Noble Marine Solo Nation's Cup 2026 at Quiberon, France - Overall
by Will Loy 10 Jun 14:35 PDT
4-7 June 2026
Day 4 dawned overcast, the strong winds finally abating but the region still refusing to default to the blistering heat we had read about in the brochure. The competitors had an early start but that had not put some off a very late night of food, wine and entertainment though Vincent Horey's rendition of "We are Spurs" on his base guitar soon had the audience running for the exit.
Earlier that evening the fleet had enjoyed a soiree at the sailing club located a few hundred metres from the sailing centre where free wine, available in three colours, and hors d' oeuvres were consumed with some enthusiasm. That said, the green olives always seem to be the hard sell. Wally of the Day was awarded to Maria E Franco who, while cycling from a bar to her lodgings managed to crash into a bush leaving the ladies leading rash vest there until, in a bizarre twist of fate, the other female competitor Justine Davenport happened to find it!
Further investigation determined Maria had fallen after her dress jammed up the bicycle chain; alcohol was not involved.
Class President Guy Mayger had made a speech, thanking the team of organisers and promising the Dutch that the UK would be attending the 2027 Nation's Cup (hopefully in Rotterdam) with a fleet good enough to match there own.
So to the final day and with the breeze blowing from a westerly direction and a pleasant 8-10 knots forecast, we crossed fingers that we could cram in four races to allow a second discard though with two other fleets racing in the same arena, albeit on an outer loop, delays were, like pot holes across the UK road network, hard to avoid.
I paced to the pontoon, today I would have a seat aboard the Jury rib, once again reuniting with Alan the judge and our driver who as previously mentioned, resembles the fabulous oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, complete with woolly hat.
A very nice lady who had been looking me up and down for a few minutes with some curiosity passed me two freshly made packed lunches, my slightly oversized though weary looking offshore salopettes providing the illusion of under-nourishment which has served me well for many years. I quickly stowed them in my dry bag, not wanting to alert my crew who were busy readying the vessel for departure.
We headed out to the course area which was directly east with the breeze following from over the clubhouse, producing some very flat water and a large wind shadow, it could have been any one of the hundred or so lakes in the UK. I was surprised that the course was not set at least another half a mile east of the start line to minimise the effects of the land, instead, the competitors faced lighter winds and large shifts making the beats tricky.
The Finns were first away and headed up to the top mark before heading onto an outer loop with the Contenders following around ten minutes later. Formations of heavy dark clouds were rolling to the right of the race area and this caused some chaos with the Contenders fetching the first mark and with no sign of the PRO postponing, there was some consternation amongst the Solo fleet. I have certainly learnt some new swear words.
Fortunately, after utilising his phone's translate app, PRO Patrick raised the AP and we went into a long delay as the wind, like a racing dinghy tacking up a perfectly set beat, went left and right.
The Finns filtered through to their race one finish while the Contender race was abandoned with the leaders needing to just complete the downwind legs and the breeze under 2 knots.
After over an hour of delays the Contender re-run was started and with hearts and minds racing, the Solo sequence was initialised.
Race 5
Start one was recalled with the main players at the Committee end, the breeze holding at 6-8 knots, Gillard, Davis and Van Bruissen ruing the fleets disobedience as they had been in the box seats while Lambert and Cage play their 'get out of jail' cards.
Start two
Pin biased which gives you some idea of the winds political indecision and as busy as a Boulangerie on a Sunday morning, Gillard and Huisman keeping a close eye on each other as they head out left while Honnor, who gybed out early hardens up on to port and blasts across the line with the fleet still to pull the trigger. Huisman tacks off and Gillard lets him go, hoping the separation will yield some places gained in the overall race for the title.
Top Mark and after another largely left biased beat it's Honnor from Gillard, Brown, Lennon and Nigel Thomas with Huisman back in tenth. Many of the sailors have over-stood the mark with the left shift making that judgement call almost impossible, it does though provide me with some action as competitors reach into the mark with those below it hardening up.
With the jury standing at the bow with one hand pinned to his back, his hat pointing sideways and our rib driver dutifully obeying his orders, we amble through the middle of the pack, our wake minimal. Being able to film the sailors up close is great fun until you realise they are not smiles on their angry little faces, Ties van Bruissen and Paul Davis just two who consider 'doing an Ainslie' before tempering their frustrations.
Gillard breaks through the Honnor defences to lead around the bottom gate with Brown and Lennon obediently following, Thomas, Gibb and Moolenaar next but possibly too far back to threaten the leaders. Justine Davenport is ahead of Maria E Franco who is wearing the leading ladies rash vest despite her efforts to lose it in the bush and these two ladies are fighting fiercely for the title.
At the gun it is Gillard (6141) who wins his second race of the week from Honnor 5880, who, let's not forget, started the regatta with a UFD-BFD so he is a man on a mission, a maverick with nothing to lose.
Guy Mayger scores an eight which looks mediocre but with the UFD board displaying Menno Huisman's sail number, the championship is wide open.
I took a moment to study the other dissenting sail numbers, 5980 and 6147 standing out, mainly because there were no competitors on the water utilising those numerals. I did question the accuracy of the start line official's eye sight and advised them of a Dyslexia assessment test but my French was clearly flawed and I was waved away with some disinterest. I also noted Horey had been UFD but there was no surprise there.
I dug into my dry bag, pulling out a freshly prepared baguette, the crust, crunchy and golden, the flesh light and airy as you would expect from a bulk fermented stick. One minute later and it had disappeared and, promising myself the second one would be savoured we headed into race 6.
Race 6
Pin end favoured again and the fleet tack onto port like a line of falling dominoes, Mayger working the middle of the line from Butler with Deacon, Clarke and Buchanan for company. The wind is from the left at around 8 knots and the lay line in is constantly changing but Frary judges it perfectly from Haswell, Honnor, Woodward, Butler, Lennon and Lee. Mayger is eighth with Huisman and Gillard thirteenth and fourteen.
Bottom gate and Honnor and Mayger are in the battle for first with Huisman up to fifth, Gillard chooses to take the right hand side of the beat but finds himself on the outside of a big lift and that would prove damaging to his overall position.
After one further intense lap Honnor takes the win from Mayger who is now a serious contender for the title with Huisman dropping to seventh and Gillard thirteenth. Frary, Butler and Brown complete the R6 top five but will the PRO manage to get 8 races completed to trigger a second discard?
We glided to a stop, the Judge exclaiming it was lunchtime. I thought we had already done that but needed no second invite and launched my grubby little hand into my kit bag for the second baguette of the day, my taste buds already juicing up for the cheese and tomato savoury goodness. "You have my lunch" Alan enquired with a softness I found slightly disturbing given his powerful presence in race mode. "Thank XXXX I didn't eat it" I thought as I passed the tasty and perfectly wrapped package to his outstretched hand.
Race 7
This would prove to be the final race of the regatta and with the breeze holding at 6-8 knots we were into sequence.
Frary and Davis are at the Committee end with Mayger opting for the conservative approach, a third of the way down, the majority though are at the pin and once again they all tack at the gun. Haswell, Woodward and Deacon are out fast with Lennon, Butler, Bunn.
The breeze is from the left but swings right as the fleet get close to shore and Mayger hooks into the shifts to round first from Huisman, little do they know, the future of where the Nation's Cup goes is in their hands, just one point either way, one position up or down will decide the Champion. Chris Brown is around in third and with Gillard once again fighting to get into the top five, the final podium place is still undecided. Lennon, Woodward, Haswell and Honnor who should have done the lottery as soon as off the water are in good shape but already far too back to have any effect on the top two. Mayger extends and is unflappable despite the best efforts by the Dutchman to flap him. Meanwhile, Gillard's race is run, throwing in a gamble he opts for the unfavourable side of the course upwind, to be fair, with the wind moving around so erratically, it was worth a punt.
So Guy Mayger takes the bullet and with no more racing possible the fleet head for home, no one knowing who has finished where. I decided against interviewing the stars as there were so many questions to be answered, would the UFD mistaken sail numbers have any bearing on the Championship, could anyone remember who scored what and what time was the ferry as we needed to be in Cairn by 10 pm.
The Prize Giving took place outside in the hot sunshine with a gentle westerly breeze wafting through the boat park and an assembled crowd, waiting patiently and impatiently for the results to be revealed.
Solo Class President Guy Mayger is 1st Overall and 1st GM (29)-4-3-3-8-2-1 pipping Menno Huisman by just one point and displaying a cool head despite starting the Championship with a 29. Huisman is 1st Vet 5-1-5-2-UFD-7-2 and put up a strong fight, had the race team messed up his numerals on the UFD board in R5 he may have won and he will be hard to beat next year in Rotterdam. Chris Brown 2-10-(19)-4-4-5-4 has shown some of the class that saw him win the Inlands once upon a time and his CB Ultimate Hikers can take some of the credit. Tom Gillard's defence started with a ninth and he was frustrated with the course configurations and rightly so in my humble opinion, the race team unfortunately did themselves no favours, albeit under difficult circumstances. Paul Haswell is a welcome addition to the class and 5th overall is a great start to his Solo career.
Justine Davenport pipped Maria E Franco to the ladies title by just six points, they enjoyed the battle so I hope this sends a message to our other ladies in the fleet to come and fight for the leading ladies race bib.
Tim Deacon raced his home built timber Solo to 1st Woody and is also 1st Septimus and Alrex Butler in 6th is 1st under 30.
Huge thanks to the club, officials and town for your friendly and warm welcome and to Noble Marine, we thank you for your support and funding which goes towards keeping the Solo in the top tier of single handed racing.
Day 4 photo gallery
Official notice board and results