Solo National Championships at Hayling Island Sailing Club - Overall

Day 1 of the Solo National Championships at Hayling © John Murrell / www.fotoboat.com

Day 6 - The day of reckoning

The fleet awoke to the sound of rattling halyards, the easterly wind a welcome addition to the mornings sunshine. The final day of the Solo National Championship and Nations Cup would be settled, and with five realistic heirs to the title, a 'Red Wedding' scenario from 'Game of Thrones' was not out of the question.

Time to Reflect

As I motored out to the starting area on 'Safety 5' as cameraman and safety crew with David the skipper, I was able to reflect on this incredible event. The measuring process had been completed with the accuracy of a military 'op'. 116 Solos weighed, sails measured and certificates validated by the team of volunteers with Gordon Barclay leading the charge. The sun blazed all week and some of the competitors had also lit up the event with their performances, Stuart Godwin in particular who showed he has massive talent but with a daredevil tendency to push the line on the black flag. Ross Harvey also showed he has a taste for glory and the leader's yellow jersey he earned mid-event did not look out of place.

Charlie Cumbley was hoping to have a good day on the water and there was no doubt he could overturn the 7 point deficit. Micheal Sims had scored seven top five finishes in the twelve race series and no OCSs, with more breeze he would certainly figure. Andy Tunnicliffe had been in his element in the light winds that had so far dominated the championship but knew he could also perform in breeze. Always cool as a cucumber, he would play whatever cards were dealt. Geoff Carveth had worked his way to the top of the impressive list that sat blutacked to the HISC noticeboard and if history could be repeated, it would be today.

The Vacher Trophy for the ladies was also reaching it's climax, Marleen Gaillard held a slim lead over her compatriot, Claar van der Does and 'Brit' Vanda Jowett. The ladies had certainly shown they could mix it with the men, three in the the top eleven in race 8 and top ten finishes in other races too. Brenda Hoult in her 'baby blue' Winder had led a race for a time and did not look out of place there.

Race 11

The wind was at 50 degrees, the north easterly building to 20 knots in the harbour and the fleet launched and reached out to the starting area. As we reached the committee boat the wind had moderated to 10-12 knots with the odd puff of 15knots but still solid at 050. The fleet started and the pin end proved once again to popular, recall. On the black flag start there were no casualties, the majority of the fleet headed left then tacked on the layline.

Having filmed the start we fired up the outboard and headed towards the top mark to catch the leaders. Carveth looked to be struggling, Ian Houston, who had jetted in from Switzerland was in the mix, his distinctive purple Winder powering upwind. After a week of light winds my mouth was watering at the prospect of filming the fleet as they powered around the course. It was then that my world ended, the silent walkie talkie crackled into life.

Safety 1 to Safety 5...over. Procceed to middle of course...Solo with broken shroud..tow it home please...over. The rest is history as they say, but I was not there to see it. With Tim Deacon's stricken Solo in tow I bowed my head and cursed the shackle that had failed. The faint murmur of the outboard engine as is churned the water did little to appease my frustration of missing the action.

Once back on the course we collected the top five results from the committee boat and did the math.

Salcombe 'legend' Tim Law had taken the bullet but more importantly, Charlie Cumbley had finished second. This was a crucial result and with Carveth finishing no better than ninth and Tunnicliffe out of the top five, Cumbley had a chance.

Race 12

The wind was still at 050 but was around 10-12knots. The fleet started and with the majority heading left towards the beach it was a surprise to see Carveth and Ian Pinnell heading right from the committee boat. They both tacked back towards the middle of the track and were starting to hook into a lift. Those that had worked the left were now coming into the mark but were eating headers.

The fleet converged at the top, Godwin, Tunnicliffe, Law, Sims and Cumbley rounded and headed down the reach which was fast becoming a run. The pressure was dropping to 5 knots and the remainder of the fleet who went right reached in and those who went left struggled to lay it. Geoff Carveth was in a bad place, needing to find a result he gybed to put some separation between himself and the front pack.

There was more pressure on the right and Ewan Birken Walls made some big gains by the wing mark. The fleet fetched to the leeward mark, boat after boat trying to work over their nearest adversary. Godwin rounded the bottom mark and headed to the new windward mark that had been re-laid at 160 degrees. Law and Sims headed right with Tunnicliffe and Cumbley and Godwin went left.

Carveth had not made ground and for now was out of the hunt for the title. At the top it was Godwin and Tunnicliffe with Sims and Cumbley and Law all close. Tunnicliffe went right down the run while Cumbley went left. The wind was 5-6 knots and the gap between the leaders and the pack allowed the main players to concentrate on each other. Godwin, in his now normal position of first held Sims while Tunnicliffe had a tiny lead over Cumbley. The Championship rested between these two, Cumbley tacked and Tunnicliffe responded but fell into a hole which allowed Cumbley to break through.

The rest should have been history. Godwin collected his fourth win of the series while Sims was second, his title expectations over for another year, and Charlie Cumbley crossed third. Ewan Birken Walls had played the right and found more pressure to finish fourth ahead of Tunnicliffe. The main players headed towards the committee boat where the OCS blackboard awaited.

Nobody likes blackboards, the subliminal connection between them and schooldays and the stomach churning emotion of seeing your number scratched upon it is not a nice place to be.

The relief that non of the top finishers were OCS was short lived, now the maths had to be done and these kids can sail but can they add up. When the dust settled it appeared that Cumbley had secured the title but the drama was not over. Carveth submitted a protest about the 110 degrees change of wind direction but this was eventually dismissed after two hours of discussion. I do believe the title could have gone either way but it was at least settled on the water.

Congratulations to Charlie Cumbley, 2013 National Solo National and Nations Cup Champion. Many thanks to H.I.S.C, the club have been incredibly welcoming, the catering first class and Barry Blades, fleet captain has done a fantastic job to promote the event. Paul Carpenter the PRO was a consummate professional, and Dave McGregor the CEO of Soak Watersports Club Insurance very generous with the sponsorship. Special thanks also to Harken and Optimum Time who provided some super prizes and to LDC Sailing and P&B for the barrels of beer.

The Class continues to be supported by Noble Marine and thanks to them. Most importantly, thanks to the members of the N.S.C.A for supporting the event by entering and making this one of the highest attended Championships in the history of the class.

Overall Results:
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