Ferry Marina Solo Inland Championship at Grafham Water Sailing Club

Ferry Marina Solo Inland Championship at Grafham © Will Loy

Grafham Water Sailing Club would be our hosts and with a forecast of moderate winds and an air temperature enhanced by an airstream directly from Somalia.

50 competitors have descended on the village of Perry, camper vans laden with high energy bars, six packs and muscle remedy creams have parked themselves with a terrific view of the reservoir and sensibly, the less fit are positioned closest to the water, with age comes wisdom. No surprise then that the quickest sailor here arrived late and parked at the furthermost point from the shore line, something I need to address at future events as the walk to interview him was almost beyond my capabilities.

Sailors, with the tease of a high end car dealer revealing their F40 to a potential buyer, eased covers off their state of art Solos, one design on paper but each personalised in some way, the bolder extroverts in the fleet easily identified by their choice in hull colour, Simon Maskell's turquoise Winder making Mike Dray's 'Splash of Lime' look almost dull by comparison.

Stephen Dickinson's Barbados embossed hull identified his allegiance to his country and the "Go Fast" sticker on the boom reflected his enthusiasm to do well but my personal favourite was Nigel Thomas's yellow Winder given my love for my dad's Solo 186 which had decks in the same shade.

Of the classics, and there were five, Gareth Wilkinson's Gosling and Mike Barnes Beckett continued to turn heads and I did see a few onlookers wiping some dribble from the corners of their mouths, such is the beauty of a varnished boat. That said, the aroma of fried bacon wafting from the canteen could have been responsible.

Event sponsor Ferry Marina's Chris Bunn has generously provided a 3-4 day holiday on one of his flotilla, based on the Norfolk Broads, the winner will be picked from a hat at the EOS (Nov 15, Draycote Water) so participating in both events gets you two tickets.

This event also forms part of the North Sails Super Series and that will also be concluded at the EOS, I guess the downside of having at least 8 major events is that it does dilute the attendance but is it better to have 99 (2015) or 40-50 at many venues?

The positive here is we have surpassed the entry figures from the past 3 years:

• 2024 41
• 2023 39
• 2022 43
• 2021 72
• 2020 The 'Blip'
• 2019 46
• 2018 67
• 2017 75
• 2016 79

PRO Chris Clarke enthralled the competitors with his briefing before the fleet launched into a lovely 12-14 knots, the walk down to the water taking the athletes slightly longer with the reservoir down by a good few feet.

On-water NSCA Jury Steve Watson would be on duty and after some last minute interviews I shuffled onto the jetty to join him on the rib, sounds easy but the aforementioned pontoon, off horizontal by a good 3 degrees provided me with my second challenge of the day, ignoring the sign post to the McDonalds on my short trip to the venue had been my first.

Successfully negotiated, I stepped aboard my floating media platform, Steve's strong reassuring grip on my outstretched hand, surprising given its size, saving me and most importantly my Samsung A14 from a watery grave. Our eyes met, acknowledging a bond usually forged out of everted tragedy, no words were spoken and none needed.

The race team were in position to the north-west of the reservoir which was handy as the wind direction was from the south east so a good beat up towards the clubhouse.

Race 1 : Windward-Leeward, 3 laps

Very pin biased and busier than the M6 on a Friday afternoon, Jamie Morgan, Oliver Davenport, Chris Brown and Martin Honnor among those pushing the line but with a good proportion also over, no surprise to see the general recall flag displayed.

The breeze has gone up a click but with the Sun shining, no one was complaining, this could be the last decent weather until next April.

The next sequence was successful under the black flag and with the start line re-aligned, the Committee end was now favoured by the big guns, Chris Bolton closest at the gun with local Ewan Birkin-Walls tacking off to the right of the course and that lay line along with Stephen Hawley, Mark Maskell and John Steels. Jonathan Swain, Jasper Barnham and Harry Lucas hit the left with Morgan, Paul Davis, Davenport and Brown working the middle with the breeze increasing to 16 knots.

Top mark and Davenport leads in from Birkin-Walls, Simon Law, Swain, Davis, Morgan, Wilde and Bunn, the majority of the fleet over standing from the left as the breeze oscillated by as much as 20 degrees, this would become a theme for the weekend.

Davenport extended on the run to the gate from Birkin-Walls, Andrew Wilde and Law with the peloton following out to the right on the second upwind while a breakaway group of Morgan, Swain, Davies, Bunn and Jonathan Woodward hit the left, going up the middle only optimum if you were playing golf.

Top of the second lap and with Davenport hooked into a big righty, he extended by a minute from Swain who judged the left lay line perfectly from Bunn, Morgan and Birkin-Walls with Stephen Dickinson (BAR) making large gains to round sixth.

Davenport loosely covered Swain up the final beat and these two extended down the final leg from fast finishing NSCA Vice President Davis, Wilde and Honnor

Race 2 : Sausage-Triangle, 3 laps

Davenport held station a third of the way down the line, just above Harry Lucas, Vernon Perkins happy with the second row in his new Winder with Davis, Denison and Andy Carter hanging around the Committee boat like youths around an unattended mobile phone.

Bunn dropped his bow and dipped the line, thinking he may have been trigger happy but he would record a result and as event sponsor, he could really do whatever he liked.

The sight of 50 Solos blasting upwind in 16-20 knots warmed my heart, my upper torso shifting gently in unison with the athletes as they trimmed the craft into each wave, I know I would feel the fatigue later but what the hell. Steve continued to keep his well educated eyes on the sailors to but only to monitor possible R42 transgressions of which there were none in this race.

We throttled forward towards the top mark, the wake generated akin to the large troughs generated by a decent sized trawler, some fishing boats well downwind would feel that in about five minutes.

Davenport has worked his P&B magic once again and rounds ahead of Wilde who blasts in on another huge left hander just ahead of Davis who is having a special 2025 season. Martin Honnor, Morgan, Swain Barnham and Simon Charles complete a top eight but the fleet is condensed and positional gains and losses decided by the smallest of boat handling errors. The short exhilarating reach to the spreader mark provided a little taster of what the second lap downwind legs would feel like and with a pro photographer on hand to take the pics, I concentrated on my Whatsapp/Facebook posts.

The top of lap 2 and Davenport, Davis and Wilde are safe with Swain and Honnor holding great counters in four and five, Morgan dropping back after an infringement and turns.

The first reach was just too deep for the leading group but a strong line of pressure hit the rest of the fleet resulting in some raised BPM's and a couple of capsizes, how Simon Law survived his was astonishing and given the length of time it took for the boom to come over, vindication that praying does work.

Davenport secured his second bullet, the final upwind/downwind presenting no problems for the guy who had now won 8 National Championship races and 2 Inland races in a row. Wilde finally broke through Davis on the final downwind, hooking into a righty that eluded the hapless Lymington based sailor by just a few metres with Swain a distance back in fourth from Honnor. Bunn and Dickinson complete the top seven, the Barbadian clearly enjoying the tropical conditions here in middle England.

I balanced my DJI gimbal on the faux leather seat, Watson's bulk protecting it from the bow wash and reached into my pocket, my nimble fingers gently unwrapping a fruit pastel from its irritating foil outer. Though his attention continued to focus on the Solos finishing, Judge Watson's head turned, almost in-perceptively, his hearing, unlike his eyesight, as acute as a Fruit Bat. I dropped the sugary treat and grasped a piece of tissue I had used to wipe my dipstick and withdrew it from my high waisted Gill apparel, wiping V70 residue all over my Nikon P950. I bring sweets, he brings an apple, no way am I sharing.

Ferry Marina Solo Inland Championship at Grafham - photo © Will Loy

Race 3 : Sausage-Triangle, 3 laps

The breeze was still holding and with a decent wave pattern working down the course, fitness and good solid technique we're paramount, that ruled out a few of the fleet.

The Committee end is still popular but with the black flag in operation, no one wanted to push it, Davenport bearing away from an area as densely populated as Slough into a lovely pocket half way down the line before hardening up to full bore at the gun. The fleet blasted up the beat, pretty much all on starboard and heading to the left of the course in full rake mode with booms almost scraping the decks. Jonathan Woodward has gone hard left again and now I am beginning to understand why he is besotted with red, still, it worked out ok on Lake Como in the races he was not OCS.

Top mark and event sponsor Chris Bunn steams in from the left, Davenport is a good ten seconds back with Honnor, who has already posted a 5-5 once again in the mix from Woodward and Wilde. Davis, Hawley, Davies, Lucas and Brown are keeping the leaders honest from Barnham, Morgan and Cuxson.

Bunn extends by the bottom gate as behind, his nearest rivals balance personal success with buttering up the event sponsor, Davenport, Woodward and Wilde choosing their assault on the Championship while Honnor drops to fifth, a vital moment lost, imagining a cruise down the Broads with a can of lager costing him places but earning 'brownie' points for the EOS prize draw.

The wind dropped off a couple of clicks for the final two laps, Davenport taking the lead and extending by a margin akin to the latest Reform popularity charts with Wilde breaking through Bunn for second. The real story was Swain who had rounded mark 1 in twenty third, he finished fourth from Davis and once ashore would rush off to the local newsagent to get a lucky dip. Further back, and after another moment aboard his canal boat, Honnor dropped it in, letting go of the mainsheet and reaching out for that beer before splashing backwards to reality, DNF.

So after 3 tough races it was no surprise that Oliver Davenport was leading, with three bullets, the engraver had already started work on the trophy. The rest of the fleet would now spend the evening reflecting on their stupid decisions and re-adjusting their life goals, winning this Championship would not be one of them unless the boy did something stupid.

Wilde, Swain, Davis and Bunn completed the top five but with three more races planned for day 2, there was ample opportunity for improvement.

Many of the sailors spent the evening at the Wheatsheaf with tables full of tired but contented competitors and the air full of stories of accomplishment and failure or maybe it was just the aroma from a local farm I could smell.

Ferry Marina Solo Inland Championship at Grafham - photo © Will Loy

Day 2

I made sure arrived in plenty of time, a quick check of the NOR while at my accommodation confirming a 10.25 warning signal, though the large arachnid shuttling across my bedroom floor also hastened my departure. That said, it was running away from my boots, even though they were double bagged.

The canteen was full, orders of baps with optional fillings were dispersed and consumed, my sausage and egg one particularly delicious. The food was amazing and credit to the catering team, next time we must organise a training day pre-event and a sit-down meal here.

I passed a box of rotting apples that looked like they had been dumped, stopping to select one that presented as edible as possible and exited the clubhouse into the blistering sunshine.

The forecast promised a building breeze into the mid-twenties and with temperatures higher than Saturday, it was a Carlsberg kind of day. I fitted cameras to Swain and Davenport's Solos, directing the sailors on how to initialise them before going afloat. Next season we hope to utilise some 360 devices so we can catch more of the action. I have not broken the news to my MacBook yet.

I wondered down to the water's edge, coercing competitors into last minute interviews, shuffling up the lengthy slipway and trying my best to re-create an F1 paddock walk with Solos and their drivers in various states of readiness.

Perkins was in his safe space, eyes closed, motionless other than an outstretched arm which bent and twisted as his mind re-enacted the course he would take around the race track. I tried to shake him out of this trance like state, the last ditch slap across his face finally jolting him from his inner palace and the harsh cold reality of mediocrity.

This would be a common theme along the queue of soldiers, some holding on to distorted dreams of what might be while other more pragmatic sailors commented that they just wanted to make it around and keep their lucky hat. The Solos themselves were generally as well behaved as thoroughbreds sitting in the stalls at Newmarket but there is always a nag in the field and Richard Bayliss's mare seemed particularly fractious, rearing up and bucking her trolley.

Martin Honnor was quick to calm the beast, a man of his noble breeding could see trouble coming and helped Bayliss get her back in her stall with no major damage.

Andrew Wilde, second overall after a stunning first day 4-2-2 looked out to the reservoir with a new found confidence, he seemed taller today but then again my posture is prone to failure, a hip replacement and double fusion will cure that.

The clock was ticking so I made my excuses, noting that the queue was meandering back into the field and headed off to meet up with my ride, once again negotiating the pontoon which just about held my weight.

Steve was sitting quietly in the jury/media rib, his eye lids flicking violently as his mind turned through the pages of the RRS 2025-2028, only pausing for a moment on page 29 before resuming his mental download.

I shook him from his happy place and we powered off to the race area, just as the PRO went into a six minute sequence and with at least fifteen Solos still to launch. Now we are a competitive fleet but we also like to be inclusive so it was a blessing to see a postponement flag raised.

Race 4 : Sausage-Triangle, 3 laps, 12-14 knots

Steve lined us up behind the fleet as they jostled for position, the sound of Technora mainsails crackling as they shoved their steeds into the very eye of the wind giving me a warm feeling down below. Fortunately the jury was looking forward and not at the sexy face I was making.

In the far distance I could just about make out a P&B logo, the red iconic shape standing out like a cherry on a cake, it was Davenport.

The seconds ticked down and at the gun it was a clean start with the fleet spread evenly along the line and Davenport still nearly 30 seconds away from the Committee end.

He rounded, tacking immediately onto port and headed right, while ahead the leaders powered off left and into a big lead.

Top mark and Steve Denison leads by 20 seconds from Davis but heads straight off for the gate, the grin across Davis's face as wide as a Merlin's beam. I bit my lip, a hail to a competitor from a Jury boat possibly resulting in my disqualification but fortunately the Winder rep was quick to realise his mistake and hardened up to round the spreader with minimal damage done. Wilde, Morgan, Olly Saunders and 20 year old Harry Lucas led the rest of the procession with Davenport twelfth, what a recovery.

The left of the course seemed to pay up the second lap, Wilde, Davis, Morgan and Davenport now contesting the lead and Denison dropping a few places as the breeze held at 16 knots. Davenport blasted into the top mark with Wilde and Davis holding a tight formation on his wing and they set off down the reach to a gybe mark that was comparatively subdued given the conditions. Morgan was fourth and a good 150 yards ahead of Brown and Denison, it is good to see him back in the fleet, this weekend he was borrowing one of the NSCA's three demo boats, if your club are interested then do contact us.

Davenport extended to win a remarkable race, afterwards explaining that he was stuck in the queue to launch but this would be a good lesson learned. Wilde and Davis cemented their podium positions with Morgan fourth from Denison, Swain and Brown, all talented sailors and the latter a former Inland Champion.

Ferry Marina Solo Inland Championship at Grafham - photo © Will Loy

Race 5 : Sausage-Triangle, 3 laps

The first attempt was recalled with the wind blowing directly down the reservoir and the second abandoned as it began to track right.

We then went into a good forty five minute delay as the PRO anxiously monitored weather data, the radio crackling with minute by minute directional fluctuations, none seeming to form a decipherable pattern. I reached into my Gill high waisters, pulling out the small but perfectly formed apple and took a big bite, the slightly bitter sweet flesh softer than a Granny Smith but crunchier than a Red Delicious. Watson, looking at my reaction offered his own opinion with the weight a real judge might deliver to a prisoner awaiting sentence.

Only then did I realise these were in fact apples from his own orchard, no doubt cultivated in the grounds of nobility, the flavour and texture honed through decades of nursing.

I chucked the core overboard and delved into my dry bag, hoping to find something nice to turn his frown upside down but the food debris from the Nationals in August was just the wrong side of ripe.

Fortunately, Steve's attention turned towards the shore, his poky little eyes homing in on a flock of birds that had amassed on land that had been exposed by the drought. I offered an uneducated guess which was rebuffed with some distain so I went back in my box as he powered on to investigate, his eyelids once again flicking wildly as his photographic memory searched through the Observers book of British Birds by Benson S Vere for an answer.

Cloud formations above us had formed with some alarming speed and, in an attempt to regain some respect I blurted out a latin sounding name ending in 'us' which sounded convincing enough for him to acknowledge, clearly the genius has yet to read Cloud Spotting for Beginners by William Grill.

Finally, after a tortuous wait we went into sequence with the wind at 150 degrees and a good deal lighter than an hour ago.

Committee favoured but event sponsor Bunn fancies the pin end with Morgan, Honnor and Saunders, meanwhile Davenport, Wilde and Davis work the shifts up the middle and they would round in that order with Barnham, Dickinson, Woodward and Dray completing the top seven. The breeze was swinging violently, competitors who were on a good lay line suddenly finding themselves well below or overstanding which was exciting from a spectator viewpoint.

The leading three extended down the reaching legs which were a little tedious with the breeze under 10 knots. Morgan is the big loser, doing turns after a rule infringement and dropping down into the peloton.

Top mark last lap and Davenport is sitting pretty with Wilde, Davis and Barnham a good way ahead of the pack. Brown, Swain, Dray, Woodward and Steve Ede are contesting the minor places but in a six race series, every point counts.

Davenport would go on to record his fifth bullet of the regatta and win the Ferry Marina Solo Inland Championship in emphatic style with a race to spare. Wilde confirmed his position as second overall with Barnham pipping Davis to the line and Brown completing the top five and with just one race to contest, there were still places to be won and lost, especially as Davenport had departed the field of play for an early shower.

Race 6 : Sausage-Triangle, 2 laps

Barnham likes the left and it almost pays, rounding second to Wilde who touches mark 1 with Stephen Dickinson third, the amiable Barbadian stringing some solid results together in his first big event. Nigel Davies looks strong in fourth from Carter, Ede, Bunn and Honnor, the drop in pressure bringing different pace setters to the front of the fleet.

I gestured to Steve that we should relocate to a more advantageous photogenic location but this fell on deaf ears, the jury, like a cat locked in on its target was already reaching for his pen and paper. We roared past Honnor who looked instantly relieved, Watson was after a bigger fish and why not the event sponsor, justice is impartial, brutal and in Chris Bunn's case, painful, R42 turns followed.

Barnham extends over the two laps to win comfortably with Harry Lucas, who did everything right finishing second from Dickinson, Davies and Brown.

Ferry Marina Solo Inland Championship at Grafham - photo © Will Loy

Summary

Davenport is untouchable right now, the Winder 1a/Superspars M2, P&B Technora combo working so well but also enhanced with a cool headed sailor in peak fitness and with years of front of fleet experience to call on which defy his age. Straight eight bullets at the National Championship and five here represent something historic in our class and he is laying down the gauntlet for all comers in 2026.

Wilde had a blistering event, the Superspars M2/North P4 performing just as it should in the right hands with Davis completing the top three in his Boatyard at Beer/M2/Impact radial, he has been my stand-out performer for 2025, that said, he sailed crap in 2024. It must be difficult to get his new build on the water with this combo going so well.

Just for context, just six points separated fifth to eleventh overall, such is the close racing in the fleet.

1st Junior Harry Lucas 10th
1st Lady (and completed all six races) Maria E Franco 35th
1st Veteren Chris Bunn 5th
1st Grandmaster Martin Honnor 8th
1st Septimus Mike Barnes 32nd
1st Wooden Solo Brian Morum (Miles) 29th

It was great to see five classics on the water and contesting with their newer counterparts, congratulations to Bryan Morum, please do consider joining the classic section of the fleet, racing is still fierce while hulls are cheap as chips and well below their original build cost.

Thanks to Grafham Water for the excellent race management and off water catering, Chris Clarke kept a cool head to get the series completed and his mark laying team were on point.

A huge thank you to Chris Bunn at Ferry Marina for his joint sponsorship of this and the EOS events (Nov 15, Draycote) each event entry entitles the competitor to a raffle ticket for a chance to win a 3-4 day vacation on one of the Ferry Marina flotilla and in a last minute update, Chris is offering a 30% discount on any bookings taken up until March 2026. Just contact Chris Bunn and confirm you are a Solo sailor, preferably an NSCA member too.

This event forms part of the North Sails Super Series so thank you to North Sails for your continued support of this prestigious Solo series.

Solo class Flickr Album: www.flickr.com/photos/194924056@N05/albums/72177720328872453
Paul Sanwell / OPP galleries: 8573832.tifmember.com

Overall Results: