Selden Solo National Championship at Hayling Island Sailing Club - Opening

Selden Solo Nationals at Hayling Island opens © Will Loy

96 Solo sailors and their support teams have arrived at one of the UK's premier sailing clubs to contest the 2023 National Championship, generously sponsored by SELDEN. Hayling Island is a stronghold for Solo sailing with a gigantic home fleet and some real talent so a home boy/girl/other winner by day 6 is feasible.

That said, there are some obvious contenders on the starting line-up, Charlie Cumbley, Oliver Davenport and Richard Lovering the three that stand out for me though Jamie Morgan, Paul Davis, Tim Law, Chris Brown, James Goodfellow and NSCA President elect Guy Mayger make good arguments for selection. With twelve races scheduled, any number of helms have a decent shout at winning one of them and should the conditions turn light then Nigel Thomas and Barbara Schappers NED have the skill-sets though looking at the forecast, Monday looks like their only chance of a bullet.

HISC, Salcombe Y.C, Lymington Town S.C. and Torpoint Mosquito have arrived in large numbers, nothing out of the ordinary for the mozzies and it will be fascinating, at least for me to see which club will win the team trophy. All have a strong suit though I understand one of the key members at Torpoint, Shaun Welsh, has been dropped from the squad. I can only conclude his choice of Thai inspired sailing apparel has just gone too extreme, there is no place for ping pong balls at a National Championship though he will be missed.

I would suggest Charlie Nunn is their new shining light while Tim Law, fresh from his ILCA win is the Salcombe hero while Lymington have Mark Lee, the Pusinelli Trophy winner and Richard Goodenough who won the Inlands sometime last century and must drink from a goblet that gives eternal youth. Lovering, Butler, Mayger are the HISC hotshots but former NSCA President Latta is on the comeback trail after a tardy start to the season and is my pick for one of the twelve bullets, I love corner hitters and he is right up there with Iain Magregor who so memorably headed off to France in 2012 before eventually tacking back into UK waters.

We have a number of ladies racing this week and being a ladies man I will obviously follow their battles with interest; do not rule any of them out for a podium.

There is one outsider who is already the chatter in the clubhouse bar, Ben Flowers. Never sailed a Solo but word is, he is one to watch. Tall, strong and under forty so has a shout as that stat rules out 90% of the fleet.

The Dutch are here in force, led by Class Chairman Paul de Geus and with Hans Duetz and the Bakker brothers in the team, maybe the club trophy will go abroad?

I made the journey to Hayling Island late yesterday afternoon, the westerly winds and driving rain battering my Volvo V70 as I headed through Honiton and I took a moment to pray for the poor, brave sods who were battling the torrid conditions in the Solent, the Rolex Fastnet Race now under way. With a forecast of generally moderate to fresh conditions, this Championship could be equally exhausting, and that is just to get to the start area. Hayling's sand bar has a notoriety that is legendary in sailing circles, the stories told in the bar about the bar usually more entertaining than the racing.

I arrived at around 6.30pm, the view that met me was one of gun metal grey skies which were an accurate reflection of the sea, fluffy white horses galloped in unison across the sand bar and a thousand mast halyards chimed like Cicadas on a hot Mediterranean night. I cool blast of air brought me back to the UK, welcome to British summertime.

The clubhouse was still serving and fortunately the class President was taking orders so I just could not refuse, Patrick Burns is Scottish so when he gets the American Express out you do not argue. A Shandy and lasagne later and I was ready for bed, leaving the sailors to contemplate what this event would hold for them in terms of personal targets, for some a top ten overall, for others, not getting pissed too soon in the week.

My abode would be in the cheap accommodation, situated right next to the clubhouse entrance and no more than 65 steps to the bar, something I insist on these days of my infirmity. The room, no wider than a Solo boom and obviously decorated by someone with a high level of colour-blindness but at least it always looks sunny. I studied the four foot high ladder to the top bunk and, assessing the level of risk, opted for the lower level, concussion being my choice of injury over a broken neck.

My view was of the dinghy park, masts located at various angles of rake but generally 3070cm from transom, over to my right are the the high end villas, a complex of 8 luxury apartments, I assume each one comes with a maid of Indonesian ethnicity and gender and hot tubs as standard. I do hope they are ready for the sight of Chris Brown in the buff.

I took a moment to reminisce on my previous visits to HISC, two victories and a second at open meetings peppered with total anonymity from the top ten and the embarrassment of floating past the clubhouse inverted during Fed Week 'Maverick style'. A tricky venue where fitness is king and this regatta will find out any weaknesses in strength and resolve. With the wind direction looking kind of constant from the west, if you go the right way in race 1, doing it for the other 11 might pay off. Then again, if it goes light it could be bloody awful.

Outside the wind would not abate and my bedroom door joined in, its wounds from years of abuse by adolescents with anger issues resulting in a rattle which was only silenced by the application of my heavy kitbag. My Aqua Marine offshore gear adding another arrow to the bag of impressive attributes. I do believe the insulation qualities will be tested tomorrow.

The NSCA are extremely pleased to have SELDEN as our title sponsor and Rich Thoroughgood at Selden commented; "We are incredibly proud to be the sponsors of the Solo National Championships at Hayling Island SC this year. The Seldén and Solo relationship has been a long and successful one, and one that has provided results for company, class and sailor alike.

"The development of the D+ and our other sections used has proven a great success. The specification and performance of the current -22 spec is on point, and as always our consistency and repeatability is key to many purchases. The ability we offer, to be able to replace your damaged spar with EXACTLY the same item, is immeasurable and commented as a positive by many that know.

"We hope everyone has a great week at Hayling. Sail hard, play hard, but most of all: enjoy."

The NSCA also have race day sponsorship from HD Sails, Winder Boats, Impact Marine, Aqua Marine, P&B, Noble Marine and Suntouched so thank you to them.