Hansa UK National Championships 2026 at the Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy
by David Durston 15 Aug 17:48 BST
17-19 July 2026


Windward mark rounding during the Hansa UK Nationals at the WPNSA © Chris Hargreaves

Jayleigh during the Hansa UK Nationals at the WPNSA © Tim Hopes

Downwind during the Hansa UK Nationals at the WPNSA © Chris Hargreaves


This year’s Hansa National Championships were held as part of the Inclusive Games which were hosted by WPNSA with support from the RYA and Chesil Sailability. The event combined the Hansa class nationals, the Challenger class nationals, and sailing for both deaf and blind groups.


Eight Libertys lined up for the event. Paul Philips opened strongly, leading Race 1 until weed slowed him and David Durston snatched the win. David then controlled Race 2 from the start.


Light winds shaped day two. Mike Everitt won the morning race, with David second and Paul pushed to fourth by a late charge from Paul Pearson. After a course reset, Paul took 2nd behind Mike and ahead of newcomer James Woosnam, with David closing fast but finishing fourth.


Race 5 was another win for Mike, with James taking the inside at the final mark to beat David, while Paul’s rare mistake sent him to start an extra lap and put him down to fifth. Mike’s success on day 2 gave the overnight scores of Mike 6, David 7, Paul 10.


Paul fought back on the final morning with a decisive win, while Paul Pearson grabbed second and Mike third. That left Mike on 9, David and Paul on 11 going into the last race.


Mike delivered when it mattered, winning the final race and the national championship. David edged Paul by inches to secure second overall.


In the 11 strong 303 1-person fleet, Rory McKinna again demonstrated why he is a world champion contender, taking 1st in every race. The battle of for second third and fourth was more closely fought.


On day one, there was some confusion on the start sequence, unfortunately Margaret Foreman had not noticed that the race officer had decided to build in a gap between the liberty finish and the start of the countdown for the 303 singles. This meant starting the event with two scores of OCS, a big deficit to be made up. Her consistent, top 4 results across all of the remaining races enabled her to achieve a podium place, pipping Phil Monk to 3rd place on count back. Both finished on net 28, but Phil’s results had been more erratic.


In second place, Sophie Brisley built on her 3rd place in 2025. Sophie achieved 5 second places, a 3rd, and a disappointing 6th which was her discard, finishing with a net 13, justifying her position over Margaret.


In the 303 2-person fleet the winning spot was again taken by Lynne and Stuart Swann with 7 1sts. The fight for the other 2 podium spots was much closer; all 5 of the other teams achieved at least one top 3 places across the 7 races. As with the Liberty fleet it came down to the last race, with Lara and Katy and Sue and Rick Jillings both on 16 points after discards. Lara having previously sailed in the 2.3 fleet held her nerve with Katy, taking 2nd, two ahead of their rivals.


Unfortunately there were only 2.3 entries so their races were run alongside the 303 2-person class. That was again won by Lindsay Burns over Andrew Lebec.


Overall Results:


PosHelmClubR1R2R3R4R5R6R7Pts
2026 Hansa UK Nationals Liberty
1Mike EverittFrensham Pond Sailability351113110
2David DurstonWhitefriars Sailing Club112434213
3Paul PhillipsFrensham Pond Sailability224251314
4Paul PearsonRutland Sailing Club/Sailability433642420
5James WoosnamFrensham Pond Sailability645325524
6Mary DuffyBray Sailing Club
Ireland568578738
7Tessa WatkissFrensham Pond Sailability876866841
8Terry HewlettWhitefriars Sailing Club787787642
2026 Hansa UK Nationals 303 1 Person
1Rory McKinnaClyde Cruising Club11111116
2Sophie BrisleyWhitefriars Sailing Club223262213
3Margaret ForemanFrensham Pond SailabilityCS)CS)2433428
4Phil MonkWhitefriars Sailing Club448329728
5Leslie PhilipTideway Sailability (London)554745629
6Jayleigh TilleyWhitefriars Sailing Club3355107932
7Katie ApseFrensham Pond SailabilityCS)CS)6684339
8Rebecca WillcoxWhitefriars Sailing ClubCS)CS)7956544
9Richard RochesterWhitefriars Sailing ClubCS)6987101050
10Nia FaulderLeigh & Lowton SC6NS)111098852
11Ellie ScottChesil SailabilityCS)ET)101111111166
2026 Hansa UK Nationals 303 2 Person
1Lynne SwanFrensham Pond Sailability11111116
2Lara SturgisFrensham Pond Sailability442524218
3Rick JillingsCarsington Sailing Club324345420
4Kim DaviesFrensham Pond Sailability556433323
5Philip HallChesil Sailability233666525
6Kiran WadeUni of Lincs/NCSC665252626
2026 Hansa UK Nationals 2.3
1Lindsay BurnsFrensham Pond Sailability111111NS)6
2Andrew LebecFrensham Pond Sailability2NS)2222111