Xcellent back on top at the UK Nationals 2025

Jul 14
5 min read

Weymouth served up sun, wind and spectacular sailing for this year’s Sailing Chandlery SB20 UK National Championship, hosted by Weymouth Sailing Club on 10–13th July. With four days of back-to-back racing in conditions that would make the Med jealous, 14 teams have enjoyed a full schedule of tight, competitive racing and plenty of time ashore for catching up.

It was Team Xcellent, helmed by John Pollard with crew Alex Hughes and Drew Barnes, who took the top spot in style. The team has secured five bullets across eight races, wrapping up the title even before the final race.

Champagne Conditions in Weymouth

No rain, not much waiting around for breeze and no thermals needed! “Sailing in shorts and t-shirts every day of the event – very unusual for England!”- said John Pollard. Light breezes early on gave way to punchier conditions for the final day, with just enough pressure to get everyone planing downwind and grinning ear to ear.

Day 1 began in classic Portland Harbour fashion: a light and hesitant 5–8 knots kept teams waiting ashore before racing finally got underway. It was a strong start for the top contenders with Charlie Whelan’s Breaking Bod and John Pollard’s Xcellent tied on points after three races, while Mark Gillett’s PBTwenty II also showed early pace, though a DSQ in Race 2 knocked him down the leaderboard.

"A protest penalty with Reservoir Bod blotted our day one results having kicked off the regatta with a 1st place," - reflects Mark Gillet, skipper of PBTwenty II.

Day 2 brought a steady breeze and three more races. Pollard’s team took control of the championship with two bullets and a third climbing to the top of the table. Whelan’s UFD in Race 5 became his discard, but a win in Race 6 kept them in the hunt.

"On day two the well practiced top 6 boats were battling hard and we had to wriggle back a few times from outside the top 10 with great downwind speed," - added Mark.

By Day 3 the breeze had built to 13–16 knots delivering the first proper planing conditions. The championship was now wide open with Xcellent, Breaking Bod and PBTwenty II all trading punches and a tightly packed top third of the fleet behind them keeping the pressure on.

"On the final day the breeze came up and Richard Anderton was on top form with tactics to round out the regatta as we started with a 1st place finish in race 9," - shared the skipper of PB20 II.

Final day saw Xcellent scored two bullets and sealed the title before the last race. The breeze stayed fresh at 18–20 knots, and while Pollard’s team sat out the final race with their new sails safely packed away, PBTwenty II closed with a bullet to secure third overall - just two points behind Breaking Bod:

"Congratulations to John and Team Xcellent with a tightly sailed regatta and we fought hard with Charlie and Team Breaking Bod who held us back in third place overall," - concluded Mark.

Pollard was quick to praise the work of Weymouth SC: “Efficient, friendly, great racing - the RC were very efficient, got all the races in even in lighter conditions. We had a full range of wind from super light to medium, shifty and sea breeze to strong full-planing grand finale on Sunday.”

After a rare Nationals defeat last year, having claimed the title for 6 consecutive years before that, Pollard was fired up to reclaim the title. And did so with a new crew onboard - a 470 and 49er sailor Alex Hughes, who is now training with Athena Pathway. Add the excellent bow work by Drew Barnes - the trio clicked fast.

“We got stronger as the weekend went on,” - said John. “I sailed with Alex previously in Cascais and he is an excellent addition to Team Xcellent! He is a great crew member and we grew in our trust and capabilities together. We finished the regatta feeling we had improved and we had more to come. Drew’s been with me a few years and he’s he's very good - very dynamic on the boat and an is an Xcellent kite trimmer. We had a good vibe onboard and kept learning every day.”

What’s up with the hoodies, John? “Those hoodies are new. Drew sells them!” - laughed John. “Lightweight, long sleeves, keep the sun off – they brought me into the 2000s!”

Sprint Series Results

The regatta kicked off with the Sprint Series - short, intense races run back-to-back on a tight course. One-lap or two-lap windward-leewards, 20 minutes max. Think quick decisions, clean manoeuvres and no time for mistakes:

“It’s the best training we can do going into the Nationals,” - said Pollard. “Short intense racing with prompt turnaround and plenty to go from to improve boat handling, starting strategies, boat setup – excellent format preceding the regatta."

Team Xcellent also claimed the Sprint title, followed by PBTwenty II and Betty.

This year’s Nationals saw a brilliant mix of seasoned stalwarts and newer faces. Phil Rumbelow from the Royal Torbay Yacht Club showed strong form with some consistent results challenging the top three and reminding the fleet why his home club is a fitting venue for the 2027 SB20 Worlds.

Shout-out to Team Dark’n’Stormy who led around the first windward mark in Race 6 and shared their joy afterwards:

“Not often you sail in shorts and a t-shirts four days straight in the UK!” – said skipper Alex Slade. “A few moments of glory… looking forward to Cowes and the Euros.”

We also welcomed Sailing Betties‑2 from Belgium - our only overseas entry and the winners of the Top Youth Team:

“Thanks for making us feel so welcome! We had a lovely weekend and can’t wait to see you all again at the Europeans.”

Top Female - Rosie Povall, Top Youth - Betty-2 and Top Masters - PB20 II

"It was a steep learning curve for us, but after the first day we improved drastically after some of the other sailors were incredibly helpful and gave us some guidance on rig set up," - commented Jack Graham-Troll, the skipper of Sailing Chandlery Youth team, who sailed together for the first time transitioning from their dinghy sailing into keelboat racing. "We all felt like we showed potential despite some of the results not showing the full story. Looking forward to getting involved with the SB20 Class more and see how we can progress!"

Thank You, Paul Hine!

A huge thank you to Paul Hine, who steps down as the UK Class Chairman. Paul remains in the UK Class team as the technical officer. At the prize giving ceremony Charlie Whelan, the new Class Chair, said:

“Paul has been the Chair of the UK class for 8 years, which is nearly half of the UK Class’ life! Thank you also to the Weymouth Sailing Club for being such brilliant hosts and for your excellent Race Committee team. The club is a proper grass-roots club and this shines through. We will be back! Finally thank you to Andrew at Sailing Chandlery, the new UK dealer, for his generous sponsorship and shoreside support.”