Soling Nationals at Kielder Water Sailing Club
by Alan Henderson 10 May 2002 18:09 BST
MACKAY WINS SOLING NATIONALS
Photo © Alan Henderson
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On the May Bank Holiday weekend, competitors at the Soling Nationals at Kielder Water enjoyed sunny skies and light winds in a beautiful setting, though the flukey winds challenged many.
Mike Preston, crewed by Ron Preston and Bryan Bottomley, best mastered the conditions to take the first race from Gary Richardson in second, and Keith Hull in third. Four of the six Championship races were to be sailed on the Saturday,so it was straight on to the next race. Former National Champion Hamish Mackay won all three remaining Saturday races to show his determination to retake the Championship, but had a seventh on his card from the first race. First race winner Mike Preston, and Hamish Loudon, from Lochaber, were both well placed overnight, with consistent low scores. Loudon had picked up a trio of second places to tie on points with Mackay overnight.
Mackay had to keep another high score off his card on the Sunday, in the remaining two races. Sunday’s wind stayed very patchy, and it was very easy to slip into calm spots. Another face came to the fore in the first Sunday race, with class Chairman Chris Dodgson, from Lochaber, taking his first race win. Mackay managed another high finish in second, while a third place for Mike Preston as Loudon slipped to fifth, helped Preston to draw away from the pack. But with a high discard from his first race, Mackay could afford no slip ups in the last race. Preston duly pressed his case hard with a win, but close behind him was Mackay, whose second place was more than enough to give him and his crew of Colin Murray and Matt Whittaker, the Harken Soling National Championship for 2002.
Event Photos: (© Alan Henderson, click thumbnail for full picture)
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Crew | Crew | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | 164 | Hamish Mackay | Colin Murray | Matt Whittaker | 7 |
| 2 | 143 | Mike Preston | Ron Preston | Bryan Bottomley | 12 |
| 3 | 141 | Hamish Loudon | Bas Fountain | Iain Loudon | 15 |
- Masters Prize; Hamish Loudon
- Mixed prize; Liz Loudon
- Smith Trophy (age under 25); Robert Mountain
- Classic Boat (over 18 years old); Derek Priestley, K5.
The Solings now go to their Lochaber stronghold in June for the Scottish Championships, and to Royal Forth in September for the Northerns, while they return to Kielder for the Inlands Championship. These events are part of a series sponsored by Harken.