Superspars/Harken Solo National Championship at South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club starts today

Solos at Abersoch Dinghy Week © Andy Green / www.greenseaphotography.co.uk

The eagerly awaited Solo National Championship begins today, Saturday 15th July, and with close on 100 entries, is set to be a banger of an event. Of course, I am slightly biased given that my role as media magnate is to embellish, exaggerate, spin and massage the virtues of one of the most successful one design single handed dinghies in the World, but on this occasion I will be totally honest, I promise.

The journey to this pretty neck of the woods in my Volvo V70 Mk 3 only took 9 hours, the transition from M5 to M6 particularly arduous, no wonder the population of Walsall look so grumpy. Once on the M55 things took a turn for the better, this road, which meanders along the west coast past Llandudno should feature in a future Top Gear or better still, the opening scene in a Bond movie.

The town of Abersoch is not unlike Salcombe if you have ever been there. Twisty little lanes with boutiques and high end nosheries (I just made that up and spell check accepted it), you can drive past but there is nowhere to stop unless you are clued up where the car park is. Friday evening was alive with revellers so this is clearly a tourist destination. From the sound of the noise as they made their way back home it may also be a Hen/Stag venue but maybe I'm just getting old.

The signage in Wales is written in English and Welsh, I guess it's a subtle way of objecting to English rule. I have pretty much nailed basic English but Welsh is up there with Mandarin and Ukrainian as tongue twisters go. Fortunately we have Chris Brown to assist with translation of the written word, his dyslexia instantly deciphering the text with the authority of a Bletchley Park code breaker.

The club is sumptuous and overlooks the bay, a generously large white sandy beach lying directly beneath it which means competitors can enjoy a beer while they look at Solos, it really doesn't get any better boys and girls.

Unfortunately our umpire for the event, Steve Watson tested positive for Covid just one day before the event but we have David Battye as a replacement and he judged for the NSCA at Pwllheli in 2016 so knows the class well.

Every cloud of course has a silver lining and David will now be staying in Steve's Air B&B which is situated right opposite the club road. Class President Patrick Burns also persuaded Steve to allow a second person to share, I was going to sleep in the Volvo and to be fair the seats are very comfortable and the rear boot real estate is vast but, with temperatures set to top out at 22 degrees, it might have been a tad sweaty. There was one caveat, the purchase of a new pair of shoes.

The racing schedule is for 10 Championship races over the four days, 2 races today then 3-3-2 with the start time of 1pm today.

The Solo class has a dearth of sponsors, we love the relationship the class has with our suppliers and with Superspars, Harken, HD Sails, Winder Boats, P&B and Carbon Composites supporting us this week, the competitors will be treated to some great prizes.

As I look out from the generously and luxuriously fitted kitchen, the trees, green as the valley are beginning to flick and twitch, the tide is rolling up the beach and the water is mottled with a gentle breeze. Light cloud cover is holding the temperature it a comfortable level and the sunlight is picking out various pastille shades of brown on the hills out towards Snowdonia.

Look out for regular reports as the drama unfolds.