Six Days that Shaped the Magic Marine National Solo Championship
by Will Loy 2 Sep 2018 22:16 BST
21-27 July 2018
In the days leading up to the start of the Championship there was still concern as to whether we would hit the 100 entry mark, a target many UK classes would never even consider as a reachable goal. With the entry list teetering in 99 it was Iain McGregor who, with the timing of a seasoned eBay buyer, clicked 'enter' and elevated the Championship into an elite status. I personally presented a bottle of Prosecco to Iain in recognition of this, his only achievement of the week. Next year we intend to award BFD t-shirts so he will no doubt be in the running for a couple of those though Graham Cranford Smith will be hard to beat.
The entrants had utilised their 'care packages', Magic Marine visors and caps which provided protection from the Sun's glare which also doubled as trendy accessories on shore, Laurence Creaser among the younger sailors sporting the 'snap back' in an attempt to woo the barmaids. Selden provided replenish-able water bottles for all competitors as part of the campaign to reduce plastics into the Ocean.
Day 1
The 104 competitors were treated to some classic Hayling Bay conditions, force 3 gusting 4 and wall to wall sunshine. Defending Champion Charlie Cumbley laid down a benchmark with 2 bullets, while there were star appearances from Tim Law, Olly Davenport, Ellie Cumpsty and Pete Mitchell. PRO Paul Carpenter had set some port bias in the line, clearly keen to keep the fleet well away from him on the Committee boat and this trend would continue through the week.
The president's "first to the windward mark" beer vouchers went to Cumbley and Davenport.
Off the water and the clubhouse was filled to the rafters for the Commodore's Reception and Early Bird Draw. 73 sailors had entered by June 1st and with a load of Magic Marine kit to give away, there was a hush as the first name was announced for the top prize of the Magic Marine Horizon Hiking Long John. In a moment of pure Irony HISC Commodore Nick Peters was pulled from the hat. Unfortunately he was not at his own party so Jarvis Simpson was the next worthy winner and though we could not get him to wear it during the blisteringly hot regatta, he couldn't wait to try it on when he got home and commented, "The wetsuit is really easy to put on as it is very flexible. The pads are in the perfect position and the different materials in each section make it very easy to move and therefore extremely comfortable. It has already replaced my old wetsuit in my kitbag!"
Mark Lee was one of the winners of the Magic Marine Revolution Buoyancy Aids and commented, "Delighted to win the Magic Marine buoyancy aid not just because I just happened to need a new one but after using it at the Nationals I can say I didn't notice I was wearing it, being so comfortable. I also use Magic Marine Frixion boots and sailing bag which are of the same top quality (unfortunately I didn't win those as well)."
Day 2
Blazing sunshine and a 12-14mph breeze, Cumbley taking two more wins which left me wondering if he could possibly do the impossible and win all twelve races. Black flag casualties were mounting up, Graham Cranford Smith, Martin Honnor and Vince Horey among the victims in race 3 while Ellie Cumpsty, Steve Ede and Ivan Burden were flagged in race 4.
President's beer vouchers went to Cumbley and Henstridge while Lovering Law and Mitchell were showing good consistency in such a large fleet and hoping for a Cumbley mistake.
Off the water and the Annual General Meeting was the place to be. Doug Latta was officially voted in as President (in his absence)! while Nick Hornsby took over the role of Chief Measurer from Gordon Barclay who was presented with a fabulous print of himself sailing 4210 to acknowledge the tremendous effort he has made to the NSCA spanning forty years. Gordon will remain as Technical Advisor to the class. Will Loy received a beautiful decanter for his own efforts as outgoing Class President and will continue on the Committee as Publicity Officer.
North Sails had provided some lush prizes for the Early Bird Draw, Grayson Eacott winning £100 North Sails discount voucher while Charles Stimpson received £50 off a new sail. There were caps, water bottles and the much coveted North T Shirts and it was newly elected Vice President Patrick Burns, who seems to win everything that grabbed one of the shirts. The successful businessman oozes charisma and will be a another great addition to the talented Committee.
The Allen Performance of the Day award went to Olly Davenport who had improved his overnight position from 53rd to 7th, collecting a £30 Allen discount voucher for his efforts.
President's Overview
Doug Latta sadly had to leave the regatta after Day 1, below are his observations.
After day 1 there was a sense of awe as many sailors eased their aches with the Fuller's sponsored Seafarers Bitter. Most could see no reason to suspect the good sea breeze they had all experienced on Day 1 would not be repeated throughout the week. All thoughts about what some perceived overly detailed measurement had been forgotten, especially since the talked about 4 hour queues had never materialised and the HISC team of volunteers assisting Class Measurer Gordon Barclay and Championship Organiser Steve Ede got the job done in a highly efficient manner.
The Commodore's canapés were very tasty, and copious, with a lot of sailors enjoying the Club caterers main meals and so skipping these delicacies in the hunt for the ideal waistline & weight for the Solo!
"Whilst Day 2 still had wind enough to keep the lighter crews wishing they'd had a few more canapés, it became apparent that despite the very warm weather, the light cloud cover was upsetting the thermals over the Sussex Downs, and with that the chance of stronger winds. Nonetheless those who aspire to a top 20 place found the conditions to their liking and recorded some good 'counters' within the top 15, and Guy Mayger's grin grew ever wider as he revelled in the conditions.
So the Championship continued, and whilst I wasn't there myself due to the sad and unexpected passing of my Dad, and while the food procured to entertain groups of sailors aboard Indigo rotted in the searing heat thanks to a failed fridge, the competition heated up also. Black flags aplenty kept the front runners on their toes, as they pushed hard off the line hoping for that additional advantage. But with two discards, it's a risk you can take if it pays off.... unless like a good number you're suddenly counting 3 discards. Vice President Patrick Burns was not only enjoying the conditions, counting one of his best scores in one of the races, but also keeping the fleet entertained ashore. Will Loy, relaxed in the knowledge he was no longer having to take the brunt of the 'that race should have been canned' comments, was still enjoying his role as quick witted compare to the daily prize draws, whilst handing out some splendid prizes from our sponsors to those who had entered early enough to be in the early bird prize draw."
Day 3
The NSCA Committee held an impromptu meeting ahead of racing, some still wiping fried breakfast's from their faces as they arrived for the 9am start! Such are the sacrifices the team make for the members.
Race 5 - On the water and Cumbley's regatta faltered with a BFD along with Creaser and Cumpsty, her second of the week. The breeze was light, magnifying the necessity on starting in clean air and Henshall hit all the correct shifts to claim the President's "First to the Windward Mark" beer token but relinquished the lead to Law who took his first bullet of the week from Godwin and Hicks. Despite further attempts to start race 6 and with two BFD miscreants, racing was canned for the day which compounded the frustrations for the race 5 BFD's who had sat around waiting like naughty children on the naughty seat.
The evening's entertainment was supplied by compare and "stand in President" Will Loy who, with no shortage of suitable material, continued to take the mickey out of the sailors. With so many candidates, the "Wally of the day" and Jammy Dodger awards were difficult to choose from.
Hyde Sails had donated some awesome kitbags and Hyde logo shirts but top billing went to the 50% discount voucher on a new Hyde mainsail and hiking straps which was won by a very grateful Stas Lawicki. Richard Lovering had shown impressive speed in the early part of this regatta, the Hyde sail working as efficiently as any other sail out there, I look forward to seeing how Stas improves in 2019. Guy Mayger won a kitbag and commented, "The Allen Performance of the Day award was presented to Vice President Patrick Burns for his 29th in race 5 which moved him up 14 places, I said he seems to win everything!"
Day 4
The sun continued to shine on those fortunate enough to avoid the black flag and the wind held for the three races PRO Paul Carpenter managed to squeeze in. More pin end bias blighted the starts with those savvy and brave enough to risk it, pushing the line and hoping their number would be hidden. Six Cumbley had shed the leaders bright yellow bib, prompted by the committee's comment that he stood out like a sore thumb. I will be tapping Magic Marine up for a bib in a more subtle colour for next year!
Race 6 - Guy Mayger claimed the President's beer voucher, the HD set up producing plenty of speed in the lighter conditions while another HD rig won race 6 in the form of Richie Bailey from Godwin and Cumpsty, showing she has some serious backbone following her race 5 BFD. Cumbley extracted himself from the pack to post a 7th which would prove critical later in the series. Law, in a last moment crash gybe capsized, recovering efficiently though not so quick that I could not video it for prosperity.
Race 7 - This time it was Bailey who nailed the first beat to get the President's beer token and the icy cold pint would taste sweet at the end of his day. Cumpsty played the downwind to her advantage to win race 7 and become the first woman to win a National Solo championship race, well done. Bailey took second from Horey while Bayliss and Gullen were left licking wounds after wrongly returning to round the spreader on the triangle leg when they did not need to.
Race 8 - Law oozed class to claim the President's "First to the Windward Mark" beer token and controlled the race from start to finish, only to be greeted to silence..BFD. The beer token was thereforeripped from his grasp by none other than Bailey. Davenport inherited the bullet from Mitchell and astonishingly, Cumbley who had been anonymous until the final leg. Bailey held for 4th which together with his 2-1 would see him win the Allen Performance of the Day voucher.
Race 8 winner Davenport commented, "In race 8 I started down towards the pin end roughly 20 boats up from the pin, managed to hold a good enough lane out the the left of the course and was careful not to get too carried away and over stand the windward mark. Once I was on the downwind I managed to soak down lower then Mike Hicks and also get past Steve Ede who had gybed off at the top mark. On the next upwind I held my position then over took Rich Bailey on the final downwind. I was really happy to win the race as it is my first race win at a nationals. The low point of my week was probably after the first race when I realised I'd got a black flag instead of a 2nd which would have really helped me at the end of the week. My high point was probably when I realised I had managed to get 4th overall after a very stressful and tricky week."
The Early Bird Draw was sponsored by C2 Marine and Winder Boats who provided C2 Carbon Nitesticks for winners Simon Hoult and Simon Childs while Vince Horey won a lovely Carbon tillered rudder stock. P&B provided a 25% discount voucher which was very gratefully received by none other than Patrick Burns. There were also P&B shirts, kitbags and gloves, one pair were won by Doug Latta who was not present but the competitors all agreed that any prizes awarded to him should be saved for his return, normally the name would be re-drawn. He also has a North Sails T Shirt saved for him.
Day 5
The light winds continued to burden competitors and race team but the PRO was undaunted and two races were completed in the 7-10mph breeze.
Race 9 - Tim Law was not to be denied and took the President's beer token and the win to get his championship aspirations back on track. Cumbley stayed on his coat tails for a 2nd which would solidify his scorecard and Mitchell's 3rd kept him in the top three overall. Other movers and shakers included flying Scotsman Kevin Gibb and Guy Mayger who was revelling in the lighter conditions.
Race 10 - Two BFD's but one lucky blighter's number was called but not verified and he eventually won the race so would claim the Jammy Dodger award. There were some huge swings and and at the first mark it was Nigel Thomas who would win the coveted beer token from class stalwart Ray Collins and Vice President Patrick Burns, who was more chuffed at being ahead of countryman Gibb than than in front of the other 102 competitors. Law held down a nervy final downwind leg to take the win from a fast finishing Cumpsty and Collins. James Boyce and Robert Gullen were showing continued good form, both comparatively new to the class and worthy editions.
Off the water and it was Gullen that would claim the Allen Performance of the Day award while at the Early Bird draw there was a 25% HD Sails discount voucher and some really cool HD donated T Shirts up for grabs. Geoff Holden claimed the voucher. Milanes Foils had donated a new beautifully crafted centreboard and this was won by a very surprised Robin Gadd of HISC. Robin then explained that it would be a travesty for him to use such a beautiful piece of work in the harbour so he swapped it for Geoff Holden's 25% HD Sails discount voucher. Both parties were very happy as the rest of us added these to our Xmas list.
Day 6
With the promise of some breeze later in the day the fleet made their final journey out into Hayling Bay with light cloud cover and a fickle 5-7mph which would keep the competitors on their toes.
Cumbley held a strong position, 6 points ahead of Law with Mitchell a further 4 points back while Cumpsty's series was on a knife edge, two BFD's and no room for error.
Race 11 - Possibly memorable for all the wrong reasons in the PRO's eyes. The leaders all spent the few seconds before the start looking for each other and were left in the second and third row as the breeze switched off. Cumbley split away from his nearest rivals who disappeared into a hell hole as the wind swung violently left. First to the mark and claiming the beer token was Jamie Holmes with
Hyland and Bailey next as the fleet filed in from the left. Such was the wind shift, the spreader mark provided a second beat for many and there were calls for an abandonment but these were ignored.
Cumbley was in a load of trouble, rounding high in the twenties but Law and Mitchell were way way back in the pack and would record big scores. Bailey held for his second win of the week from Alec Powell and Alexander Butler. Cumpsty kept the pressure on the top three with a fifth while Mayger's 4th strengthened his top ten position overall. Most importantly, and with Law, Mitchell and Davenport recording 40,25 and 41 it was Cumbley who's 7th was enough to secure his seventh National title.
Race 12 - With the Magic Marine National Championship wrapped up you would think that Cumbley would come in early but with storm systems building, a chance to stretch his legs was not to be missed. Positions 2 to 5 were yet to be finalised and to add to the drama the wind switched off for an hour which left some wanting to stick and others wanting to twist. Inevitably, the storms brought wind and something we had not had for 8 weeks, rain. Cumbley, Law, Mitchell and Cumpsty all started in a cluster with Cumbley furthest to leeward. The heavier/fitter sailors revelled in the 15-20mph south-easterly and as the breeze built so did the wave system, providing an exciting finale to the Championship. Cumbley claimed the final President's "First to the Mark" beer token and his third of the regatta. Gareth Henshall, Godwin and Law were in pursuit and it was Stuart Godwin who got the better of Cumbley up the second beat with the wind now touching 27mph. No sooner had he gone around the top mark than he surrendered the lead back to Cumbley who had very generously mentioned to him that he missed the spreader mark. Cumbley held for the win but the real damage was behind, Law, Mitchell and Cumpsty, all BFD. The rest is history, as they say.
Insight into Charlie Cumbley's view of the Championship
Day 1 and 2 you won all races in a nice force 3-4. Your tactics for starting? Tidal influence?
CC: "The first 2 days were exactly what I had been hoping for from Hayling, sunshine and breeze, fantastic! I knew I had good pace in this stuff as proven at the Nation's Cup and I always back myself downwind so starting tactics were to keep fairly sensible but with the eye on staying right to try and hold out of the stronger east going tide out by the top mark so I had kept close to the right hand end with an early tack, this proved to work apart from race 4 I think when I didn't think the pin end was as biased as it was so I was well behind on the leaders by mark 1, a lead that I ate into downwind and eventually came back through to lead."
Do you keep an eye on your rivals and who did you consider to be possible winners?
CC: "At this point I knew in the breeze that I just had to keep sensible and keep a clean lane off the start and I would use my downwind speed to keep banging in top results and barring breakages I would steadily form a points gap to my rivals. At this early stage I could see Tim Law, Pete Mitchell, Ellie Cumpsty and Stuart Godwin were all quick in parts with Richie Lovering also solid upwind but I thought I had the legs downwind so I was just keeping tabs on them whilst mostly sailing my own race as it was too early in the event to do anything more."
So you must have felt confident going into day 3? Just the one race and you are BFD with Ellie and Laurence. Thoughts on that start?
CC: "I think you know my thoughts on this start when I was BFD! Unfortunately that bright yellow top made me stand out to everyone and I still don't think I was over, ironically watching the next start which I sat out I think there were some VERY lucky sailors who were not called but were blatantly over. So this turned out to be a very long day for nothing and pretty tedious."
Going into day 4, regroup? Do you just put the BFD out of your mind or are you more reserved?
CC: "This was actually a tricky day, not helped by the fact as I sail up to the committee boat in the morning, the PRO says, "you shouldn't wear that leaders top, you stand out like a sore thumb"......duly noted and a combination of that plus the BFD makes me start pretty conservatively, I ended up moving up from the favoured pin end which was high risk to a more low risk mid line start, the issue being you were setting up for a big loss initially compared to the handful of boats which got away cleanly at the pin. Combined with the drop in pressure meant I didn't have as much of a downwind edge as I had days 1/2. This led to deeper top mark roundings as you list and gradually grinding back into countable positions by race end. For sure the BFD for Tim was a help as by this stage the forecast was looking light for the rest of the week and matching my worst discard could come in handy by the end of the week if it had to come down to a match race. I felt day 4 was fairly pivotal as just banging in counters was important as many people were putting in BIG scores."
Race 6, Charlie rounded in the teens and finished seventh while Race 7 saw him round in the twenties and still finish sixth. Race 8 was probably Charlie's best comeback, rounding 25th and at the gun amazingly, third.
Day 5, you manage to keep your nose clean and hold second for race 9 following it up with another recovery in race 10 for 6th while Law has 2 bullets. Thoughts? worried?
CC: "This day was all about Tim, he was RAPID, fair play to him he sailed the rest of us off the race course on day 5, I couldn't touch him upwind. Disappointingly he was using exactly the same setup as me so he simply did a better job! I knew at this point the last day could be challenging if the conditions remained the same but it was also close between him and Pete so I knew we couldn't just focus on each other which again helped my cause."
Day 6. Weird day. You again carve out a 7th from a desolate position while Pete and Tim are totally screwed by that wind shift. Should it have been abandoned?
CC: "The first race was without doubt one of the largest wind shifts on a race I have sailed without being abandoned. Plus it was one of the most embarrassingly poor starts on my account. Tim, Pete and myself all had eyes on each other and with the current under us at start time were looking to hold off the line, a combination of lack of concentration, poor judgement and drop in windspeed meant we all had 5th row starts! Both Pete and Tim ducked transoms and went right, I was losing gauge on them also heading right and knew I would be on the back foot and behind them if I carried on so I decided to bail out and get left, I wish I could say I could see the 50 degree left hander coming but I didn't, it was luck. I went from probably having 10 boats behind me to scrabbling around the top mark about 30th and way ahead of anyone including both Tim and Pete who had sniffed any of the right hand side, at this point i was just pushing as hard as possible to move up and get the job done in that race as I didn't want the same thing repeating in reverse in race 2, from memory as long as I was in the top 12 or so it was over with a race to spare, that was a nice feeling being able to relax and push to the limit in the final race without any repercussions."
In Conclusion
CC: "I think the week would of been my record for boats passed through the course of the 12 races and my 'comeback ability' won me the event without doubt. Im glad I stayed out for race 12 and the lightning storms and rain, that was pretty unusual July conditions! I had a good battle with Stuart who nailed the last beat to find the left hander and 20kts first but kindly forgot to round the spreader (I did shout to him to come back!) and gifted me the race win but not often I take a compass bearing to the bottom mark as the visibility was closing in so quickly so that was fun.
As usual at HISC, a great turn out despite some of the 'regulars' not attending, more importantly good to see some younger sailors developing, really pleased for Pete for his 2nd, I am sure he will get on the Nationals winning trophy soon enough, plus Alex Butler, James Boyce, Gareth Henshall (keeping the ginger count up!) to name but a few of the younger guys looking fast. Plus special mention to Ellie who sailed well and deserved better than 3 x BFDs and 13th overall she pushed everyone to go faster so hopefully she will be back and bring some more young talent into the fleet. Hopefully I can get title number 8 and gracefully retire before all the young guys and girls get too quick for me! For North Sails it was reward to the hard work put in by all the team on sail development with a clean sweep of the podium and 6 of the top 10 using our kit. No time to rest on our laurels though as we still have the small project of 3Di composite sails to crack into for the future seasons, roll on 2019."
Comment from H.I.S.C. Commodore Nick Peters
"As the largest fleet at HISC, the highlight of our championship year was running this years Solo National Championships. Fond memories all round from the club volunteers with the great weather, and a very polite and gentlemanly fleet! It has definitely raised the standard of our club fleet, and this seems to have carried on unabated, as good turnouts and hot competition continue. We hope that all our visitors enjoyed it as much as we did, and thank you for the excellent feedback. Needless to say we look forward to a return visit in the not too distant future"
A huge thank you to our sponsors, our official clothing partner MAGIC MARINE who are supporting the class in so many ways, Allen, who provided incentive for all competitors to improve through the week, Milanes Foils, North Sails, P&B, Hyde Sails, C2 Marine, HD Sails, Selden, Winder Boats and Noble Marine, our official Insurance partner.
Thanks to On Water Jury Simon Philbrick who provided me with a stable media platform and kept the competitors on the straight and narrow. The NSCA fully endorse Simon as a great judge for any event.
Next year the Solos visit Carnac for our Nation's Cup and are holding a four day National Championship at WPNSA, it promises to be another awesome season. Next up, the Inland Championship at Grafham Water with a pre event coaching day run by Steve Irish, 21-22-23 September.