Solo Southern Area Series Open at Frensham Pond Sailing Club

Twenty-two Solos including ten visitors entered the Frensham Open, part of the Southern Area Series sponsored by Chichester Harbour Gin.

With a forecast of SW 6-8 knots and four races planned, race officer Dan Shaw was hopeful of avoiding a repeat of 2018 when the wind speed rarely exceeded 2 knots and boxed the compass all day. Our worst fears were realised however when the first start was abandoned with 20 seconds to go because the wind had dropped and swung to WNW. At the second attempt most of the fleet got away but the strong bias towards the committee boat meant that several boats were shut out and did not cross the line for over a minute. Roger Bennett of Silver Wing won the race convincingly, followed by Tim Lewis (RYA) and local skipper Brian Taylor.

By the start of race two the wind had shifted to a very light southerly, resulting in heavy pin end bias and a lot of shouting. Eventually Lewis won the race followed by Bennett, with Papercourt's Fraser Hayden, the 2018 winner, third.

After a hearty lunch the wind was still very light southerly with a bit of east in it at times so that, although the race team were still hopeful of a shift to the forecast SW, it was not to be so that after what seemed like an hour of waiting around and a short rainstorm we eventually set off into a very light SE wind. Once again Bennet and Lewis led the race with Bennett first, Lewis second and Hayden once again third, which was also the final overall result, as the planned fourth race was cancelled due to time constraints. Brian Taylor in fourth overall was the first local sailor.

The race officer's grovelling apologies during the traditional Frensham tea and prizegiving were accepted with grace and good humour. In the draw for bottles of gin, Roger Bennett won one of them, alongside two local sailors. Talk about all the luck!

Overall Results: