The National Scorpion Association organises racing events and events to promote the class every year. The Silver Scorpion Travellers' series of Open Meetings sponsored by CraftInsure are spread over the season and over the country. The annual highlight is the National Championships, which were hosted in 2023 by Eastbourne Sovereign Sailing Club in Sussex. The TCL - Scorpion National Championships 2024 are at Castle Cove SC in Weymouth.
TCL - Scorpion National Championships 2024 in association with Craftinsure at Castle Cove SC, Weymouth, Dorset
So it's all over bar the post Nationals analysis of where we could (and should) have done better - flicking through the photos and videos from PhotoLounge and wondering why he never seems to manage to get me both hiking out and the spinnaker filling at the same time (I'm sure it happened for at least a nano second - where were you Lee? - too busy in the water at the gybe mark getting some amazing shots and putting together videos I guess). Congratulations to the winners across all the fleets with Rach and Gilly back on top of the tree again, however looking for alternate angles to fill why the Scorpion is continuing its upwards trajectory I'd like to encourage all sailors to look to Abraham Maslow's 1943 work on the Theory of Human Motivation:
Well with the fact that the galley seemed never to be shut, a bar that never ran dry I think Castle Cove did the most amazing job and a huge thank you to the fantastic volunteers (I won't name them - there's too many to fit into the 2000 word limit!). Selection of ice cold canned drinks and baked goods as we hand the tallies in at the end of each days sailing more that helps develop the post-race banter.
We had great T-shirts and sweatshirts organised and delivered in time for a clean drive home - ideal. Shelter by way of an extension marquee intended to make the club bigger in the event of inclement weather was actually a rather useful area of shade in the tropical paradise that was Weymouth last week.
Sleep was unfortunately in short supply for some of us due to there never being a moment spare - if we weren't floating about, Adam Bowers was there to remind us all how to float about faster.
I won't mention the Reproduction for this week, however there's a fair few babes in arms as well as toddlers and children growing fast and getting ready for Scorpion events in years to come.
2) Safety Needs: Personal Security, Employment, Resources, Health, Property
With the lighter airs experienced this week not too many rescues were required, however when called upon one less than agile helm was driven by rib at high speed to dry land to ensure his bleeding head wouldn't leave any stains on his new boat (couldn't knock any sense into him so no need for actual hospitalization).
One keen amateur splicer was fully employed pimping up almost the whole fleet and deservedly won the Tom Castle Memorial Trophy for boat works above and beyond - well done John Tailby. Maybe if 'the Bear' Forbes had used John he wouldn't have spliced his spinnaker sheets inside his shrouds and won the last of the weeks Pecker prizes. The resources put into the event ensured we all had fresh water bottles (Thanks Craft Insure and TCL). Property including whole boats was leant across the fleet and hopefully returned too...
3) Love and Belonging: Friendship, Intimacy, Family, Sense of Connection
OMG - this is the Scorpion fleet in a nutshell - a bunch of mates who party all week and go sailing too - and I mean proper sailing - when a multiple Rock star legend (sorry Pascoe) can't escape the 20s on a three sail reach you know its proper racing !!
The friendships are re-united each year and new ones made - to quote one First timers best moments:- 'Zoes Changing room Buddies'.
Again I don't want to go down the intimacy route with you dear reader but I saw our chairman kissing and hugging a lot of people - often before the alcohol was flowing...This is the Scorpion family - we are connected
We all know and respect our fellow sailors right? Well for anyone through the fleet you know that one mistake costs you 5/10/20 boats - everyone is on it - boat speed is so close that if you don't get a decent start its unlikely you'll climb too far back up in a fleet that's this competitive, with daily prize-giving spreading some beautiful mugs through the fleet everyday we all get recognized.
We have the strength to go out and do it again the next day. This is freedom. Having Pete Goss, Round the World sailor, go through his adventures and explain what pushed on us and recognize that in ourselves was amazing.
Self-esteem for one 14 year old - we heard, "Austin at 14 had never sailed a Scorpion or even raced a dinghy before Sunday... he still managed some respectable results and is now a converted scorpion sailor." And he's booked for Penzance in 2025 already.
5) Self Actualisation: Desire to become the most that one can be
There's only one way to become the most in the Scorpion fleet - that's to keep on coming back and build up that pyramid of Hierarchy - join the scorpions and you too can self actualise. In Weymouth this year with 76 boats on the water we had four junior helms, three youth helms, seven junior crews, three youth crews, nine female helms and 22 female crews - clearly the three female helm pathfinders did a great job - none of their starts were subject to a second try! Obviously these folks have all reached self-actualization...
Seriously though - every year we manage to improve and make the event better - I don't envy our amazing organisers on how we keep improving - I know other fleets look to the Scorpions and see how to make their fleet as amazing as we are for a fully inclusive week - we raised a glass to Chief Swag Lady H whilst looking to others to continue the tradition of including non sailors whether they be old / young, partner or friend, the community is more than just those on the water and the Maslow theory has applications across the Scorpion family.
For other interesting stuff I've failed to mention - spend a moment or two and take a look at the fab round up video from PhotoLounge - which captures a few bits Maslow didn't quite cover - Gate starts, Fancy dress, Games night etc etc.
Huge Thanks to all our sponsors who help make the event what it is: TCL, Craft Insure, Ribs.auction, AJE Management Assets and Cerne Abbas Brewery. And massive thanks to Castle Cove and all the volunteers from the club, including Simon Hawkes Race Officer who stepped in at the last moment and did an amazing job.
See you in Penzance - 39 pre-entries already in!
Race Reports
Day 1 - Sunday
Despite the best efforts of the Race Officer and his team the light and variable breeze was insufficient to start the 76 boat Scorpion fleet - many fingers were crossed for the following day's forecast easterly arriving as predicted.
Day 2 - Monday
We have been very fortunate to have been lent a beautiful boat to sail our first Scorpion Nationals. Andy and Tess Groves have very kindly lent us The Heart of Gold a beautiful wooden Scorpion.
The first day of racing scheduled was lost due to fickle breeze so today was our first time racing with the Scorpion fleet, being the youngest crew, there were a few nerves, but as the Scorpion fleet run a system called Pro-Ams where the crews are buddied up across the fleet to give those less experience the opportunity to learn from others.
On a beautiful sunny day we set to setting up the boat with the help of our Pros Steven Graham and John Clementson whose help and knowledge was really forthcoming, extremely helpful and very gratefully received!
We launched in glamour Weymouth conditions and headed out of a reasonably long sail to the bay, made longer by having to go back to retrieve Freddie's hat when it went overboard.
Castle Cove SC cadets were out in force, with an amazing 7 cadets competing in various boats, making it really fun event. Once ready we got set up for the practice gate start, after a little bit of confusion, we got some clarification on exactly how it worked we got into the swing of it.
Race 1
13-15kts made for some great racing. From where we were, we didn't necessarily see the front finishing boats, but congratulations to Tom Gillard and Rachael Gray for winning race 1 followed by CCSC's Sam Pascoe and Sam Barker in second and third was Ollie Meadowcroft and Simon Forbes.
Race 2
This saw Tom and Rachael take the send race win, Ollie and Simon took second and third was Matt Burge and Rob Gardner.
Race 3
The wind dropped for the start of race 3 making the gate start much trickier and more need for concentration which we may have been lacking at this point, the highlight of the race for Freddie was when I exited the boat having missed the toe straps, this was not found to be the fastest way round the course! Congratulations to those that completed the course without mishap, Ollie and Simon were first, followed by the fabulous Catherine Maguire and Andrea Fellows and third were Sam and Sam meaning CCSC had 3 members in the top three boats in this race!
Following a long leisurely sail back we returned to shore to find that I was in good company and not only I, but three CCSC cadets went for a little dip. Naming no names, James and Ben!
Following racing we had a debrief from Adam Bowers with video and even got a 'beautiful' for our leeward mark rounding, we'll take that!
The evening finished with Pro-Am drinks which was a great opportunity for the Pro and Amateur teams to discuss the days racing, what worked and didn't and how we would tackle tomorrow. Our first experience of a Scorpion Nationals was great. Good fun and the fleet are super helpful and welcoming.
Thank you Scorpions and CCSC, day 2 of the champs but first day of racing complete, looking forward to Tuesday.
Many thanks to the sponsors for the Championships TCL, Craftinsure, Cerne Abbas Brewery, ribs.auction, AJE Asset Management.
Day 3 - Tuesday
A relaxed start to the morning as we knew we would be waiting for wind on the shore. The day started with a packed room listening to an engaging Adam Bowers coaching session. He had us all thinking about our fourth corner, 20 units and the 'fickle finger of fate' (patented).
3 hour postponement and a social experiment of Scorpion sailors mostly fell in to 3 camps... The swimmers... 'its alright once you're in'... the fiddlers... 'I'll break it so I can fix it'... and the chatters... 'tea and lemon drizzle cake?'
D flag was raised and we were released from the beach with a SW 6-8 knots.
Race 4
In the first race the path finder was Pete Grey and Richard Pepperdine and the race was won by 19 yo Joe Warwicker and 63 yo Andy Service (1929). 2nd was Pete and Rich and 3rd was Tom Gillard and Rachel Grey. From our point of view the racing was really tight with big shifts and limited pressure. Huge gains were not the order of the day, it was all about boat speed, handling, eyes on the shifts and having fun! We finished 11th to find that we were going to be the pathfinder for race 5.
Race 5
This found us nervous about the responsibility to start the race, wine gums helped at one minute into the start and we realised that in reality it was just a port hand flyer. We have no idea how everyone started as we were so focused on sailing steady. Being path finder paid off and we rounded in 3rd! Triangle and a sausage later we finished in a very happy 4th. Joe & Andy in the 34 year old 1929 lead from start to finish with some beautiful sailing in the conditions. 2nd was Pete and Rich (again) and 3rd was Dan Henderson and Amy Clay.
We loved 1927 Chloe and Al Clarke who crossed us on starboard up the beat with huge smiles on their faces. Its Chloe's first nationals and sailing with her talented Dad!
Other notable performances from the day. Sam Mason who chose to sail with Mum today! A great score card with an 18th and a 14th. Moving up the standings from yesterday.
We had great day...we raced, it was sunny, we had fun, drank prosecco; THE END.
Many thanks to all the sponsors for this Championship: TCL, Craftinsure, Cerne Abbas Brewery, AJE Asset Management Ltd and Ribs.Auction. And huge thanks to Lee @photolounge for all the Photgraphy and Video footage and to Adam Bowers for the coaching insights he's giving across the fleet and in his coaching sessions.
Day 4 - Wednesday
Greetings from the back of the fleet! Here's the latest update from the underdogs of the Scorpion Fleet, also known as the bronze fleet.
Delays and Postponements
The morning saw expectations of an early start with the potential for three races, but these hopes evaporated under the blazing Weybiza (Weymouth) sun. This gave us the opportunity to watch some of the Olympics, enjoy a swim and hold a lunchtime AGM where we heard about the impressive progress of the Scorpion Fleet as a class. A three-hour postponement took us to a 2 PM release and a 2:55 PM planned warning signal.
Race 6 Recap
By the time racing commenced the wind was a light yet steady 5-6 knots, which for us means just a mild lean. From our vantage point at the back, it was a distant view of the leaders:
1. 2057 - Tom Gillard and Rach Gray 2. 2051 - Ollie Meadowcroft and Simon Forbes 3. 2062 - Sam Pascoe and Sam Barker
Unfortunately, the wind died right off resulting in Race 7 being postponed to Thursday (fingers crossed).
Coaching
Once off the water and changed, we had yet another marvellous coaching session for the fleet from Adam Bowers, covering various hints and tips for light wind sailing, including roll tacks, with video demonstrations from Tom and Rach.
These sessions have been invaluable to us, and our improvements have largely been due to them and the help we've received from other more experienced sailors in the fleet who have been kind enough to take the time to look at our setup and help us make numerous modifications to Polycrooz.
Post-Race Festivities
The real excitement began with the evening's games night. The competition was fierce, and the camaraderie even fiercer!
Despite her prowess on the water, Rachael Gray's team lost out on first place due to her balloon knot-tying abilities, much to everyone's surprise! And John Tailby (AKA King of String) lost against his opponent in the boat winding race, which also provided some giggles amongst friends.
Team 5 (Richard Haines, Zoe Grant, Janet Richie, Lauren Wills, Rob and Mandy Morsley) won overall due to their well-thought-out strategies, despite a couple of teammates struggling to stay on their feet, with Janet Richie facing minor injury!
Conclusion
While the racing part of the day had its ups and downs, the post-race activities highlighted the spirit of the fleet - competitive yet filled with camaraderie and fun. Here's to more days of great sailing and unforgettable nights!
Day 5 - Thursday
Hello from 1052, amazingly, not the oldest boat in the fleet at this Nationals at 54 years old! We think its great that old boats can still be competitive which helps to create closeness of racing all the way through the fleet.
Anyway, onto the business of our Day 5 report. So here's a vintage boat's perspective from deep in the melée of mid fleet racing...
The prelude
A serious physical test. A tough mental battle. And only one winner. We are of course talking about the epic games night, kindly organised by Sam Pascoe which we are all recovering from today! Another scorcher with flat calm greeting the early risers. We've not been blessed with big breeze this week but the first sunlight has been welcome for a vitamin D deficient Northerner! So as well as being a cracking champs, it has also been a holiday with beaches either side of the club. Castle Cove; you are blessed!
As we waited for the rumoured South Westerly breeze to arrive (we're never sure where these rumours start!) the usual build up ensued. We were blessed again with some incredible coaching from Adam Bowers. This has been an absolute godsend and really has offered food for thought to most of the fleet. Today's focus was rules - the result being a newfound revival of the word "protested" heard across the bay!
The racing
Going into the day, it was all to play for across the fleet, with 1 point seperating the leaders and several boats very much in the running. The 6 races held previously meant this would be the deciding day and the final opportunity. In summary, there were some big shifts, the left side of the course paid and it was going to be a sweaty one!
Race 7
We got underway with a light South Westerly and after 1 general recall due to a huge shift as the gate boat set off.
Those who went early did well but those who kept all the way left and ended up overstood had to deal with some serious mayhem at the first mark. What seemed like the first strong tide of the week caught everyone off guard with most of the fleet sat pinching and rafting with a chorus of shouting ringing out across the harbour. Port layers like us had a torrid time trying to get round and it's fair to say that spending time getting to know the marks up close and personal does you no favours...
Despite all the chaos, it was Gilly and Rach who rounded first and went on to extend and take the win. This ultimately put the pressure on the rest of the fleet and things were starting to look ominous! 2nd and 3rd went to Matt Burge/Rob Gardner and Angus/Fraser Hemmings respectively.
Race 8
This race got away cleanly with light breeze at times. It was Joe Warwicker and Andy Service in 1929 who managed to sneak ahead by the windward mark and extended their lead quite impressively. This result has landed them third overall so a great sign that old wooden boats are fast.
2nd was Gilly and Rach who at this time had won the event with a race to spare. And coming in 3rd were Matt Burge and Rob Gardner.
Race 9
After another abandoned start, the fleet eventually got away cleanly. And finally, we had some champagne conditions. The last reaches finally saw scorpions in their natural environment (3 sails, bows up and flying along).
It was Matt Burge and Rob Gardner who got an absolute flyer off the line going early and were seen reaching into the windward mark on port. They simply extended from here for a well deserved first win of the event. 2nd were Joe Warwicker and Andy Service, wrapping up a great event for the Very Vintage wooden 1929 and 3rd Pete and Rich.
All the hard graft was worth it for the post sail cold beer and pasty/samosa/snack - it shouldn't be a key reason we love the Scorpion Nationals but it's always a great touch.
The big one: the final night festivities and the Scorpions legendary fancy dress (Olympic themed).
The amazing social programme put together for this event has been building nicely towards a big finale. Rumour has it, our fleet's reputation for drinking clubs dry had the bar team making last minute additions to their usual order. Did the fleet see this as a challenge? Absolutely! And if fancy dress, drinking or Dad dancing were Olympic events, the Scorpion fleet would have some serious medal contenders.
If Team GB are looking for inspiration, then look no further than the effort put into our Olympic themed fancy dress party which is well underway at the time of writing. The outfits, clearly inspired by a lot of Olympics being broadcast on the big screen during our delays throughout the week. Who will win the coveted Peaches of Pennine costume trophy, we are yet to see...
We've already had the appearance of the Jamaican Bobsleigh Team, a candlelit dinner of Olympic torches and representation from every sport under the sun (though we've not seen any slightly smelly sailing fancy dress funnily enough...)
This will hopefully be an epic party and is always the most fantastic way to have a huge send off for what has been an amazing event. So a huge thank you to the organisers and Castle Cove for an excellent programme of racing and socials alike.
Overall results
A nine month Open Meeting Season in 2024!
We’re really excited to announce the silver scorpion calendar for 2024, with 9 events from Starcross YC (river Exe) to Pennine SC there is something for everyone!
We will return to some of the usual scorpion strongholds (Sidmouth, Notts county ect) as well as exploring what some new venues have to offer.
The first of these new venues is Starcross YC as part of the Exe regatta weekend – we will be having our own start there, but as with the Weymouth regatta in previous years early booking will be essential (Castle Cove are understandably not doing a regatta next year so they can have a rest before hosting the event of the year that will be our nationals!).
The next venue to mix things up is our inlands which will be held at Grafham in September, this is one of the most open inland waters in the UK and with a central location it should be a bumper turn out.
Our final new venue for 2024 is the Isle of Sheppey SC. Sheppey boys Russel and Lee have been telling us how great a sailing venue it is for years, and after Chris and myself experienced the reliable sea breeze for ourselves at the 2023 round the island race I was straight on the phone to Lee when I got home to get Sheppey booked into our calendar for an open meeting in 2024!
Another new addition for 2024 is the youth open meeting, this will be held on the early May bank holiday Monday at Notts county (after the general open meeting on the Saturday and Sunday). This will be a good chance for the youth teams being supported by the scorpion foundation to have some practice before the nationals as well as a chance to show off the local youth talent and hopefully introduce some new fresh faces to the fleet. Youth is under 24 on 27th July 2024 (first day of the champs) and there will also be junior prizes (under 19 as of 27/07/24).
A big thank you to CraftInsure for once again sponsoring the silver scorpion circuit. 2024 is shaping up to be a big year for the scorpions and we look forward to see you all out on the circuit!
John Tailby and Chris Martin – Silver Scorpion coordinators
The programme is:
March: 2/3 - Chew Valley
April: 6/7 - Staunton Harold
May: 4/5 – Notts County 6 - Notts County Youth Open
June: 1/2 - Lymington as part of Lymington dinghy regatta 15/16 - Sidmouth
July: 13/14 - Starcross as part of Exe regatta (Scorpion start confirmed) 27 - Aug 2nd – Castle Cove Nationals
Sept: 14/15 - Grafham Inlands
Oct: 19/20 – Isle of Sheppey
Nov: 2/3 - Pennine End of Seasons
Future National Championships
2024 Castle Cove SC, Dorset Sunday 28th July to Friday 2nd August 2024
2025 Penzance SC, Cornwall Saturday Sat 2nd Aug - Fri 8 Aug
2026 Looe SC, Cornwall Saturday Sat 1st Aug - Fri 7 Aug
2027 Tenby (Dinbych-y-pysgod), Pembrokeshire, Wales Saturday 24th - Fri 30th July
2028 Mounts Bay SC, Cornwall dates tba
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Enter future National Scorpion Events through Webcollect
New members, renewals and event entries should be via the link here or event entries can be made using the Upcoming events selections on this page...please contact us with any questions.
National Scorpion Class Dinghy
The Scorpion dinghy is the 'modern classic' dinghy – a 'classic' in the sense that the strict 14' design is now over 60 years’ old but 'modern' because we keep up to date with affordable technology. Hulls are available in FRP, wood and composite forms. Cockpit layout and rig controls can be tailored to suit personal choice, with various combinations of sails, spars and foils permitted.
The Scorpion’s classic design gives enhanced versatility, longevity, durability and competitiveness. The Penzance 2021 National Championships highlighted this when Scorpion 1880 ‘Shock Wave’ (a wooden Turner build from circa 1985) led the fleet for most of the final race. New boats are always welcome in the fleet but they are not essential to win, as reigning Champions Tom Gillard and Rachael Rhodes demonstrated at Penzance and at Llandudno 2019 in their 10 year old FRP design 'Barely Illegal'.
You can find out more about the Scorpion's technical details, Class rules, Tuning Guides and inside information here.
Ideally suited to recreational dinghy sailing for all ages, the Scorpion is a popular and well supported class with an active second hand market protecting your investment in a new or previously enjoyed boat. Contact us if you’re interested in trying out a Scorpion, would like to join our annual Silver Scorpion Open Meeting programme or have any questions about the Scorpion dinghy.
Following last years huge success with the talk from Stick we have Pete Goss booked to speak this year. Pete has competed in seven transatlantic and two round-the-world races and has sailed more than 300,000 nautical miles. He first came to prominence when, whilst competing in the Vendee Globe single-handed non-stop round the world yacht race, he risked his own life in the midst of a fierce Southern Ocean hurricane to rescue French sailor Raphael Dinelli. Once Pete had dropped Raphael off in Tasmania, he completed the race, coming 5th.
We have daily coaching input from Adam Bowers, looking to help us all get more out of our racing and have fun whilst doing it.
We have a Champagne reception on the Sunday night, the same evening as Pete Goss, in celebration of Helen Johnson (Lady H).
To continue with the Champagne theme, as well as recognising significant moments of stupidity with the daily awarding of the pecker, we will also be recognising great Champagne moments throughout the fleet.
Plus we have an action packed programme of 10 races planned plus practice and crew's race, all in glorious Weybiza plus another fund packed social programme. And as you all want to know... we can now reveal that the Fancy Dress theme this year has taken its theme from The Great British Menu and is….The Olympics!
Don’t forget we’re doing all we can to support youth. A full youth entry (helm and crew both U21) is only £75 PLUS we can get a boat for you if you need one!
A semi-youth entry (ie helm or crew U21) is only £150.
So get your entry in ASAP to come and join the fun of a classic Scorpion Nationals week.
Extract from Mark Jardine’s interview with Tom Gillard re his (together variously with Rachel Gray & Andy Thompson) remarkable success in multi-classes this year …
"A good time off the water is just as important as the sailing, so I asked Tom which class, in his opinion, has the best social activities:
I would say the Scorpion. It's a chilled-out vibe, a nice bunch of people, with newcomers to the fleet alongside old hands, and everybody's very open about what they do to make the boat go fast. It's a real community. The class is going from strength to strength; whether you've got a wooden boat or a fibreglass boat, there's help everywhere, and no-one feels at a disadvantage."
