up lifts in the centre of the course. The second beat saw Hilly and Jeremy pulling away from the fleet but there was little between them as they started the last off wind leg. Hilly held on to win with Jeremy second with Ian just pipping Geoff for third.
The second race saw Geoff leading the fleet with Hilly and Jeremy in close attendance. Ian and Phil were recovering from slow starts but again making progress on the front runners. David was leading the home sailors who again chose a more central route to the windward mark so it would be interesting to see who had chosen correctly. At the windward mark Jeremy held a slight lead over Hilly with Ian and Geoff having their own tussle slightly further back. The fleet all bunched together as the wind lightened slightly on the off wind leg, however it was Jeremy and Hilly who had again developed a slight gap by the time the fleet reached the gate marks. Ian and Geoff had made good progress as had Phil and David so a bunch of four boats all rounded within a few seconds of each other. The next windward leg saw Jeremy and Hilly swapping places regularly and it was clear that both boats were going very fast. Jeremy just held a slight lead on the final off wind leg, however Hilly was not to be denied and slipped past to hold on for his second win, closely followed by Jeremy in second. Third was a battle between four boats and Ian again just pipped Geoff and Phil to the line.
Thankfully the wind increased again for the third race and the start was to prove crucial with Jeremy opting for the pin end of the line and Hilly the windward side. Once clear of the slightly confused line it was Jeremy who was leading this time followed by Geoff and David. Hilly worked his way back to be on Jeremy's transom when the fleet turned the windward mark for the first time, closely followed by Ian and Geoff, but the whole fleet were so close giving anyone an opportunity to break into the top three. The fleet continued to be competitive and swap places throughout the race but the last off wind leg to the finish was an indication of how close the racing in the fleet can be. Jeremy took the win with Hilly a very close second however the rest of the fleet arrived together at the gate mark, Ian again was able to take third with Geoff fourth.
The last race would prove crucial in the overall result and a head to head between Hilly and Jeremy. Anything other than a Jeremy win would give the championship to Hilly who was the winner of the last K1 open event at Medway YC. At the start Ian and Jeremy were over the line and having to return, Hilly was clear but in the least favoured position close to the Southerly shore in light wind. Phil and David had the best starts and were pulling clear of the chasing pack seemingly taking the required shifts and ignoring those less favourable At the windward mark David and Phil rounded together closely followed by Jeremy who had recovered brilliantly and Hilly who had been able to get back into pressure after playing the shifts correctly.
The offwind leg saw Hilly covering Jeremy so by the time the leaders reached the gate David and Phil were still out in front and neck and neck with each other. David opted to take the Southerly gate and Phil opted for the opposite gate mark which was to prove the correct decision and was followed by Jeremy and Hilly. The final windward leg saw both Jeremy and Hilly catch up to Phil but there was no way past as Phil stayed between the mark and the chasing boats until a vicious header appeared from nowhere! Jeremy was first to react and was able to slip past Phil and lead at the windward mark with Phil and Hilly in close attendance. Despite Hilly being able to pass Phil on the off wind leg Jeremy held on to take the win and with it tie the open meeting as Hilly finished second and Phil third. On count back Jeremy had therefore won the closest of events and retained his Midland Championship crown with Hilly second and Ian third.
Overall Results (top three)
1st Jeremy Hudson
2nd Hilly King
3rd Ian Duke
Masters prize, Phil King
Seniors prize, Geoff King
Veterans prize, David Pritchett
Full report here
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Medway Marathon and K1 Long Distance Race
K1 Long distance race 2023.
The K1 long distance race was held on Sunday 11th June as part of the Medway Marathon, hosted by Medway Yacht Club.
The full Marathon course is twenty six miles along the Medway river taking in creeks and relies on sailors negotiating tides and avoiding larger water traffic. The weather when the competitors arrived was blisteringly hot and sun tan lotion and hydration was clearly going to be the order of the day. With little wind over the river the race committee met to discuss options, but bang on queue the wind gods answered everyone’s prayers with a steady breeze which obligingly built throughout the day. The race committee announced the full course would be sailed and competitors eagerly put sustenance in their boats to enable them to last the predicted four to five hours racing.
The K1’s started in class 4 which allowed us to watch where some of the early starters had chosen to race using the maximum flow of the tide which was with us until approximately 1pm. At that stage ideally you should have rounded the furthest mark which should then allow the tide to help with your return sail. The Medway YC always select the race date around the tides and it worked to perfection.
At the start Geoff King (Tewkesbury and Barnt Green) was the early pacemaker carefully negotiating the mid part of the river, closely followed by Hilly King (Datchet Water) and Jeremy Hudson (RYA). Clearly as the saying goes this is not a sprint so consistency was going to prove key the recipe to success. The place changing was continual between the K1’s and all boats were close together giving fantastic racing. The majority of the way out was to be a beat and Hilly and Jason King ( Datchet Water) passed Geoff and looked to be pulling away around the first major bend and up to Folly Point Beacon. Jeremy was going very quickly and was next to take the lead and he immediately tried to put some distance between himself and the chasing pack. Jeremy continued to lead and when passing Darnett Beacon and mark 16 he had built a small gap between himself and the chasing pack. The turn into the creek saw Jeremy leading with Hilly , Jason and Geoff all together in close attendance. Ian Duke (Datchet Water) reduced the gap to the leading group and at this point there was less than five minutes between the K1’s on the water and it was clear all were going well in relation to all other classes in the class 4 start. Jeremy seemed comfortable leading the K1’s however Jason was clearly reducing the gap very quickly and was soon on Jeremy’s transom. Meanwhile Geoff had caught Hilly and was looking relaxed as he continued to maximise the tidal flow. The fleet continued to press hard and when we turned the furthest mark Jeremy and Hilly were extremely close and had established a lead over Jason, Geoff and Ian. The thirteen miles home had the benefit of the turning tide which helped push the fleet home and together with the strengthening wind it became a reach and run to the finish. At the front Hilly passed Jeremy when he tried to free the weed from his keel and this was to prove crucial. Hilly was able to establish a comfortable lead which he held to the finish to win the long distance trophy. Ian also passed Jeremy to finish second as Jeremy sailed very low towards the line and just secured third very closely followed by Geoff and Jason.
Hilly secured sixth overall as part of the Medway Marathon and won class 4 however after over four hours of intense sailing all the K1’s were separated by only two minutes on the water. The racing had been incredibly close and extremely enjoyable proving again what a fabulous boat we have in the K1.
POSH and Southern Area Championships
K1 SOUTHERN AREA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The K1 Southern Area Championships were held over the weekend of 20th/21st May at Paignton Sailing Club and combined with the annual POSH regatta.
The bright sunshine and medium breeze which greeted the fleet over the picture postcard part of the Torbay was absolutely perfect. The race management both on and off the water was a credit to all involved at Paignton Sailing Club. The K1 fleet were berthed in the harbour and the majority of the rest of the classes were based on the green adjacent to the beach.
The issues with launching on Saturday, namely not enough water to fully let down the keel and wind directly to windward to negotiate the harbour wall were quickly overcome by the club ribs towing us out to the bay, where we were able to enjoy the most perfect conditions sailing to the start boat.
The K1’s started in the first handicap fleet which had in the region of 40+ starters. The long start line allowed most boats to get clear lanes going to the windward mark. Simon Hawkes showed great boat speed leading Jeremy Hudson, Ian Jay and Hilly King along the shoreline whilst Steve Birbeck led Geoff King, Graham Butler and Gordon Keyworth who opted to go out to sea. When the fleet converged Simon had a narrow lead over Steve with all the fleet in close attendance and all pulling away from the majority of the rest of the handicap fleet. Jeremy had gear failure but a few strategic knots quickly tied enabled him to join in the racing.
The run to the wing mark again split the fleet and at one time the K1 fleet seemed to be filling the horizon with all the goose winged boats in a line. The place changing was continual across the rest of the race with Simon taking the win from Steve and Ian in third.
The second race started in similar conditions and once again the K1’s were dominating the handicap fleet. Interestingly again there was no agreement which lane to take with Simon and Steve opting to go out to sea early and Jeremy continuing with the shoreline approach. Jeremy seemed to have chosen correctly when he rounded the windward mark first closely followed by Simon, Steve and the fleet again all close to each other. The offwind legs were clearly a chance to gain places and a wave taken well could take you from 8th to 3rd only to see your competitors passed surf by on the next wave. The last beat saw places consolidated and again Simon took the win followed by Steve and Jeremy in third.
The last race on Saturday saw the breeze reducing and it was important to keep clear air and momentum across the waves . This race saw Graham keeping Simon honest with Ian and Hilly in close attendance. Starting the second offwind leg the wind gods left large wind holes on the racecourse and such was the competition between the K1’s we all caught the Fire fleet which had started three minutes infront of our section. This caused some challenges and place changing but at the finish Simon again took the win closely followed by Graham and Ian in third. Overnight the K1 class were not only having a super inter fleet competition but overall holding the top three positions in POSH . The club provided all competitors and partners to a wonderful curry night which was a chance to catch up with friends old and new.
Sunday dawned with a stronger breeze but again launching issues to overcome for the club as those classes based on the beach could not launch. The K1’s however took advantage of launching from the harbour again getting a tow to the bay and we were all enjoying the champagne sailing conditions waiting for the rest of the handicap fleet to join us.
After a short postponement we were able to get away, with the K1’s again showing at the front of the fleet. Jeremy, Ian and Hilly again took the coastline route with Simon and Geoff leading the K1’s who went out to sea earlier. The chop was much greater today and sometimes when you hit a wave the boat would literally stop allowing those capable of keeping momentum to gain significant distances. At the windward mark all were again very close but this time Jeremy led Simon and Hilly. The offwind and subsequent upwind legs saw Jeremy increase his lead and it looked very much like he would break Simon’s dominance. However Simon was not to be beaten and he slowly eroded the lead and broke through at the finish to again take the win. Jeremy was a very close second with Ian third.
The question for the next race was could anyone break Simon’s dominance or any other fleet challenge the overall supremacy of the K1’s?
Race 5 started in a similar breeze and as was becoming a pattern the fleet split evenly between those opting for the shoreline start and those opting to go out to sea early. Simon together with Steve and Ian again were opting for the breeze further out to sea which paid dividends as they rounded the windward mark first, however the rest of the fleet were very close on their heels. The place changes were mainly in midfleet in this race but at the finish Simon took the win, Ian followed in second and Steve in third.
The last race was started in a dying breeze and the first beat was going to be vital to get away and keep clear air. Graham played the shifts beautifully to lead Simon and Geoff around the windward mark. The offwind legs were extremely challenging and Graham kept his nerve to hold a diminishing lead as Simon closed the gap. At the finish Simon had passed Graham to complete a grand slam of wins. Graham second and Jeremy finished third just managing to stay ahead of a fast closing Geoff.
Simon was the clear winner of the K1 open and indeed won the POSH with a clean sweep of wins showing great race management and speed. Second in the K1 open meeting and third in POSH was Ian showing great consistency. Jeremy was third in the K1 open and second overall in POSH. This gave the K1 class a clean sweep in POSH and indeed seven of the top ten overall in POSH were K1’s. Congratulations to all for a fabulous open event which will live long in the memory.
Carsington Open and Northern Area Championship.
K1 Northern Area Championships
The K1 Northern Area Championships were held at Carsington Water SC on Sunday 16th April. The wind which greeted the fleet was, thank goodness, greater than was predicted and the 7 to 12 knot breeze provided very close racing. The PRO Keith Appleby and his team set windward, leeward courses for the first two races and when the wind direction shifted the introduction of a W course kept the fleet guessing which side of the course to favour.
The first race got away with Hilly King(Datchet Water) leading the fleet on the starboard side of the course closely followed by Ian Tinker and Richard Sims, both from the home club. Whilst most of the fleet short tacked the central part of the course Ian continued to starboard which proved to be the correct decision as he held a small lead at the windward mark, closely followed by Richard, Jeremy Hudson (Frensham Pond) and Jason King (Datchet Water). The run saw the fleet bunching together with Geoff King (Tewkesbury) going much lower than the front runners and proving very fast. Unfortunately Jeremy retired with jib pole trouble and Jason lost a batten which slowed his progress. The second beat saw Geoff sail incredibly quickly through the fleet to lead at the windward mark, with Ian, Richard and Jason all in close attendance. At the finish Geoff had a comfortable lead, Ian took second, Richard third and Hilly fourth.
The second race had a similar pattern with Ian and Richard choosing one side of the course and Jeremy leading those who again chose the central to port side which appeared to have a lift at times and then patches where the breeze died to nothing. At the windward mark Ian led Richard with Jeremy, Jason, Geoff and Hilly all rounding together. Jason looked to have chosen the correct course downwind catching the leaders and going into the lead only to sail into a windless patch allowing the status quo to continue. Hilly made a push to overtake next but again was denied by the way the wind filled in from behind. The second windward leg saw Geoff and Jeremy splitting tacks with Ian and Richard, however at the windward mark a group of six boats were all within seconds of each other. The run proved to be a case of holding ones nerve and Ian rounded the leeward mark first and held on to a victory followed closely by Richard, Jeremy and Hilly.
Going into the last race three potential winners were emerging so all to play for. The first beat proved decisive with all the club sailors choosing the left hand side and visitors again taking the lifts which clearly did not pay in the swinging wind. Great to see Alf Hawkesworth and Kim Dunstan both from Carsington in the mix at the windward mark but it looked like Ian was clear with Richard a comfortable second. Richard however had other plans and passed Ian off wind and despite all Ian’s best efforts Richard was not to relinquish the lead. At the finish Richard took the bullet followed by Ian , Hilly and Jeremy.
Each race had a different winner and on countback Richard had won The Northern Area Championship, followed by Ian in second and Geoff in third.
The Open Meeting has again proved extremely enjoyable and demonstrated how competitive and friendly the racing is within the K1 class.
The prize giving also celebrated the K1 demographic prize categories and spot prizes kindly donated by Ovington Boats.
1st overall Richard Sims
2nd overall Ian Tinker
3rd overall Geoff King
1st over 70 Alf Hawkesworth
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National Inland Championships 2023
Competitors made their way to Datchet Water for the first class open meeting of the 2023 season. Simon Hawkes, the current K1 National Champion, started as the firm favourite having recently won a Selden Sailjuice event. The weather forecast was for force 3 to 4 winds all weekend rising to force 5 later on Sunday afternoon. The wind gods did not disappoint and all races got away as scheduled.
Read full report here
Ben Hawkes
2023
National Inland Champion
Simon Hawkes
2nd overall and winner of the masters trophy
Richard Sims
3rd overall and winner of the senior trophy
Chris Swallow
Winner of Veterans trophy
Graham Butler
4th overall
Jeremy Hudson
5th overall
Full table of results
K1 National Championships 2022
held at Royal Torbay Yacht Club
The K1 National Championships were held over the long weekend of 9th - 11th September 2022 at Royal Torbay Yacht Club. Competitors travelling from all over the country chose to set up their boats on a sun drenched and windy Haldon Pier on Thursday afternoon, excellently marshalled by the beachmaster. Some of the more intrepid members of the fleet practiced on the glistening waters in the bay, whilst others caught up with new faces and those more familiar.
2022 national champion
Simon Hawkes
2nd Chris Turner
3rd Paul Birbeck
4th Steve Birbeck
Datchet water sailing club and Southern area Championships
The K1 Southern Area Championships were held over the weekend of 9th/10th July at Datchet Water Sailing Club. Datchet is a magnificent piece of water, which has the most wonderful views of Windsor Castle.
Tewkesbury K1 Long distance race
The K1 Long Distance Race was held at Tewkesbury Cruising & Sailing Club on Friday 3rd June. The Race starts at the club and continues down river for four miles, which includes going under the M5 motorway bridge and finishes at Severn Sailing Club. The race then returns after a welcome lunch break from Severn Sailing Club to Tewksbury Sailing Club. Both elapsed times are added together, and places can then be awarded accordingly.
South Windermere S.C. open and
K1 Northern Area Championships
The K1 open series moved up to Windermere on Saturday 21st May 2022. South Windermere Sailing Club welcomed 5 visitors to its new base at the YMCA Lakeside, on the West bank of Windermere for the second round of the 2022 K1 open series.
As usual on Windermere, the weather did not act on the forecast, and racing was held in dry conditions with a wind mostly from the south west, and varied from exciting down to gentle, often varying quickly-this is normal for Windermere!
Pictures to follow
Inland Championships 2022
