What’s the story, Reservoir Bod glory?
- Jul 8
- 2 min read
Back in 2009, the team of Richard Hall, Richard McAdam and Charlie Whelan travelled to Ostend and won the SB20 Tri Nations Cup (a combination of the Belgian, Dutch and German National Championships). Sixteen years later - and many, many years since Richard Hall last stepped onto an SB20 - they decided it was time to "put the band back together" and return to Belgium for the 2025 Belgian Open National Championships.
“It happened to be the same weekend as the Oasis reunion,” - joked Charlie, “and this time we had a combined age of 170!”
Awaiting them in Ostend was their brand-new Devoti-built SB20, which they were racing for the very first time. The light conditions on Day 1 suited them well and they posted a 2nd and 3rd to finish the day tied with Go With The Flow for second overall.
“The new boat is lovely,” said Whelan. “The best team of the day was the Dutch crew on Skipjack, who posted a 1st and a 2nd.”
Day two brought the North Sea at its best - wind and big waves. “Fantastic conditions,” - said Whelan. “The first race saw the Dutch team MXTC get clear, with us, Skipjack, and Squib fighting for the remaining podium positions. Unfortunately, the only teething problem with our new boat meant we had to sail with no spinnaker on the final run. We limped in and made quick repairs before race 3.”
They rejoined the fleet for Race 3 along with Go With The Flow and Team Kesbeke, only to witness the unfortunate sight of Skipjack dismasted and out of the regatta.
“It showed that being on the podium after day one means nothing if the boat isn't properly prepared.”
MXTC continued to build their lead, finishing second in Race 4 behind Buitenhuis Advies, with Sea Bastards in third.
The final day dawned with torrential rain and gusty offshore winds. After sheltering as long as they could, the fleet headed out for three back-to-back races in a gently easing breeze. Buitenhuis took the first and last race, Go With The Flow won race 5, and Reservoir Bod delivered a consistent 2, 3 ,2 - winning the day.
“But it wasn’t quite enough to catch Marco van Driel and his team on MXTC,” said Whelan. “They came third in the final race and won the event by just three points from us. Like Oasis, it seems the band was still playing fine!”
Final podium:
Team MXTC (NED) – Marco van Driel, Joost Assmann, Martijn Worseling
Reservoir Bod (GBR) – Charles Whelan, Richard Hall, Richard McAdam
Buitenhuis Advies (NED) – Martijn Buitenhuis, Frank Dobbels, and crew
Top Belgian boat was Go With The Flow (Bart Tytgat), finishing 4th overall.
With a strong performance and a brand-new boat, Reservoir Bod is well warmed up for the Europeans in August. And who knows - maybe another classic comeback is on the cards!
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