2025 Solo Thames Valley & Eastern Series at Broadwater Sailing Club

The 2025 Eastern and Thames Valley Solo Series kicked off on a sunny Saturday at the end of March with fifteen boats from ten clubs taking part.

For the morning session of two back-to-back races there was a light North-Westerly breeze with 8-10mph gusts - a far cry from the storm force conditions that sailors had had to contend with in the previous two years.

Broadwater Solo Open - photo © John Greaves

The first race saw Fraser Hayden from Papercourt take the initiative on the route around the islands, pursued by Simon Maskell from Hunts. On the second lap Mark Maskell and Steve Bishop made gains through the fleet, aided by the retirement of two boats, to come in third and fourth. In the second race Nigel Bird led the pack after lap 1 with Mark in second and Broadwater's Andy Cooney behind. On the second lap everything changed with Mark holding on to take first ahead of Nigel and Fraser.

After the customary hot lunch, the course was changed as the wind swung around to a Westerly. With winds picking up, 13 sailors set out for the second session of back-to-back races. The course now incorporated a 13-4-6 mark combo which made for some interesting manoeuvres as sailors tested routes either side of the nearby island to avoid congestion around the hairpin mark.

Broadwater Solo Open - photo © John Greaves

The third race was a much closer affair with only about a minute separating the boats on the first lap. Fraser again held the lead with Nigel and Chris Bolton close behind. On the second lap the order changed with Mark coming through from 4th to pick up first place ahead of Fraser. Third place was secured by Simon Maskell who gained 8 places in a flying second lap. For the final race there were fewer surprises as 10 boats jostled back and forth for position in the squally winds- this time Steve crossed the line first, followed by Simon and Chris.

In the end, with one discard from four it was the two first places that gave Mark Maskell the one point edge over Fraser, who in turn secured second one point ahead of Simon who took third; Mark once again gets his name etched alongside other Solo greats on the legendary Chess Trophy. A big thankyou to all competitors and the race and safety team for making this such a great event.

Overall Results: