Andy Davis wins Open Dutch Solo National Champions

by Pieter Jelle Jongejans on 6 Jun 2007 Under varying, but not too heavy conditions the Open Dutch National Championship for the Solo Class was sailed on the Ijsselmeer near the town of Hoorn from May 26 to May 28 2007. After eight races spread over three days Andy Davis (GBR) took the title.

There was a time that the Dutch Solo Class held her National Championships at Hoorn almost every year. After a period of over ten years it was now put on the agenda again. Apparently greatly appreciated by their fellow Solo sailors from the UK who came over with an exceptional high number of 13 entries on a total of 37. Not bad given the fact that the Solo Class in the UK is about ten times as big as the Dutch Solo Class.

During the weekend before the Nationals I had prepared my Solo 553 optimally. Despite the early hour at which I arrived at the sailing club I found out that I was not by far the first one. Andy Davis had already changed into his sailing gear - a bit overdone if you ask me - but then again, he is always at the front and I am not, so . . .

The racecourse was to be a classic Olympic Triangle with a loop and upwind finish. Target time per race was 45 minutes.

Saturday May 26 2007, (race 1-3)

The first start was at noon as scheduled. The waves were higher than the wind (force 2-3). This caused a problem for most competitors because pointing high is not the best strategy under such conditions. This was reflected in the results, where 'the Dutch' positions in the top ten were a third for Edwin, a seventh for Elaine Turner (OK, half Dutch) and a ninth for Armand de la Rie. Armand stroke back in the remaining races of that day.

Elaine made a big impression by rounding the up wind mark in first position in the second race. Unfortunately she could not keep this position and eventually finished fifth.

In race 3 Peter van Santen made pulled a surprise out of his sleeve by rounding the first mark in fourth position in his 35 year old GRP Solo but had to settle for a 12th at the finish line.

He said it felt like a victory anyway. Most competitors had varying results during day one, only Jon Clarke was able to put together a series of good results.

After the races free beer was available which was thankfully accepted by all, after which most Soloists went into the old centre of Hoorn for a joint dinner. It has to be said it was well arranged but around 10 pm I was happy to call it a (tiring but exciting) day. I was about the only one because most went on for more drinks.

Sunday May 27 2007 (race 4-7)

Four races back to back on one day is a lot and forced the committee to have the first start at 10am. In other words, get up early!. Luckily my parents had sailed their Jeanneau to Hoorn so I could sleep on board and close to the dinghy park. Early or not, all competitors were at the starting line well in time. This time the waves were more in line with the wind, which was again a force 2-3. After the first start the wind started to go down rapidly. Armand took the lead and kept it to the finish line.

Race 5 started in very light wind. During the first run Edwin Oosterbaan was troubled by a strange disease named RRD (Repetitive Rocking Disorder). Typical symptoms of RRD are an extreme instability of the Solo and a considerable acceleration towards the downwind mark. Many sailors at the front suffer from this disease. Luckily a verbal intervention from my side provided an immediate cure (well, at least for a while).

During this race it became clear that the circumstances demanded a lot of the racing committee. The light force 2 disappeared like snow in the sun. They were not in time at the second upwind mark to shorten the race and decided to do that at the downwind mark. Since the leaders were already becalmed at the beginning of this enormous reach it took what felt like hours to the finish line.

It was funny to see Chris Brown totally bewildered as he was floating towards the mark that could only be seen as a little dot on the horizon. 'I cannot believe they did not shorten the race... I-cannot-believe-it...'

Sijbrand Jongejans did not even bother to round the upwind mark and paddled to our parents boat for a coffee instead. He was proven right by the fact that 17 competitors did not make it to the finish within the (very tight) time limit. Needless to say they were not amused.

After some waiting the wind picked up again to an acceptable force 3 for races 6 and 7. Especially 'daddy Doctor' was happy. He had had to fold himself into Minke's Solo 519 all day and could finally stretch out.

Strangely enough some competitors had to give up with damage to their boats. Ron had broken his hiking straps and Rob broke his carbon tiller.

Ton did not break anything but was jealous of Sijbrand's coffee and decided to get one ashore (at least, that's my interpretation). Edwin maximised his results with second and fourth positions. Team Tjebbe was racing towards good results that day with Armand finishing first in race 6, but he was disqualified for starting early. Jacques showed his usual consistency but Elaine started to loose touch with the top ten.

Dinner was arranged at the clubhouse. There was a group of Etap sailors also having their dinner together. This caused some confusion as the baguettes with herb butter that we were enjoying turned out to be theirs. During dinner Claire made an impressive performance of the day-prize-giving ceremony. 'The British' were most impressed but then again, they ran off with most of the silverware....

Monday May 28, 2007 (race 8-10)

Despite the fact that there was hardly any wind the committee decided to send us off anyway. Luckily my parents towed me to the start line, and still I barely made it in time. We started in a very light force 1 but again the wind became extremely variable in direction and force. After the first mark the party was over and we floated to the finish.

As it turned out the committee had chosen to do this race in order to have a second discard. I do not see the point of this as my position during this race varied between 10 and 28. Eventually I finished 22nd, while 100 meters before the finish line I was still in 17th position. Anyway, all's well that ends well. After waiting for wind for almost an hour the committee decided to cancel races 9 and 10. Nobody objected.

Prize giving was at 2:30pm. Again Claire made an impressive performance and even changed into short skirt and high heels for the occasion. She was giving away prizes at a high rate whilst doing a lot of talking and kissing. There turned out a lot of strange prizes for all kinds of achievements.

At the end of the day Jacques was the best Dutchman. Especially the way he did this impressed me.

Basically he was the only Dutchman who did not put in a bad result, he was always at the front. This surprised me because he uses the same slow plastic as I do.

At the end of the ceremony Dutch Class President Alex Rijnink praised the new Dutch Champion Andy Davis with some, what seemed to be critical remarks, but we are sure they were well meant. Traditionally former Dutch Champion Gerard Post took his chance to (almost) drown Andy.

Alex was right in stating that we should be happy that so many British made the effort to come all the way to Holland for our Nationals. Andy even comes over for some smaller events too. Lastly a word of thanks and bottles of wine were spent on the racing committee, and rightfully so, because without volunteers like them such events would not be possible.

Solo Dutch Nationals - Final overall positions

1 Andy Davis 4767 14pts 1 8 1 15 6 3 1 2
2 Chris Brown 4672 19 2 19 9 3 2 4 5 3
3 Jon Clarke 4712 22 5 4 5 6 1 6 9 1
4 Jacques Metaal 550 25 9 3 6 4 3 14 2 7
5 Ian Houston 4525 34 4 20 3 7 9 8 3 13
6 Armand de la Rie 537 35 12 2 4 1 10 OCS 7 1