Rye Harbour Sailing Club compete in the International Marblehead Trophy

RHSC was represented at the Marblehead Trophy in Cowes by Eric Zon in Anarchy [Sail number 825].

The Marblehead Trophy is a prestigious international sailing prize established in 1929 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Marblehead, Massachusetts. 2026 was the first staging of this prestigious inter-club Dragon competition in the UK. An exceptionally close six-race series ended with an all-British Dragon podium.

This year’s competitors included both professional and amateur sailors representing clubs from 8 countries and 15 UK sailing clubs.

Day One delivered sunshine, sparkling Solent waters and a light easterly breeze as the fleet headed towards the Lee-on-the-Solent shore for three opening races. Tide proved a major tactical factor throughout the day, with teams searching for gains into the windward marks and some pushing their advantage close enough to the shore to find the bottom. With unfavourable weather preventing racing on Day Two, the third and final day began early and the first start was brought forward to maximise the opportunity for racing. The fleet headed to the East Knoll area of the Solent, where choppy seas and an easterly breeze of around 15–17 knots provided a very different challenge from the opening day.

Eric reported “Unfortunately our results were not as good as Cowes week and Edinburgh cup but great event and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Very physical so can do with some time off now… next the World’s in Hong Kong in November ….”

Images: Paul Wyeth