Solo Open at Littleton Sailing Club

Littleton Solo Open © Mike Wilkie

Littleton Solo Open © Mike Wilkie

A pleasant Spring day greeted the fleet of 16 visitors and 10 home boats at Littleton's 2016 Solo Open Meeting. The club was pleased to welcome several of the visitors for their first time at Littleton, including 2 all the way from Girton SC in Nottinghamshire, and one who claimed his last visit had been before the M3 had been built across the lake! The gentle F2-3 SSE wind was not in a hurry to settle down, testing the patience of the sailors and the skill of Race Office, Dan Goodman. After several false starts, leading to the black flag making a showing, the fleet got away cleanly. Jarvis Simpson (RYA) took an early lead and with the majority of the fleet bunched behind him, slowing each other down in their fight for every place, he soon pulled out to strengthen his lead. Simpson held the lead to take the first bullet of the day, though Alan Bishop (Girton) had pulled clear of the fleet and was catching him fast by the finish. Nick Bonner (Hamble River) finished in 3rd.

Race 2, with the black flag still out, looked to be starting in a nice F3 breeze, until the one minute gun, when a shift made crossing the start line on starboard an impossibility. The race was postponed and the AOD found himself lifting and resetting the anchor of the committee boat for the umpteenth time that day. The following start was recalled, though a number of people nearly missed the start that followed, having not realised there had been a recall. Finally the fleet got away and it was Steve Ede (Ardleigh) who took an early lead this time, with Richard Cambrook (Littleton) in hot pursuit. Ede held his lead to take line honours, with Cambrook in 2nd and Patrick Fell (Papercourt) in 3rd.

The shifty conditions of the day had taken its toll, with the fleet now grateful to be able to get a short lunch break, before heading back out for the remaining two races. By this time the wind had shifted further to the east, creating the opportunity for yet another new course, the third of the day. Bishop, one of the most consistent sailors of the day, this time succeeded in taking the lead and became the third race winner of the day, putting him in the lead overall going into the last race.

The wind was steadily dropping and a number of people decided to call it a day, opting not to do the last race. Mark Maskell (Blackwater), another of the more consistent sailors of the day, tacked straight onto port from the committee boat end of the line and comfortably led the fleet to the first mark. Mark held onto his lead to become the fourth out of four separate race winners, followed by Ede in 2nd and Fell in 3rd.

Overall with only a point splitting the top three boats, it was Ede who won the day on count back from Bishop, with Maskell one point behind in 3rd place overall. 1st Grandmaster was Richard Cambrook and 1st Littleton boat went to Vanda Jowett.

Overall Results: