Solo class Nigel Pusinelli Trophy and Southern Championship 2026 at Felpham Sailing Club

Solo Nigel Pusinelli Trophy and Southern Championship at Felpham © Will Loy

The Nigel Pusinelli Trophy, incorporating the Southern Championship, sponsored by P&B and CB Coverstore

This would be one of those events where imperfect regatta organising collides with perfect weather, the result, a Championship that will last long in the memory of the few sailors that attended.

Felpham Sailing Club did all they could, both bacon and sausage baps were available in a galley that could have fed an army though the 19 entries did their best to besiege the team with orders way larger than stomachs.

With fleet members attending both Merlin Week and the 505 Worlds at nearby Hayling Island, a reduced entry was a given but the local car meet at Goodwood had sent accommodation prices beyond even those lucky enough to enjoy a retirement package with plenty of spare for the Solo campaign.

In retrospect, the 15-20 knots and 30 degrees Felpham had booked for us was worth every penny and every mile driven to get to this part of the south coast though I will still be putting my expense claim forward for consideration, after all, having to watch the fleet enjoy such Champagne sailing does wrench the heart strings, even if the body is no longer able.

Among the competitors were some of the big hitters, former Inland Champion Chris Brown is on the come-back trail and he would be hoping his CB Ultimate Hikers would provide some kind of Wallace and Gromit trouser magic while fresh from his win at the Nation's Cup in Quiberon, class President Guy Mayger had made the arduous journey from Bognor, the taste of victory, the smell of pewter polish feeding this urge in his soul for more.

Meanwhile, two young guns went about their business in the dinghy park, chalk and cheese in demeanour, if Alex Butler wanted some building work done at his mansion then Harry Lucas would probably have done it but, like water to a self bailer, these guys are drawn to the close fleet racing the Solo class is known for and they share the same familial traits every Solo sailor has, passion, integrity, self believe and smashed up shin bones.

The boat park, which is adjacent to the clubhouse is generous and can take up to 80 Solos. Good intel as we may choose this venue for next year's National Championship. If that happens, the owners of the beach huts may want to rent the accommodation for the week and pop over to Spain or better, Greece.

Ross Fisher would be our PRO and after a short briefing the fleet launched into a very welcoming 12 knots, the wind tracking slightly onshore so the sailors could negotiate the waves before they disintegrated onto the shingle beach.

The safety ribs were launched down a challenging slipway with the precision usually associated with the team of infantrymen who wheel a Howitzer around Edinburgh Castle and once afloat they waited patiently as I attempted to embark, the wedgy one crew member gave me was helpful, essential but humiliating.

I sat in a heap on the foredeck and enjoyed the ride out to the smallest Committee boat in the World, the wave patterns providing an experience only harlots and rodeo riders can understand, it also rendered the £45 I had spent on Chiro a week earlier useless.

Glad it was over I fiddled with my Nikon P950 only momentarily glancing at the waterproof and shockproof case which housed the DJI Mini 3, my confidence still tainted by my previous experience in Hayling Bay but with the wind forecast to increase overnight, it was today or never.

Unfortunately a misunderstanding saw us power back to the beach to pick up the start buoy, the driver clearly as at home here as he must have been circumnavigating the wild rapids of Niagara.

Back out to the start arena and we were into race 1.

Race 1

I launched the NSCA drone following some last minute button pressing, my screen indicating that the bloody thing was set to photos and no amount of fumbling would toggle the camera to video mode. I headed towards the fleet who were already under way and chased down the leaders who had popped out of the Committee end. Not wanting to push my luck or waste another of the

DJI's nine lives before the National Championship in just over three weeks, I steered the tiny but powerful media tool back to our position just off the gate marks. The course consisted of a sausage and a triangle which was slightly offset and this resulted in a very broad reach followed by a tight fetch, the out going tide exacerbating the tight angle to the finish which suited Chris Brown who had found the straight leg mode on his automated hikers and he took the win in his new Winder 2 with Butler and Lucas backing up my form guide for second and third. Savitsky and Bird rounded out the top five and with six races planned and one discard, these would be beneficial counters.

PRO Ross ordered the mark laying team to haul the wing mark 200 yards up the shoreline and we reset for race 2 with the breeze building a notch to 14 knots, the unbroken sunshine continuing to slowly bake anyone under it's powerful, dangerous and yet irresistible beam. My crew members broke out the sandwiches but I was too busy initiating the DJI Mini 3 and had finally diagnosed the issue with it toggling between stills and video. I booted up the screen and discarded the cheap screen cover which, while providing some shade from the Sun's glare, was also responsible for fouling the camera control buttons on the front of the console. With the start sequence live I launched and headed for the line.

Race 2

Brian Moran is early at the Committee end and, like a Jehovah Witness at the door is shut out by Alec Savitsky in one of the newest Winders on the water (6142) but with the tide ebbing, Brown times his run to the line perfectly and heads upwind on a lifting right shift in his even newer Mk 2 (6148), his mainsheet cleat mounted stopwatch earning it's keep for the midland based sailor. Harry Lucas is three boats down the line but bow forward, the recently crowned Dutch Spring Champion keen to show his win was no fluke.

Meanwhile, Mike Barnes, who had somehow managed to steer his Beckett built Solo through the maelstrom of parked boats, drops into a pocket mid line but wastes the move by being late to pull the trigger. Malcolm Buchanan activates his DRS and lines up the 37 year old timber build but 3847 'Top Drive' is having none of it and accelerates forward. Mike is already drawing up plans to strip another two kilos from its highly toned anatomy given the proposed rule change to corrector limit but from where he will take it is anyone's guess.

The run was both manageable and exciting with Mayger, Nunn and Butler all in line as they approached the gate, Butler was in the middle and opted to round the gate behind Nunn, taking them up the right of the course while Mayger headed left with Bunn and Lucas in pursuit.

The reaches were fairer angles allowing some surfing and at the gun it was Butler who showed some impressive downwind speed from local hero Mayger. He had led into the final downwind before losing sight of the luminescent orange wing mark against the backdrop of beach houses and Butlins, Lucas, Charlie Nunn, who was competing in the Solo Demo boat and Chris Bunn completing the top five.

Solo Nigel Pusinelli Trophy and Southern Championship at Felpham - photo © Will Loy

Race 3

With the start sequence in operation I forced down the remaining mouthful of Tuna Mayo, the granary bread part of the sandwich reverting back to dough and taking refuge in my upper palette before finally losing grip. I confirmed to my crew that I would not require a Heimlich Manoeuvre and readied the DJI gimbal/Samsung A14 to capture the action, the considerable swell would be no match for it's clever damping mechanism and inbuilt image stability.

Iain McGregor had finally arrived after facing some considerable traffic jams but with breeze and glorious sunshine in place, it was worth every bloody hour. He headed down to the pin end, historically he would tack and head off on port towards Le Havre but instead he took a route into shore with Nunn and Mayger, I would suggest he was in fact trapped between the two and could not tack off.

The tide was still a factor not to be ignored and the majority headed left into the area of least resistance, tacking off inevitably losing vital lengths.

Butler was in the groove and took his second win of the day from Chris Brown and Harry Lucas with Guy Mayger and Charlie Nunn completing a talented top five. That is not to say the other competitors are not as blessed, Bird, Moran, Turnbull and Maria E Franco in particular caught my eye and Mike Barnes continues to confound both the sailing World with his obsession with wooden boats and the medical profession with his insatiable need to smoke post race.

70th Anniversary Race

10 selected helms took part in a short windward/leeward race with the class President deciding which order the competitors would start. Fair play to him as the fleet stayed together and there were only feet between the top five or six at the finish.

Alec Savitsky grabbed the bag off the back of the Committee boat which contained a pound for every year of the Solos existence and he would be able to put it towards a nut and bolt which should have been in place on his tiller extension instead of a short screw which failed the next day!

The fleet filed into shore, the Felpham beach team as efficient at capture as they were for release and with a curry and World Cup quarter final to follow, it would be a real Carlsburg evening.

Overnight, Butler would lead from Lucas and Brown but with the prospect of more Sun and stronger winds ahead, nothing was guaranteed.

Day 2

With England progressing to the semi final stage I could concentrate on the day's action and with a further three races planned and the sound of the wind whistling through heavily leaved trees, I headed to the club. The brutality inflicted on my pathetically weak spine 24 hours earlier was weighing heavily on my mind as I watched the Royal Edinburgh Tattoo gun squad wheel the first of three vessels down the steep concrete slip to the water's edge, I would have offered to help but years of rejection based on my fragility have taken a toll on my spirit so I sipped my tea and tore into a bacon bap while they skipped back up to collect another of the safety ribs.

The wind was indeed stronger and I had already made the decision to ground all air traffic, hours of studying drone crashes 2025 providing me with the knowledge that launching into an offshore breeze would be futile and humiliating. The North Easterly would also suggest the drone's flight path, should I lose control would be Brest so instead it would stay safe in it's little case.

Fortunately, Ross had set the course with the top and wing marks less than 200 metres off the beach so I grabbed a ladder and set my Nikon P950 up on the impromptu tripod.

The fleet launched with no fatalities, the shore team operating as slickly as an F1 team on a tyre change and we were into sequence for race 4

Solo Nigel Pusinelli Trophy and Southern Championship at Felpham - photo © Will Loy

Race 4

Carnage, and I don't mean Steve Roberts ripping it up in his bright green Solo with the same name.

The wind was in the low 20's and Charlie Nunn is headed at the pin end, his natural instinct is to tack as he is already head to wind and with the mainsail already as loaded as casino dice, he has to take avoiding action behind a reversing Lucas who was momentarily hidden from view.

The result is a Noble Marine claim and capsizes for both sailors though it was clearly a racing accident and no need for race control to penalise with stop and go penalties.

Chris Bunn is having none of it and bulldozes his way to the top mark in his Winder 2, the Superspars M2 and North F3 in full song and relishing the wind and wave combination. Mayger, Fraser Haydon, Butler and Savitsky round in close company but 25 seconds behind the leader as they dive down the run to the gate marks. McGregor, Brian Moran follow with Brown and Tim Jackson a distance back and rueing their first beat tactical choices.

Mayger takes the lead from Bunn, the current Nation's Cup champion and outgoing Class President showing some strong form just three weeks before the National Championship at Royal Torbay. Savitsky has improved to third, the former Laser sailor (they tells you how long ago he sailed them) clearly enjoying the sporty yet stable nature of the Solo and Butler holds fourth.

Further down it is great to see Maria E Franco mixing it with the boys and showing some style in doing so. Likewise, it is inspiring to see those in their later years battling each other and the elements in a Jack Holt design we all love, despite it's stubby bow and capping, over canvassed sail, unforgiving rudder profile and propensity to turtle...why do we love it? Oh yeah, the challenge is character building and unifying.

Mayger holds, Savitsky and Butler improving to second and third from Bunn who just needs to unlock his downwind speed (too much kicker mate) with a fast finishing McGregor fifth.

Race 5

Lucas nails the pin end with the wind gusting into the 20's, the Committee boat hull hidden in the troughs but to be fair, it's not that big. The fleet are on full hike/full de-power mode, I swear I saw Chris Brown's Wallace and Gromit Ultimate hikers releasing some steam from the comfort zip. The tactic is simple, head in to shore and tack on the lay line, keep it flat, point, foot off and leave the centreboard position alone.

Top mark and it is Salcombe sailor McGregor who leads in, tacking just short of the wind farm just 5 nautical miles to windward, had they not been there he would probably still be holding on port. Chris Brown and Nigel Bird follow, the latter himself earning a reputation for overstanding marks given his debacle at Quiberon. Unfortunately he will never live that down in my missives as McGregor will testify. Thank you both. Savitsky, Butler, Bunn and Mayger are all in with a shout and the run is just on the nice side of fruity. Acknowledgement to Charlie Nunn who rounded next but was unaware that his Solo was taking on water following the race 4 collision, it must have felt a little sluggish.

Alec Savitsky leads into the top mark on lap two and would hold for the win despite some effort from Butler down the final feisty reach. Brown, McGregor and Lucas completed the top five in a race which was both exhilarating and exhausting so I took a moment to sip my Lucozade and stretch my calf muscles, the steep loose shingle really working my lower leg muscles.

To the final race and Butler is already home and dry but not literally as, with the rest of the fleet, he was having too nice a time to come in. Lucas would have to win race 6 and hope other results fall his way while Brown and Mayger would need a Stella performance.

Race 6

Bunn, Mayger, McGregor and Brown fancy the pin end and they are all away cleanly, the laminate cloth shimmering as the weave does it's best not to distort despite the loads exerted via ball blocks and Dyneema braided control lines.

The fleet drive into shore, tacking into the shifts when most advantageous and at the top mark it is Bunn who has found the best from his new Winder (6138) with Lucas in close pursuit, brimming with confidence and muscle, youth is a wonderful thing, I want it back. McGregor finds a sweet spot to tack inside Mayger and Butler with Brown and Nunn next and they head down the run where Mayger apparently goes for a swim. To be fair the water was so warm and refreshing for him. Fair play to Nunn who must have wondered why he was going like a dog down the run and reaches. He will be taking delivery of Paul Davis's Boatyard at Beer for the Nationals which suggests Paul may launch his own build.

Lucas keeps Butler under control to win the final race and this would move him up to second overall 3-3-3-8-5-1 but the clear winner was Butler who posted 2-1-1-3-2-2. Brown showed the sort of form that saw him win the Inlands a good while ago, I did tell him to get a Mk 2 and it's reaping dividends. Mayger can take solace from his race win while Savitsky was unlucky with a tiller extension failure in race 6 which tainted his overall position.

Solo Nigel Pusinelli Trophy and Southern Championship at Felpham - photo © Will Loy

Maria showed some style and strength of character to complete all six races and her boat handling is getting nicely up top spec ahead of the Nationals. I would love to see some other ladies for her to challenge but the boys need to worry too.

It is always a pleasure to see Mike Barnes and Top Drive in perfect harmony and he will have some tough competition for the wooden boat trophy at Torbay, Tony Thresher for one, Tim Deacon?

Felpham did a sterling job, the weather was stunning as is the vista from the lovely friendly club house and don't get me started about the catering team who were five star. Good luck to Ross who is set to embark on a row from Plymouth to Felpham, Drake to Blake is the Just Giving address for further info.

Thanks to P&B and CB Coverstore for your support and prizes, the NSCA value these important and valuable partners.

Unfortunately oner of the competitors, Vernon Perkins crashed his camper on the way home, fortunately he is fine but the van and Solo are write-offs. We wish you well and hope your new boat is ready for Torbay.

Next up is the Solo National Championship Aug 5-9 at Royal Torbay yacht Club, already 60+ entries and more to come.

Overall Results: