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Solo Southern Area Series Open at Frensham Pond Sailing Club

by John Haine 14 Jun 2019 03:43 PDT 9 June 2019

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:

PosSail NoHelmClubR1R2R3Points
1st5487Roger BennettSilver Wing SC1‑212
2nd5704Tim LewisRYA‑2123
3rd5381Fraser HaydenPapercourt SC‑4336
4th4592Brian TaylorFrensham Pond SC34‑57
5th5666Andrew BoycePapercourt SC5‑649
6th4730John BrookerFrensham Pond SC65‑1011
7th4944Simon LawFrensham Pond SC‑187613
8th5129Tim DeaconFrensham Pond SC‑1910717
9th5560Charles StimpsonSpinnaker SC‑128917
10th4970Sue TaylorSilver Wing SC711‑1618
11th5575Paul TrevanFrensham Pond SC10‑16818
12th4873Mick OgleHawley Lake STC812(RET)20
13th5700Adrian LawFrensham Pond SC‑1391221
14th5027John HaineFrensham Pond SC‑14131124
15th5814Jeff DoltonFrensham Pond SC1114(DNC)25
16th5597Jonny WellsEssex YC919(DNF)28
17th4636Mike HallPapercourt SC15‑201328
18th5713Duncan PeaceSpinnaker SC1615(DNC)31
19th4323Ray BakerFrensham Pond SC‑17171532
20th4487John BartonFrensham Pond SC‑20181735
21st5033Peter CruiseFrensham Pond SC‑22221436
22nd4191John BlackmanFrensham Pond SC‑21211839

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