Solo National Championship - Victory for Charley Cumbley

by Fiona Brown on 6 Aug 2014 The 68 competitors in the 2014 Solo National Championship, hosted by Brightlingsea Sailing Club (BSC) from Sunday 27 July to Friday 1 August, enjoyed six days of close and very challenging racing. Race officer David Charlton was able to complete eleven of the twelve scheduled races and the conditions, although predominantly lighter, did offer something for everyone across the week.

Racing took place on the Colne and Blackwater Estuaries, just a short sail from the BSC clubhouse on Brightlingsea Creek. During the early part of the week light gradient northerly winds were the norm in the mornings, with a break in the middle of the day to allow the sea breeze to fill in for the second race. On Wednesday the northerly gradient was initially stronger and the sea breeze simply wasn't able in in time, so only one race was possible, but on Thursday and Friday the wind swung into the south meaning the sea breeze simply added to the gradient giving a windier final flourish to the regatta.

After a faltering start, thanks to a black flag in the opening race, defending Champion Charley Cumbley rapidly put his stamp on the regatta and by mid week the yellow jersey was wrapped firmly around his wiry frame and it was clear that he did not intent to relinquish it.

Cumbley's fellow competitors did everything they could to wrest that yellow jersey and the trophy from him, with Pete Mitchelle, Andy Davis, Andrew Wilde, Steve Cockerill, Michael Sims and Ross Harvey all on excellent form and taking race wins during the week. But Cumbley held his nerve and sailed a superb series to claim victory by an eight point margin from nearest rival Steve Cockerill, who also won the trophy for the leading Veteran sailor. Third place went right down to the wire with Andy Davis eventually taking the final step on the podium from Ross Harvey in fourth and Andy Tunnicliffe in fifth.

Niall Houston claimed the Youth Champion title, Vanda Jowett was the top Lady, John Webster won the Grand Master trophy and Jarvis Simpson won the Plate Series.

Speaking about his victory Charlie Cumbley was fulsome in his praise of both the venue and his fellow sailors; 'It was the first time I'd been to Brightlingsea, so a new venue for me. The club was really welcoming and everyone was so helpful. It had some new challenges compared with other more typical Solo venues, a fair bit of tide and a short choppy sea state. But the good thing was that, because it was a new venue, no one had a particular local advantage.

'I think I probably sailed as well as I have done for a long time. I'd just come back from taking a second place at the Solo Nations Cup on Lake Garda, and I was fired up to do better in this regatta. Most of the sailors were really on their game, so I had to up the ante a little bit.

'It's always nice to defend the trophy. It was my fourth Nationals victory and it was probably one of the tougher ones. It could have been blown wide open as it was very close and one slip could add big numbers to your score. Having a black flag in the first race meant I really had to stay focused and clean for the rest of the regatta.

'North have always had a strong presence at the top of the Solo leader board and we're a bit more technology based than a lot of the sail makers. It's nice to see that filtering down through to the rest of the fleet, and I was particularly pleased to that see not only the overall trophies, but also the special individual titles were being tied up by our customers too.'

The next major event on the National Solo Class calendar is the Inland Championship at Rutland Sailing Club on 20 and 21 September, and the 2015. Further information about this and other Solo events can be found here.

www.solonationals14.com" target="_blank">Event website