Papercourt Sailing Club's Solo open took place on Sunday 18th October, with a Northerly forecast of up to 20mph. The fleet consisted of 19 Solos and included 10 visitors. Under the guidance of the race officer, Jon Paton, the day's sailing proved to be competitive and challenging.
Papercourt is known for its occasionally (!) shifty wind, and this day was no exception, with many of the front runners pausing to wash their sails in the gusts and holes.
Race 1 saw Julian Rickards (Littleton) light his afterburners and sail off into clear wind for the rest of the race. Behind him, there were multiple place changes, with Ian Matthews (Spinnaker), Simon Derham (Littleton), Simon Bird, Andrew Boyce (Papercourt) and Alan Fuller (Papercourt) all fighting for the next small point spots. Ian was able to break through, followed by Simon and Nigel.
Race 2 saw a similar speed differential with Julian out in front, but this time with Fraser Hayden (Papercourt) closer on his transom, away from the pack of Simon, Ian and Jack Turnball (Martello Lakes).
After a free energy giving lunch, Race 3 saw Fraser take an early lead and never to be caught. The remaining pack were again thrown around by the hard-to-read shifts, with Ian, Jack and John Reed (Bough Beech) following, but with Julian testing the water, he would be under pressure after his 2 wins.
Race 4 tried to start in a major squall (over 27kn recorded), which meant it was hard to see the flags or hear the hooter. A few were over keen to get to the Papercourt Tea, so a recall was issued, followed by the 1st black flag of the day.
The line was noticeably clearer as some boats held back in the squall.
Ian Matthews was leading to the windward mark but in a less than perfect tack he was knocked out of his boat leaving Fraser in the lead, but he then had a last-minute head-to-wind moment and had to bear off round the buoy, dropping 3 places to Simon, John and Julian, who finished in that order.
Our thanks to Jon Paton and his race team, Jill and her foodie team.
Thanks also go to Ian Matthews for organising the P&B Southern Solo series so enthusiastically. Well done to him for winning that, with Fraser 2nd and Simon 3rd.
Ian also won the Thames Valley Solo series, with Simon 2nd and Julian 3rd.
Overall Results:
Pos Sail No Helm Club R1 R2 R3 R4 Pts
1st 5187 Julian Rickards Littleton SC 1 1 ‑11 2 4
2nd 5693 Fraser Hayden Papercourt SC ‑6 2 1 4 7
3rd 5393 Simon Derham Littleton SC 3 3 ‑5 1 7
4th 6150 Ian Matthews Spinnaker SC 2 4 2 (RET) 8
5th 4381 Jack Turnball Martello Lakes ‑14 5 3 6 14
6th 5045 John Reed Bough Beech SC ‑10 9 4 3 16
7th 5666 Andrew Boyce Papercourt SC 5 6 6 ‑7 17
8th 5178 Authur Mason ‑7 7 7 5 19
9th 4669 Alan Fuller Papercourt SC 8 8 ‑15 8 24
10th 5947 Frank Brown Papercourt SC 11 ‑13 9 11 31
11th 566 Andrew Hill‑Smith Papercourt SC ‑17 11 12 9 32
12th 5581 John Driscoll Spinnaker SC 15 ‑16 13 10 38
13th 5831 Martin Kemp Papercourt SC 12 10 (RET) DNS 42
14th 5085 John Baple Papercourt SC 16 12 14 (DNS) 42
15th 5977 Les Radford Spinnaker SC 9 14 (RET) DNS 43
16th 6087 Peter Matthews Papercourt SC 18 15 10 (DNS) 43
17th 5903 Nigel Bird RYA 4 (RET) DNS RET 44
18th 3847 Mike Barnes RYA 13 17 16 (RET) 46
19th 5815 Tom Key Papercourt (DNC) DNC 8 RET 48
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