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 2024 Championships is at Castle Cove SC in Weymouth.
National Scorpion Championships 2022
Date
Sunday 24th - Friday 29th July 2022
Venue
Looe Sailing Club Buller St East Looe Cornwall PL13 1AS tel: +44 (0)1503 262559 web: club web site
The National Scorpion Class has accumulated many trophies since 1960 - here are the current championship trophies and prizes and here is the catalogue correct in 2012.
Overall
Scorpion Class Owners Trophy - National Championship Winners Tom Gillard & Rachael Gray - 2013 - Staunton Harold SC
Silver Trophy - Silver Fleet winners Peter Crowther & Andrew Rose - 2031 - Pennine SC
Trevor Stewart Cup - Practice Race Alan Krailing & Simon Forbes - 2051 - Staunton Harold SC
Marlow Rope Trophy - Race 1 Tom Gillard & Rachael Gray - 2013 - Staunton Harold SC
Edward Dunhill Cup - Race 2 Tom Gillard & Rachael Gray - 2013 - Staunton Harold SC
The Scorpion fleet of 75 boats, having all successfully entered Looe negotiating the hordes of staycation holiday makers, were welcomed on Sunday by a Force 5-6 breeze, grey skies, drizzle and some good solid Atlantic waves. The DeWALT Scorpion Nationals held in association with Craftinsure were warmly received by Looe SC with the official briefing and Commodores Reception on Saturday, where old friendships were refreshed, new ones made and the occasional drink was had. Sunday 24th July saw National Champions Tom Gillard & Rachael Gray again stamp their authority on the fleet with two wins in testing conditions that saw an increasing breeze during the day and some big waves with equally big mines to go down. Unfortunately there was a reasonable amount of gear failure across the fleet, with Race 2 having only 28 finishers. Sam Watson & Fireball Champion crew Andy Thompson retired with a hole in the forward sections of their hull - probably through hitting a large fish. Shark fishing is a Looe speciality. Previous Scorpion Nationals Champion Dave Wade did really well to recover from mid teens at the first mark in the second race having got his mainsheet tangled at the start to finish 4th to add to his 3rd in the first race. Former champions Alan Krailing and Simon Forbes sailing a brand new P&B Winder Boat sailed consistently and scored two 2nds to add to their bullet in the practice race. The fleet, suitably broken, returned to the shore to be greeted by G'n'T c/o Sunday's sponsor Copperfish and Pasty's from Sarah's pasty shop c/o DeWALT our main sponsors. So Gillard & Gray go into the second day with 3 races scheduled in 1st place, followed by Krailing & Forbes, Wade & Rayner and Ryan & Hannah Buchanan in 4th. Lee Whitehead was out on the water to catch the action in the classic Looe waves, we also have video from the club of the action, as well as the full results after day one.
City of Plymouth Cup - Race 3 Peter Gray & Rich Pepperdine - 2045 - Staunton Harold SC
Sidmouth Cup - Race 4 Tom Gillard & Rachael Gray - 2013 - Staunton Harold SC
Designer's Trophy - Race 5 Tom Gillard & Rachael Gray - 2013 - Staunton Harold SC
The fun continues. With waves the size of tower blocks yesterday we were assured that today would be calmer - but three races... And Looe delivered - no mountains of water to catch you out but 8 boats screaming into the gybe mark can be challenging - or is that an opportunity to take 7 of your chums on the inside (avoiding the capsized one). Shifty 15 knots gusting 25, gate starts again - surely the fleet would get a bit closer to the gate boat today? After one boats DSQ yesterday for a gate boat infringement, today we had to abandon a start. Was it due to a certain sailor being the wrong side of the pathfinder and impeding his progress or was it a windshift? Overnight leaders Tom and Rach were hoping the leaders bib would get them three more bullets but it wasn't to be. After their boat polishing yesterday mid-race Pete and Rich managed to snaffle a race win, so does that mean that to win you have to have a Gray in the boat? It looks like it, as after the temporary pause in the 2013 winning streak they sorted it out and now have 4 wins and a second. Meantime silver fleet leaders Crowther and Rose in 2031 have tightened their grip on the Bibs currently lying 10th overall, Mahey and Bowers - overnight leaders in the bronze fleet also have maintained their Bronze fleet position though are now being pushed very hard by Pinnock and Monk in 30th. Tonight sees the famous Denchfield quiz return for the first time in years - who has the GCSE physics knowledge combined with obscure rules on what the F flag is for...? After the three races the fleet came ashore happy but tired to be greeted by cold beers and warm pasties care of sponsor DeWalt.
Day 3
Gosling Dinghy Craft Trophy - Race 6 Andy McKee & Stephen Graham - 2040 - Staunton Harold SC
An early decision was made to launch a little later for a hopeful 2pm start. Once on location south of Millendreath the wind moved left, right, then disappeared for a while to finally return and attempt to let us try get a number of gate starts away (no names - no pack drill!). On the third attempt the wind had settled and a fantastic race ensued. Regretfully some interesting action at the first mark resulted in a few spins for one or two of the rock stars allowing McKee and Graham to punch through for a convincing win. Further down the fleet silver fleet leaders Crowther and Rose extended their lead. Pathfinder is often a nice place to get a view across the fleet, Lets hope the drone footage from Photolounge does them justice. The fleet returned to shore to be greeted by Pasties and Beer care of main sponsor DeWALT, followed by fish and chips and then the magnificent Barretts Privateers singing some marvellous sea shanties... The fun continues all week. Six races have currently completed and Gillard & Rhodes are still looking secure at the front with Wade and Raynor holding onto 2nd. The wind is looking a little light tomorrow so the start is likely to be postponed. Hopefully a nice day for an AGM leading to beach games ahead of another cracking sail?
After the excitement of the last three days the fleet woke knowing the chances of racing were slim, but there was a chance, and the lightweights in the fleet had their fingers crossed. At 9.30 we were told of a 4 hour postponement, but the forecast was for a light but steady southerly later on. So the fleet set about fancy dress prep, crabbing, boat bimbling and just generally enjoying a sunny day in Looe. The swags and shabs could be spotted enjoying a leisurely lunch and politely but firmly telling all the sailors to leave them alone and it was better when they were all away sailing! At 2pm it wasn't looking great, but then the message came through to be ready for a 3pm launch, so boats were rigged and wetsuits donned. However at 3pm the wind still refused to settle and the call was made to cancel for the day. An impromptu beach volleyball competition was followed by a Q&A by reigning champions and regatta leaders Tom Gillard and Rachel Gray, alongside more pasties and beer care of main sponsor DeWALT. Afterwards, the fleet retired to prepare for the infamous Sheppey raffle in the evening. So standings remain the same and we wait to see if the breeze will settle tomorrow and anyone can prevent Tom and Rach from completing a hat-trick of titles.
Day 5
President's Pot - Race 7 Rob Cage & John Reay - 2052 - Thames SC
With six races complete Thursday was always going to be the last day, but the question was: how many races could we do? The race committee changed the SIs to give themselves the option of anything up to four but the morning millpond suggested we'd be lucky to get one. A two hour postponement looked ominous but by midday it was clear we would be going racing. The wind filled in enough to have both crew hiking but there were still some sneaky holes to avoid. The first race and it was Rob Cage & John Reay in their brand new boat that dodged them best, they took an early lead and disappeared into the horizon. Gilly (Tom) & Rach followed Matt Burge & Bob Gardner over the line to all but seal the title while Debi Gibson & Sandra Smith won a close battle with Janet & Alan Ritchie (in Looe this can often be the most fought after result, just ask Pete Gray and Sam Watson who earlier in the week decided it was better to finish tenth than ninth and had a match race to decide who would finish behind the other).
Allspars Trophy - Race 8 Matt Burgess & Rob Gardner - 2053 - Notts County SC
This time Matt & Bob went one better to win comfortably while second place was more than enough for Gilly & Rach to confirm the inevitable. With Alan Krailing & Simon Forbes taking third there was now just 1 point in the battle for second overall. Oh yeah, and Sam Watson finally got his tenth place, a remarkable achievement in itself considering he put a big hole in his boat on the first day and his crew had to fly back to Ireland. Having dragged an early 90s FRP hull out of a garage in Plymouth and a local Enterprise sailor out of the club bar he not only managed to get back on the water but was annoyingly quick as well!
Chairmans Prize Plate - Race 9 Tom Gillard & Rachael Gray - 2013 - Staunton Harold SC
With slick turnarounds and nice weather there was just time for a third race, and with it the second discard would kick in leaving a few people scratching their heads as to whether or not that was a good thing or not. There were no such worries for Gilly & Rach who finished the week in style with another bullet. Behind them second for Alan & Forbes was just enough to take second overall on countback ahead of Dave Wade & Ben Rayner who finished third in both the race and overall. Wooden boat builder extraordinaire Nigel Potter, sailing with Jeremy Stephens and a past runner-up decided to join the fun at the front with a fourth. In the silver fleet strong last days by Debi & Sandra, and Ric & Lucy Searle were not quite enough to overhaul the week long leaders of Pete Crowther & Andy Rose as they took second and third respectively. In the bronze fleet, Bella Fellows & Elly Pegg used the second discard to great effect and leapt up the fleet to take a convincing win. Jo Mahy & Adam Bowers held on to second ahead of Tom Daniels & Alison Sheldrick sailing 1052, a boat older than most of the fleet! Overall another fantastic week of racing with Looe being the amazing hosts they always are. Thanks to all the organisers from the club, the class and from the very generous sponsors DeWALT, Craftinsure, P&B, Copperfish Distillery, Ovington Boats and FFX. Roll on Eastbourne 2023 and the mission to get 100 boats on the start line...
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."
