Solo Nationals at Mayflower Sailing Club

Action from the Solo nationals at Plymouth © Tom Gruitt / www.fotoboat.com

Action from the Solo nationals at Plymouth © Tom Gruitt / www.fotoboat.com

Day 1:

63 solos took to the water on the first day of the Solo Nationals sailing out of Mayflower Sailing Club. The wind was light and variable with hot sunshine and blue skies. Race officer Dave Curno decided to set a course inside the breakwater but had to wait for almost 90 mins for the wind to settle. Eventually the wind settled to a force 2/3 and the enthusiastic fleet lined up for the start of the first race only to recalled under a General Recall. Perhaps the fleet was a little too enthusiastic on the first day!

The restart was under a black flag which had the desired effect and the fleet left the line without incident. Cliff Crawshaw (4500) tacked onto port at the committee boat end and quickly established a commanding lead. The course was a traditional triangle sausage course but with different windward marks for the triangle and sausage legs. He maintained the lead throughout the race to finish 1st only to immediately retire as he had rounded the wrong windward mark on one of the legs. This handed the lead to Chris Goldhawk (4501) who was second over the line. Simon Yates (4536) finished 2nd with 17 year old Paul Childs (4503) in third place.

The second race was to prove eventful. During the initial start sequence an additional gun was heard and the start was abandoned and the sequence restarted. During the next start a Brittany Ferry and a Schooner from the classic boat regatta decided to join the start. The Schooner approached the start line on port with 63 Solos approaching on Starboard. The Schooner ended up in the middle of the start line on port hailing that little known but much used racing rule of sailing that states "I'm bigger than you so I'm not tacking"! The Race was duly abandoned and restarted as the Schooner had obviously caused mayhem on the start line.

The restart was also eventful with the wind dropping in the middle of the line and another smaller Schooner arriving on port! Fortunately the Schooner did not cause a major problem and the race was able to continue only to be abandoned later on as the wind dropped.

The fleet returned to shore with racing finished for the day with Chris Goldhawk having won the only race of the day.

The 1st day of the 6 day championship had proved to be eventful but all competitors were looking forward to the rest of the week.

Day 2:

With racing due to start at 12.00 the competitors arrived at the dinghy park in the morning to be greeted by strong winds. Race officer Dave Curno briefed the fleet at 10.30 informing them of 27 knots of easterly wind registered at the breakwater at 10.00 and thunderstorms predicted later in the day. The easterly wind was also expected to drop to force 3-4 and to swing to the south west. By the time the competitors reached the start line for the first race at 12.00 the wind had dropped to force 3-4 from the east. Once again the fleet was enthusiastic and a general recall ensued. The black flag was raised for the second start and once again a general recall resulted with 8 boats identified as over the line. The third start went without incident with Dan Vincent (4357) and Simon Childs (4448) match racing the whole way round. Dan Vincent (4357) eventually took the gun with Simon Childs (4448) in 2nd and Steve Broom (4512) in 3rd.

The boats black flagged in the first race rejoined the fleet for the 2nd race. By now the wind had eased to an easterly force 2. The start went smoothly and the fleet got away on the first start. Chris Goldhawk (4501) rounded the windward mark with Tony Lock (4384) closely followed by Simon Yates (4536). The predicted wind shift arrived during the race and the race officer repositioned the windward mark for the last 2 beats. Dan Vincent (4357) and Paul Childs (4503) went low on the reaches to make up some ground on the leaders with Dan Vincent (4357) eventually taking the gun as the wind dropped. Chris Goldhawk (4501) took 2nd with Simon Yates (4536) in third.

Day 3:

The weather did not look promising after a night of thunderstorms. Competitors awoke to a humid, overcast day with no wind. The race officer postponed racing keeping the competitors in the dinghy park. The wind eventually picked up from the south west and the first race went ahead at approximately 1.15pm in a force 1 -2 wind and bright sunshine.

With light winds the tide was an important factor with big gains to be made. After two days of enthusiastic starts with black flags the competitors were 'line shy' and the 1st race started without incident.

Andy Davis (4506) was 1st to the windward mark with Paul Childs (4503) and Steve Dennison(4327) in hot pursuit. On the 2nd reach Steve Dennison (4327) overtook Paul Childs (4503) to move into 2nd place. The top three positions remained unchanged for the rest of the race with Andy Davis (4506) taking the gun.

By the end of the first race the wind had dropped a little and the temperature had increased. The tide played a significant part in the 2nd race with a number of boats misjudging the start at the pin end and having to gybe round to make the start line. Paul Childs (4503) started at the pin end, immediately tacked onto port and left the fleet standing. He lead from start to finish in the light conditions to take the gun. An impressive display from the 17 year old. Andy Davis (4506) took second with Steve Dennision (4327) in third.

A consistent display in both races with the same 3 boats in the top three positions of both races. After 5 races and with 1 discard the results were starting to take shape with Dan Vincent (4357) leading on 10 points, Paul Childs (4503) in 2nd with 11 points, Chris Goldhawk in 3rd with 12 points, Andy Davis (4506) in 4th with 22 points and Steve Ede (4528) in 5th with 25 points. With a further 6 races scheduled the championship was far from decided and all eyes were on the weather forecast for the next few days.

Day 4:

Although not a lot of wind the competitors launched on time to get to the starting area which was outside the breakwater for the first time during the championship.

The wind filled in to a force 2 for the first race and the competitors jockeyed for position on the start line. However the tide was running from behind the start line and a general recall was signalled as a lot of the fleet were taken over the line by the tide.

The second start was similar to the first but this time with a black flag and a number of the fleet were black flagged for being OCS.

On the third start Rob Vincent (4109) started at the pin end on port and went up the right hand side of the course tacking just once to be 1st to the windward mark with Simon Yates (4536) in 2nd place and Phil Milanes (4514) in third.

As the race went on Rob Vincent (4109) extended his lead to take the gun ahead of his brother Dan Vincent (4357) and Cliff Crawshaw.

The second race started in less wind which continued to drop throughout the race. Andy Couch was 1st to the windward mark followed by Andy Davis (4506) and Vanda Young (4283). Steve Broom (4512) stormed through the fleet downwind and Paul Childs (4503) made up ground on the next beat. Steve Broom and Paul Childs (4503) overhauled Andy Couch on the last run for Steve Broom to take the gun, followed by Paul Childs(4503) in 2nd place and Andy couch in 3rd. By the time the second half of the fleet reached the finishing line the wind had dropped significantly making finishing difficult.

Day 5:

Races 8 and 9 were scheduled on the 5th day of racing but with light winds forecasted it looked doubtful.

The wind filled in to force 1-2, which was enough for race 8 to start. Rob Vincent (4109) took a port tack flyer to reach the windward mark first. Andy Couch (4554) followed one boat length behind with Dan Vincent (4357) on his transom. On the first reach all three took the rumb line with Rob Vincent (4109) increasing his lead. At the gybe mark the order was the same. At the last leeward mark the order was the same but the gap between Rob Vincent (4109) and the following boats was reduced. Steve Ede (4528) and Andy Davis (4506) were also closing in.

The wind then dropped and shifted resulting in the race officer moving the windward mark and shortening the course to finish at the newly positioned windward mark. The top three positions remained unchanged up the last beat with Rob Vincent (4109) taking the gun followed by Andy Couch (4554) and Dan Vincent in 3rd (4357).

The wind dropped after race 8 so there was no further racing.

With only two more races scheduled for the last day and a forecast further light winds the top 3 positions were still to be resolved.

Final Day:

It was light winds again on the final day but the two scheduled races were completed. Dave Curnow, the race officer, doing an excellent job to fit 10 races in despite the light winds throughout the week.

With a 5th in race 9 and an OCS in race 10 Dan Vincent (4357) did enough to win the championships with a total of 25 points. Despite finishing 2nd and 4th in the last two races Chris Goldhawk (4501) finished 2nd overall with 28 points and 17 year old Paul Childs (4503) had a nervous last day but finished third overall on 48 points also winning the junior trophy and plate competition.

Vanda Young (4283) won the ladies trophy, Phil Milanes (4514) won the grand masters trophy, and Paul Hiles (4550) won the veterans trophy

It was an excellent competition, well hosted and managed by Mayflower Sailing Club in Plymouth.

The standard of competition and number of entries reflects the popularity of the class following on from 101 entries in the Inland Championships held at Rutland Water earlier this year, and 59 entries in the Nations Cup held at Lake Garda, Italy in July. In 2006 the class will be celebrating its 50th Anniversary and continues to display a high level of competition and growth.

Overall Results: