Solo Open at Midland Sailing Club
by Stuart Jones 30 Jul 2015 13:56 BST
12 July 2015
Solos battling it out in the third race of the Midland SC Solo Open © Robert Thorp
The 2015 Solo Open (part of the wider Midland regional series) took place on 12 July, a day with conditions varying from wholly overcast and slight rain to bright sun, with nice winds (W, bottom F4, 11 kt) for most of the day. Turnout was 15 boats (9 from Midland SC) – an improvement on last year by making sure there was no clash with Salcombe Merlin Rocket Week (which took away boat helms last year). It also means there will be a repeat Open next year at Midland SC. The format was three 60 minute races, with the last two back-to-back after lunch.
Given Richard Adams' usual performance at Midland it might come as no surprise that he won, but he was given a run for his money by Chris Brown of Draycote, who came second. Third place was won (or lost, if he'd done the full three races, the outcome may have been different) by Chris Martin. Fourth was Niel Catto from far-flung Leigh & Lowton, with Kevin Hopkins of Midland coming fifth, a great result after time out from injury. And then there were the rest, including the Midland SC fleet captain who was pipped at the post for last place. Ahem... Pity really, as the winds were up for the last race and the kicker gave way. Each participant will of course have their own story, with competitive racing from the front to the back of the fleet!
Thanks to the race team and the galley crew for putting together a fine event. Thanks also to those who raced, who I think had reward enough from the sailing.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Helm | Sail No | R1 | R2 | R3 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | Rich Adams | 5532 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Chris Brown | 5564 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 3 | Chris Martin | 5546 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 5 |
| 4 | Nigel Catto | 5552 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 7 |
| 5 | Kevin Hopkins | 5239 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| 6 | Clive Gimson | 4548 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 11 |
| 7 | Brian Fisher | 4882 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 12 |
| 8 | Iain Leiper | 5064 | 7 | 5 | 16 | 12 |
| 9 | Mike Burke | 4877 | 11 | 9 | 16 | 20 |
| 10 | Chris Skelcher | 4630 | 9 | 11 | 16 | 20 |
| 11 | Lawrence Bowbanks | 4348 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 22 |
| 12 | Dave Day | 5358 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 22 |
| 13 | Andrew Backhouse | 5609 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 26 |
| 14 | Stuart Jones | 3614 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 28 |
| 15 | Steve Nicholson | 4218 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 31 |