Solo Welsh Sea Championships at South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club

by Tony Sampson 5 May 2016 09:10 BST 30 April - 1 May 2016

The Solo Welsh Sea Championships were sailed at Abersoch under the burgee of South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club over the early May Bank Holiday.

An absolutely dire weather forecast encompassing snow, rain, hail, sleet and high winds led to many cancelling their plans at the last minute, but a hardy core of 23 sailors, including one visitor from Scotland, braved the terrible travel conditions (2 degrees Centigrade on the A55) and turned up to reasonable conditions on the Saturday. Snowdonia was covered in snow, providing a dramatic backdrop as the fleet made it's way out to a rescheduled four race day, sailed back to back. The wind held steady in the high teens, occasionally reaching the low twenties, resulting in some great reaches and a fair number of capsizes and retirements, mainly due to the intense cold.

Race officer John Poulson and his team did a sterling job getting four races in, with the odd black flag start leading to a long and extremely cold day on the water. Those who had been to the Nations Cup in Holland the week before conceded that whilst the day had been cold and windy, absolutely nothing could ever compare to the brutality of the Isjelmeer...

Last year's Welsh Champion, Andy Davis, maintained his great recent form, and finished the day with three first places, and a second, the second race being won by Michael Sims who pushed him hard.

Sunday dawned very wet and windy, a quick poll of the fleet leading to a decision to abandon racing for the day - and then it got really unpleasant as the fleet packed up for a 10.30 am prize-giving.

Many thanks to all those involved in hosting the meeting, particularly the PRO and his team, and Brian Holland.

Overall Results:

Pos	Sail No	Helm	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	Pts
1	5597	Andy Davis	Blithfield SC	1	2	1	1	5
2	5491	Michael Sims	Carsington	2	1	2	2	7
3	5559	Jonathan Swain		4	4	3	3	14
4	5645	Ian Hopwood	Nantwich SC	3	3	4	5	15
5	4775	Jack Hopkins	Delph	7	6	5	4	22
6	5642	Nigel davies	Draycote Water SC	6	5	6	6	23
7	5211	Philip Barnes	Budworth	5	7	7	7	26
8	5658	Steve Denison	Hollingworth Lake	8	8	9	8	33
9	5655	John Webster	Carsington	12	12	8	10	42
10	5416	Tony Sampson	SCYC	11	13	12	11	47
11	5023	Brian Holland	SCYC	9	21	10	9	49
12	5352	Mike Wilkie	Desborough SC	15	17	14	15	61
13	4842	Paul Dowman	West Kirby SC	18	16	16	12	62
14	5037	Alistair Reynard	Carsington	19	18	13	14	64
15	5153	Alex Taylor	Budworth	17	14	11	24	66
16	4538	Eric Paalman	Budworth	20	19	15	13	67
17	57	Martin Honnor	Ogston SC	10	9	24	24	67
18	4572	David Redpath	St Mary's Loch SC	21	15	17	16	69
19	5403	Adam Savage	Elton SC	13	10	24	24	71
20	5514	John Dixon	West Kirby SC	14	11	24	24	73
21	5312	Stuart Norris	Shropshire SC	16	20	24	24	84
22	4839	Stephen Rastall	Elton SC	24	22	24	24	94
23	5479	Nigel Annett	Llangors SC	24	24	24	24	96