Solo Western Travellers Series and Sea Series at Teign Corinthian Yacht Club
by John Steels 2 Oct 2017 19:30 BST
30 September 2017
On Saturday 30th September, seven visitors joined eleven local Solos at Teign Corinthian YC for Round 8 of the Western Area Travellers Series and part of the Solo Sea Series.
The weather forecast had not looked too promising with strong winds and heavy rain expected to arrive in time for the first race. However this was not to be, we had no rain and a light to moderate shifty wind arriving over the southern banks of the estuary.
The race officer Don Harrison (assisted by Mike Commander) set a 'W' shaped course which provided two good beats, a reach and a run with 3 laps per race. 3 races were sailed back to back with no discards allowed.
The fleet was remarkably well behaved and no recalls were required which is very unusual for the Solo fleet!
In all of the races the beats proved to be critical, catching the frequent shifts enabled significant places to be won or lost.
Race 1 set a pattern with Ian MacGregor just holding off Simon Jones followed by Tim Martin. Race 2 was again won by Ian with Jonathan Otter finishing just in front of Simon in third. Race 3 saw Simon and Ian get clear of the fleet with John Steels finding some good shifts to move up to second before being pipped at the finish by Ian.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 5744 | Ian MacGregor | Salcombe | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 2nd | 5462 | Simon Jones | TCYC | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 3rd | 5168 | Jonathan Otter | Papercourt SC | 6 | 2 | 4 | 12 |
| 4th | 5252 | Tim Martin | TCYC | 3 | 4 | 6 | 13 |
| 5th | 5494 | John Steels | Starcross | 5 | 6 | 3 | 14 |
| 6th | 5549 | Peter Hearne | TCYC | 4 | 5 | 11 | 20 |
| 7th | 4988 | Gary Molton | Tew Valley | 10 | 8 | 7 | 25 |
| 8th | 3965 | James Stevenson | TCYC | 7 | 7 | 12 | 26 |
| 9th | 5282 | Vernon Perkins | South Cerney | 12 | 10 | 5 | 27 |
| 10th | 5560 | Charles Stimpson | Spinnaker | 9 | 11 | 9 | 29 |
| 11th | 4350 | Charlie Tolcher | TCYC | 11 | 13 | 8 | 32 |
| 12th | 5422 | Dave Northcott | TCYC | 8 | 15 | 10 | 33 |
| 13th | 4922 | Ben Miles | TCYC | 13 | 9 | 16 | 38 |
| 14th | 4795 | Neil Howard | TCYC | 15 | 12 | 15 | 42 |
| 15th | 396 | Paul Heather | TCYC | 14 | 16 | 13 | 43 |
| 16th | 4168 | John Jordan | Frampton on Severn | 16 | 14 | 14 | 44 |
| 17th | 525 | Mick Prowse | TCYC | 17 | 17 | 18 | 52 |
| 18th | 4889 | Paul Farmer | TCYC | 18 | 18 | 17 | 53 |
Results were extremely close with just one point separating 3rd 4th and 5th places.
Extra prizes were also awarded to:
- 1st 'Old' Boat - James Stevenson – Solo 3965
- 10th Charles Stimpson – Spinnaker SC
- Newcomer Award – Paul Farmer TCYC
After the races the fleet returned ashore to enjoy great hospitality at the clubhouse, being served an excellent Devon cream tea!
The 2017 Solo Western Series is drawing to a conclusion, with just 2 more events remaining:
- Saturday October 14th - South Cerney SC - Open Meeting
- Sat/Sun October 28/29th - Salcombe YC - Western Area Championships