Adam Catlow and Jamie Robinson won the RS200 Inland Championship at Draycote Water Sailing Club after finishing the eight-race series on seven points, six clear of home crew Alistair Hodgson and Ella Spain.
The championship, held on 26 and 27 September, brought together 14 boats for the final event of the 2026 Rooster Championship Tour. Catlow and Robinson, representing Leigh & Lowton SC, recovered from a sixth in the second race to produce the strongest overall sequence in the fleet, with five race wins across the weekend.
They began with second place in race one, then counted victories in races three and five to eight. Their four consecutive wins on the second day gave them a decisive advantage in a series where the next three crews all finished within 13 points of one another.
Four day-two wins make the difference
The opening day’s racing was conducted in a 4-7 knot breeze, with shifts and gusts creating opportunities for gains and losses in a tightly packed fleet. Helen and Dougal Scott won the opening race, while Hodgson and Spain took race two for the host club.
The tightness of the opening-day racing was reflected in four different winning crews across the first four races.
Ella Langfeldt and Torsten Marquardt won race four after benefiting from a shift on the right-hand side of the course. They had also led race three before an awkward downwind leg allowed Catlow and Robinson to take that race.
The event report said small decisions could produce substantial gains or losses during the opening day, when the fleet encountered a succession of shifts and gusts. Langfeldt and Marquardt’s race-four success followed an early tack from the line which paid off as another major right-hand shift arrived. The same pair had established a lead in race three after a right shift caught out the fleet, before their downwind misfortune left Catlow and Robinson to take the win. Those changing conditions meant the early races produced varied winners before the eventual champions’ final-day run.
On day two, the breeze changed substantially. The report said a southerly of 12-15 knots, with gusts toward 20 knots, replaced the lighter and more variable opening-day conditions.
Catlow and Robinson made the most of it. They won race five after a course misunderstanding affected several crews: while others headed for the finish believing a lap had been completed, Catlow and Robinson continued upwind. They then won each of the remaining three races.
The report said the second day placed particular emphasis on finding pressure downwind, where sizeable gains were available. It also said the results became more consistent as the stronger breeze settled in, with the top four finishers occupying all podium positions across the day-two races. Catlow and Robinson’s four wins therefore proved decisive, while Hodgson and Spain consistently returned to the front of the fleet without adding another race victory.
Hodgson and Spain posted thirds in races five and six, followed by seconds in races seven and eight. The Draycote crew’s 13-point total secured second overall.
Podium settled by consistency
Joseph Tubb and Amelie Curtis of Maidenhead SC completed the podium on 19 points. They did not win a race, but their second places in races five and six contributed to a 19-point total, ahead of Alex Taylor and Rory Newstead Taylor’s 26.
Tom Knight and Sophie Wood, also of Maidenhead Sailing Club, were fifth on 28 points. The pair had made an early impression with second place in race three, their first event in the RS200 fleet according to the event report.
| Position | Crew | Club | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adam Catlow / Jamie Robinson | Leigh & Lowton SC | 7 |
| 2 | Alistair Hodgson / Ella Spain | Draycote Water SC | 13 |
| 3 | Joseph Tubb / Amelie Curtis | Maidenhead SC | 19 |
| 4 | Alex Taylor / Rory Newstead Taylor | Budworth SC | 26 |
| 5 | Tom Knight / Sophie Wood | Maidenhead Sailing Club | 28 |
The results underline the value of Catlow and Robinson’s ability to turn the second day’s more testing conditions into low scores. Their displayed scoring line contains five wins and a second among the non-discarded results. Hodgson and Spain’s race-two victory was followed by second overall on 13 points, behind Catlow and Robinson’s seven.
Langfeldt and Marquardt finished seventh after an OCS in race one and 13th in race two, although their victory in race four remained one of the standout performances from the lighter opening day. Helen and Dougal Scott, winners of the first race, ended sixth overall.
The Inland Championship was the final event of the 2026 Rooster Championship Tour, and Catlow and Robinson won it by six points. Their result was built on a four-race winning run after conditions strengthened on day two.