Superspars/Harken Solo National Championship at South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club - Day 1
by Will Loy 17 Jul 2022 09:49 BST
16-19 July 2022
Solo Nationals at Abersoch day 1 © Will Loy
Generously Sponsored by Winder Boats
The bond between man and car is undoubted in the world of man, it felt then, a bit like cheating on my wife as I exited my luxurious Air B+B, albeit via the side door, and made my walk of shame to South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club, the headlight gaze of the Volvo V70 burning into the back of my head. The Scandinavians do know how to make great vehicles but a double bed with air con wins over the back of an estate every time.
As a time line it was now 10 a.m. and with the competitor briefing scheduled for 11 a.m. I was under pressure to find/order/consume my full English breakfast. I am unsure what a full Welsh breakfast consists of but I will report back in due time.
The bay looked splendid, a light breeze pixelating the water which was also accentuated by the raised position of the club veranda, from the beach it looked pretty awful IMO.
PRO Malcom Blackburn provided a short and concise delivery of the details of the day, gate starts would be in operation and after a few Q&A's the competitors seemed to have grasped the concept of the sequence, though the expressions of confusion etched on some faces did little to reassure the PRO. These emotions are nothing new to me though, just a mention of a reverse P is usually enough to tip a Solo sailor over the edge. This starting system would hopefully deliver me my first award winning film, my imagination conjuring images of NASCAR style wipeouts while the air would be filled with screams and swear words I did not know existed.
Fortunately though, with a realised forecast of 5 knots, the sailors would be gently eased into the process with minimal casualties.
Race 1
Wind from somewhere in the region of 190 and with reigning Inland Champion Chris Brown acting as pathfinder, the dilemma was do you go early or late? Now Chris is pretty handy in the light stuff which confounds anyone with working eyes. My theory is that he dons a fat suit and conceals it under his rash vest, he must be 70 kilos wet through.
With the gate open, the fleet filed through, some more adept than others, Cranford Smith, Swift and Horey clearly wanting more than their allotted 15 seconds in the camera spotlight.
After 1 minute the pathfinder was released and, thinking his strategy had already been pre-determined by the hand of the gods, continued right.
Unfortunately the left paid and first to round the 0.7 nautical mile windward mark was Steve Cockerill, fresh from the Europe World Championship in northern France. Steve had gone through the gate in 11th so an early starter, the fat suit tactic clearly back firing on the unfortunate pathfinder.
Alex Butler (14th out) Jonathan Woodward (6th out) and Ritchie Lovering (38th out) were next around and the fleet followed obediently as they set off down the run. Staying in pressure was a good strategy but not easy with 90+ Solo sails sucking the very life out of the wind and on-water Jury David Battye breathing down your neck. Unfortunately John Reekie was tagged for exiting a gybe quicker than when he entered it but be honest, we all hope to do that!
Cockerill continued to lead and the front three squirted out a small lead over the nearest chasers.
These three split up the second beat, Woodward opting for the conservative right, Butler the left and democratically, Cockerill choosing the middle ground. At the top, despite some slightly tardy roll tacking against the tide, Cockerill held with Butler gaining and Woodward dropping. There were places to be gained and Jack Lewis and Mark Maskell were now up into the top five with Lovering just about holding on as the breeze eased off. Jonny Coate was going well and ominously, Tom Gillard was up to 8th having started 63rd out of the gate.
The two reaches were processional, the breeze continued to soften and it's never nice to see mainsails flapping like wet handkerchiefs but there was just enough pressure to get through the line. Cockerill took the bullet, he has finished 2nd overall on four occasions and this was a statement of intent. Butler was a valiant second, clearly a talented helm but just needs work on his operational skills of the NSCA transom cam which was unfortunately empty of data when I tried to upload it. Don't worry, I will turn it on myself tomorrow Alex. Woodward was third, the new Chief Measurer has a mastery of the Solo, I just hope his is legal.
Race 2
I motored around the fleet, gauging sailors emotions before venturing a jape as to how they had done in the race while secretly knowing exactly how bad it had been. Ewan Birkin-Walls looked particularly glum, his head held low, his eyes bloodshot from fresh tears so of course perfect fodder for my media ambitions. He looked up forlornly, like a Labrador who has been told he is not beautiful at all and uttered a few words which were undeceivable and floated off into the distance. Crap, must have been bad.
It was then a surprise when he rocked up as pathfinder for race 2, having said that, the pathfinder in race 1 was not long finished so it seems the role is a poisoned chalice, not to be chosen and the bearer should indeed be a bit down. 90% of the fleet would have given their prosthetics to have finished 10th.
The gate opened and there was some semblance of order with minimal blaspheming, despite some congestion towards the beginning of the imaginary line. Clearly the left would pay, keeping as much distance from the pathfinder would work?
After 1 minute Birkin-Walls was released from his heavy burden and tacked straight into a nice right hand lift which, after a few tacks saw him round first, breaking the spell of the pathfinder demon. Now this sailor been around the block a few times, having raced against him back in the eighties and he is pretty handy in the light stuff so getting past would not be a cake walk. Guy Mayger, Gillard (38th out) and Woodward (2nd out) rounded in close proximity with Lovering once again in the mix. The fleet split down the long run, going low seemed a good option if you were far ahead of the bulk of the fleet, for the rest it was wind shadow after wind shadow. I lent back in the spacious media Ribeye, owner/driver John Nichol's expertly manoeuvring the impressive craft while the Honda 150 outboard ticked over causing zero disruption. I pulled my Lucozade Sport from my holdall, quelling the thirst that the rigours of photographing does. The taste was satisfying but it wasn't a Vimto.
The next beat saw Birkin-Walls and Gillard cross swords with Woodward again third, close but not quite in touching distance while Cockerill moved into fourth. The last two legs were arduous, I had run out of drink and had not stocked sweets so had to focus on the racing. The fleet were becalmed up by the top mark while the leaders gently floated towards the wing mark. Just enough breeze to make headway. Birkin-Walls sunk low towards the finish line while Gillard headed up, Woodward taking an opportunist line between them. Back at the top mark sails were moving quicker than they had for ten minutes and the radio coms crackled with the good news that the wind was filling in from the beach. The fleet, reached, ran and beat their way around the mark while ahead Gillard was first to hook into pressure, rolling over Birkin-Walls for the bullet with Woodward third. Cockerill and Martin Honnor completed the top five and that all means Steve Cockerill leads the Championship overnight from Woodward, Gillard, Birkin-Walls and Lovering.
The fleet battled back to the sanctuary of the beach in the last of the sea breeze, the kicker being the long haul up the soft sand, beer would taste good tonight.
The Prize Giving was another level of funny confusion, heart felt thanks and berating of fools, Horey the main subject matter which is no real surprise. Steve Roberts is now the proud owner of a magnificent Winder Boats rudder stock and carbon tiller while Steve Ede, our tireless Championship organiser was awarded the Winder Boats rudder blade, much to his satisfaction. President Patrick Burns was as always, engaging, humorous and sincere, the addition of Goat Marine vouchers and Dunfermline F.C. merchandise were also much appreciated.
Huge thanks to our sponsors, especially Dave Winder who, with his talented team produce an amazing product in the FRP Solo.
Sunday is a time to re-boot for some, while others will look to consolidate what they achieved on day one.
The forecast is light again.