Solo Open at Dittisham Sailing Club

Dittisham Solo Open © Caroline Loy

Dittisham Solo Open © Caroline Loy

Dittisham Solo Open © Caroline Loy

Part of the NSCA Western Series sponsored by Magic Marine and Triggernaut

The build up to my home club's annual Solo Open Meeting usually requires zero input from your author but this year would be very different. In a moment of ego fuelled enthusiasm I had offered to become the Dittisham Solo fleet captain. Having seen the status the Salcombe fleet hold for their long time beacon of light Adrian Griffin, I too wanted to bathe in the glory of adulation.

Where once I could have relied on my physical prowess and bullet laden results to inspire future Solo sailors, all I had left were my words of advice gleaned from decades of doing it wrong and shin bones wrecked by a thousand failed attempts to avoid the centreboard capping.

This seat of power of course comes with responsibilities, something I have spent my life avoiding so I would have to dig deep into my feeble resources if the Solo Open was to be anywhere near as successful as last years event which attracted north of 38 entries.

Fortunately, Dittisham Sailing Club is not only blessed with a vista of stunning beauty but it is filled with volunteers who are as enthusiastic as a Labrador with a new ball, therefore many of the tasks were quickly removed from my 'to do' list.

The tide on the upper reaches of the Dart heavily dictates our race programme and this year it would be an early start with three back to back races before lunch, for a few of the competitors, Nick Fisher and Steve Roberts in particular, the most important element of the day.

The day started badly, Steve's face looking as sad as a Southampton supporter on the last day of the season when he realised there were no bacon butties for breakfast. Fortunately some instant coffee soon turned his frown upside down. Next year we will do better.

Luckily for me I have devoted my life to increasing the level of obesity in the human population, starting with myself, so knocking up steak pasties and pizza for lunch was a breeze but would they pass the taste test.

Before then we had 3 races to complete, the briefing to the 31 competitors was perfectly executed by PRO James Dodd and the 'Dart Doctor' arrived just 30 minutes late, delivering a whopping 16-24 mph from the south west.

Home club support numbered 15, pretty good considering there were at least 7 sailors with prior engagements at the Dartmouth Classics and others with injuries. Dittisham remains a hotbed for Solo racing, despite my lack of attendance since my inauguration, NSCA commitments internationally and joints that are no longer fit for purpose my lame excuse.

I was humbled by the attendance of 16 visitors, 4 had once again made the journey from the county of Essex, I understand it is lush there so no drought? Another 6 arrived from the sexily named Torpoint Mosquito, Solos adorned with club logo, athletic physiques accentuated by the yellow 'Team Torpoint' shirts. Who knew sunburst yellow could be such a slimming colour.

Oliver Turner and NSCA Class Secretary Graham Cranford Smith would defend the Salcombe honour while Ian Bartlett and NSCA Western Rep Vernon Perkins would put South Cerney's reputation on the line. NSCA Membership Secretary John Steels represented Starcross and Chris Meredith was Chew Valley's Champion.

The PRO had set a simple windward-leeward gate course with the number of laps dictated by the leaders time though after an exhausting race 1 it was probably based on the anguish etched onto the sailors faces.

Race 1 - S-SW 16-18mph

The tide was still racing in and with the wind bending with the topography of the landscape, left was the side favoured by Turner and Charlie Nunn with Loy hanging on for third as they powered up the beat. The pretty hamlet of coloured cottages and modern contemporary houses did their best to draw attention but the windward mark, an inflatable yellow sausage, was central to the fleets focus and Turner powered around it, his wrap around sunglasses speckled with spray and the reflection of Nunn's Solo as it closed in. Loy was next with Roger Gibb, Ian Bartlett and Chris Meredith looking forward to passing on the long run down to the gate.

The rescue teams were kept busy with a number of capsizes and a failed halyard, Possibly that of Cranford Smith though the footage I have is, fortunately for him, too pixelated to confirm or deny.

The wind strength was unrelenting, Solos powering through the moderate sea state with various levels of accomplishment and technique, my 'sailing on the ear' method not textbook but more 'it's not pretty but it's effective' and so after two rounds Turner had extended on Nunn with Loy in a bunfight for third with Gibb, Bartlett and Meredith. To the bottom of lap 3 and Turner held with Nunn slightly closer, the veins of stronger breeze enabling some pretty dynamic surfing if you could still move your lower body. I stayed wedged in, one leg stuck behind me like an action man with elasticity issues and let a few Solos through. For a moment I thought I saw a flutter of blue on the lee side of the committee boat but alas, it was just a mirage.

The PRO, conscious that the time frame for the leader should be 40 mins made us go round for a fourth lap, clearly Turner must have looked like he was enjoying himself and it's hard to read Charlie Nunn's face, he looks the same whether he is winning or down the pan. I put on my tried and tested 'close to dying' face as I rounded, knowing that the last thing a PRO wants is a fatality and headed back upwind, inside my legs, lactic acid levels were already alarmingly high but racing instinct spurred me on, probably why my body is shot.

Turner and Nunn crossed first and second with Bartlett flying over me for third. Meredith tried to do likewise but the red mist had descended by then and my luff resulted in him doing turns which allowed Gibb through for fifth.

Race 2 - West 18-24mph

The wind continued to increase and was up to 18-22mph but with the clouds building along the right of the race course, a gusty westerly would add some choice to the upwind tactics.

Turner nails the pin again with Nunn just to windward with local Peter Sturgess attempt at a port end flyer just a few seconds too late.

Turner tacks on a slight header while Nunn and Loy, who started more conservatively down the line hang on too long and fall into a light patch. The right has paid and there is a whole raft of Solos at the top, Turner rounding behind a few including Essex boy Matt Tothill in his wreck of a dinghy and ahead of John Steels, Ian Bartlett and Geoff Holden. The leaders gybe and hook into the freshening westerly while my tactic to sink low falls as flat as a Naan bread.

Turner is in the lead at the gate, choosing the left mark so as to work the right of the course as the fleet power upwind, Steels and Tothill in the Severn Sailboat 3987 follow next with Nunn in about 6th. Vernon Perkins is working the P&B rig well and was seen hiking again after an epic Starcross Open Meeting the day before...won by Turner.

The right shifts make the legs more right hand biased so the ability to tack in the small header and work over your opponent was the key to improving. Going left in a vain attempt to roll the dice in the hope that 30 other sailors will be wrong was to be another tactical error on my part. Probably why I report on racing events rather than do them. I also avoid betting shops these days.

James Dodd wisely reduced the laps to three and Turner took a second bullet with Steels, Bartlett, Gibb and Beechey completing a tired top five. Matt Tothill in the 30 year old composite was a valiant sixth. Nunn slipped to 11th and would need to call on all his reserves if he was to stake a claim for the podium.

At this point I headed in to shore, the wind was still at the top end of painful and my bolt was shot. Turner did likewise but with two wins, energy preservation was a good shout, mine was depleted half way through race 1 and I had spent some time working out that the longer I spent out there, the further I would have to pull the bloody boat once on the beach.

Race 3 - West 18-25mph

The PRO had adjusted the course to give a squarer beat though it would still be a challenge just to get around without a swim.

Charlie Nunn explains:

"We started in about 18 gusting 25kts with the windward mark being moved to starboard so it was back to the drawing board of which way to go up the beat. Olly Turner was apparently tired and after 2 wins and locking in the event win, he decided to keep his new sail fresh for the nationals.

The start line was heavily favoured to the pin end, fellow Mosquito Roger Gibb and I nailed the pin with myself slightly to windward. We punched out with a clear lane to tack onto port to cross the fleet. Roger calling for me to tack to get the right-hand side and into the channel to be conveyed upwind with the outgoing tide. We tacked simultaneously, I was in a high mode and Roger going low and fast bearing down over the top of me. I had to tack off for clear my wind and headed to the left, however I remembered looking at the map in the briefing and how the land bends giving a gradual lefty the closer you get to the windward mark. Approaching on port and Roger footing into the mark on starboard with the tide pushing him up to the mark. I tacked to lee bow and bore away leading by a boat length and rolled into an early tack to protect the inside line. The wind was in a slight lull and filling in from behind meaning the battle for 3rd was catching up.

We went around the left gate mark side by side, I was on the inside, Roger using low mode to get to the right with a big right-hand shift coming out the turn in the river, when we tacked over Roger was just ahead. I conceded the lead and followed Roger round the windward mark and kept it close on the run gybing early to take inside on the left mark then gybing back to lay the mark. Roger crossed back in front Instead of following him to the left and risking another gybe this late I carried onto the right gate which was a few boat lengths closer to the wind and headed up the left side before tacking back onto the long port tack and took a big lefty up, hitching a few extra tacks on each little shift and to cover Roger who had crossed back to left. A big left shift meant I was laying the windward mark on port so the bare-away will be tough as I would be very slow, on approach. I furiously released the cunningham, inhaul and kicker to make life easier and threw myself into the tack bare-away. It was messy but I managed it with some fancy footwork, locking my right boot under the traveller to keep myself steady. Rolling into a gybe to cover the inside line to the mark, however I was a little premature, misjudged the lay so was bearing away to get through the leeward gate with the finish just a bit further, but it was tight. Sailing by the lee I leant my GOAT tiller extension on the leeward gunnel to keep the tiller steady and pressed my full body weight to prevent the boat from death rolling, putting full faith in my sponsors equipment! The boat rocked and rolled as each gust kept trying throw me in the drink. Crossing the line at full speed to take the win was a relief to beat Roger by 10 boat lengths waving to the committee boat who put on some fantastic racing."

So, with a 1-1 Oliver Turner completed a double header with wins at Starcross and Dittisham, showing supreme fitness and boat handling, flat is indeed fast. Charlie Nunn with a 2-1 was second overall and is getting better with every event, his product placement in his race 3 report is also on-point. Roger Gibb, the better looking one of the three brothers nicked third overall from Ian Bartlett who was consistently third and John Steels completes the top five. Jayne Morris is our first Lady in 19th and some of the footage recorded conveys how well she sailed.

The sailors and Dittisham teams enjoyed the lunch of Hallett's the Baker steak pasties and authentic Italian Pizza.

Congratulations to all the sailors for travelling/competing. Special thanks to my lovely wife Caroline whose support was pivotal in ensuring I didn't forget a thing, to Sam and Peter for their fabulous puddings and galley work, to James and the rescue teams who entertained and kept us all alive, to Christine and Sheila who worked out the scoring and to the weather gods for providing superb conditions. Thanks also to Magic Marine and Triggernaut who sponsor the NSCA Western Series.

Overall Results: