Allen Solo Midland Series Round 2 at South Staffordshire Sailing Club

by Jonny Coate 8 May 11:11 BST 4 May 2024

South Staffs SC welcomed visitors from across the region for round 2 of the Allen Solo Midland Series at the weekend. Nine local boats were joined by thirteen visitors from as far as Northampton, Budworth, and Ogston making up a healthy turnout of 22 boats.

The forecast light winds from the south would present a tricky day for all, as the sailors would have to pick their way through the gusts and shifts South Staffs is well known for.

Race one got away cleanly first time under the management of OOD John Billington and AOOD Mike Owen. At the first mark it was Martin Honnor (Ogston SC), Jonny Coate (South Staffs SC), and Samuel Bailey (South Staffs SC) making up the top 3. Honnor immediately picked up some breeze on the first downwind leg to extend his lead. Over the remainder of the first lap, Coate managed to reel him in resulting in a tacking duel up the first leg of lap 2. However, while the battle for first place continued, Lark ace Bailey showing great speed in a borrowed boat was catching the leaders, prompting Coate to protect his second place and the race finished in that order.

With the breeze clocking right a little over lunch, the start line was moved closer to the club and a new course set. Race two started with an individual recall, nobody went back and the fleet continued their race to the first mark. Again it was Honnor, Coate, Bailey in that order at the first mark, with Neil Wilkinson and Jamie Cuxson (both Shustoke SC) chasing close behind. At the end of the first lap Honnor was informed by the race committee that he was one of the early starters, so he retired to the clubhouse to watch the rest of the race with a cup of tea.

Coate now in the lead, but not for long as near the top of the next beat the breeze died right off, only to fill in from the far left leaving him to watch Bailey, Wilkinson and Cuxson reaching in at speed on the port lay line. Bailey did a great job protecting his lead for the rest of the race, while the other three had a good battle. Ultimately Coate managed to claw his way back to second with Wilkinson third and Cuxson fourth.

So going into the final race the battle for the Robin Harper trophy was open to anyone counting a 1,2, or 3 in their scoreline so far. Again the race started with an extra hoot and flag x-ray hoisted. This time it was clear Coate and Honnor were the offenders at the pin end and both returned, effectively ruling themselves out for the overall win. Honnor put in a great effort to pull back to fourth, but ultimately ran out of runway to improve on that. With Bailey also well out of touch of the top three, all he could do was hope that Wilkinson, locked in a fierce battle with Cuxson for the lead, did not win race three. Wilkinson kept a cool head though, and did the business, taking the win by a couple of boat lengths from Cuxson, and with it the title. Andy Bownes (Barnt Green SC) rounded out the top three.

In the end the top three were all tied on four points each, with Wilkinson taking the trophy having won the last race, Bailey second counting his race two win, and Coate third with no race wins to help his case.

The first lady prize was won by Anna Nankervis (Shropshire SC), and first youth was won by her son Ben Nankervis. Special mention must be made of their family with three generations racing, as local legend and Anna's father Tony Hotchkiss (South Staffs SC) also raced, as well as Anna's husband Lee.

Next up is round 3 of the Allen Solo Midland Series at Northampton SC on 25th May.

Overall Results:

Pos	Sail No	Helm	Club	R1	R2	R3	Pts
1st	5210	Neil Wilkinson	Shustoke SC	‑8	3	1	4
2nd	513	Samuel Bailey	South Staffs SC	3	1	‑6	4
3rd	5130	Jonny Coate	South Staffs SC	2	2	‑7	4
4th	5880	Martin Honnor	Ogston SC	1	(OCS)	4	5
5th	5704	Jamie Cuxson	Shustoke Sailing Club	‑6	4	2	6
6th	5401	Andy Bownes	Barnt Green SC	4	(OCS)	3	7
7th	4792	Gareth Wilkinson	Chelmarsh SC	‑5	5	5	10
8th	5654	Graham Ellis	Budworth Sailing Club	7	7	‑11	14
9th	5644	Paul Bottomley	South Staffs SC	9	6	‑13	15
10th	5736	Iain Carpenter	Northampton SC	‑11	8	9	17
11th	5355	Lee Nankervis	Shropshire sailing club	‑12	11	8	19
12th	5671	Simon Dipple	Shustoke SC	10	9	‑12	19
13th	5138	Anna Nankervis	Shropshire sailing club	‑17	10	14	24
14th	4437	Tony Hotchkiss	South Staffs SC	13	13	‑16	26
15th	4521	Martin Warburton	South Staffs SC	‑15	12	15	27
16th	5675	Maria Elvira Franco	Northampton SC	‑18	18	10	28
17th	5610	Chris Bell	South Staffs SC	14	16	‑17	30
18th	5302	Michael Davies	South Staffs SC	16	14	(DNF)	30
19th	4300	Ben Nankervis	Shropshire sailing club	19	15	‑20	34
20th	5740	Mike Cossey	Shustoke Sailing Club	20	17	(DNF)	37
21st	5908	Graham Bower	South Staffs SC	‑21	19	18	37
22nd	3405	Mark Bieganski	South Staffs SC	‑22	20	19	39