Solo open meeting at Ripon Sailing Club

Solo open meeting at Ripon © Jamie Kerslake

The omens were not good for the first Solo Open hosted by Ripon SC for a couple of years – not a lot of wind was forecast and plenty of rain was promised. The rain arrived early, but accompanied by a generally better wind than expected.

An excellent entry of 25 boats included 10 visitors from six different clubs. The south easterly wind was very light for the first race but as there was always some wind it never turned into a complete drifter. The wind strength and direction meant that in the morning only a fairly short opening beat was possible from a start line near the Clubhouse.

A late wind shift resulted in everyone, understandably, wanting to be at the port end of the line and there were few boats indeed that weren't OCS, resulting in an inevitable general recall. All but one boat were clear on the re-start after the line was re-laid.

Mayhem could have been predicted at the first windward mark if the fleet had arrived there en masse and at speed but all was peace and tranquillity as nobody was going anywhere very fast and by then the fleet was already well spread out.

After a lunch break the wind strength had improved – not enough to require any proper sitting out but at least it was possible to use the windward side deck on the beats and moving around the boat a bit more provided some distraction from the rain dribbling down inside spray tops and wetsuits.

Two further races were run on a similar, predominantly upwind/downwind course and the visitors dominated every race, showing the home Club sailors that local knowledge counted for little or nothing. Thanks go to the visitors for supporting this event and contributing to its success.

Overall Results: