2025 Midland Area Championship

Midland Area Solo Championship

Sponsored by CB Coverstore and Allen

So to the very final major Solo event of 2025, a regatta that had been postponed twice, the allure of a trip to Llandudno on a May bank holiday not tickling the fancy of enough pre-entries to proceed, whist all the wind prediction platforms indicated there would be no wind on the re-scheduled date of October 10th in Northamptonshire. The midland mentality though, honed through a century of industrialisation and the subsequent WW2 blitz to try and destroy the backbone of Britain has made these men, women and children resilient, so it should not have been a surprise when 34 of them rocked up at Northampton for a third attempt. The entry from Glasgow though, did make me wonder how much fuel costs north of the border.

I had made the five hour journey up from Devon a day earlier, my Volvo V70 leather seat, equipped with an array of electrical lumber support and spine angle positioning keeping me as comfortable as a patient in the dentist’s chair, though my view over the console was slightly impeded. My accommodation was the Langham Hotel in the middle of Northampton, granted two stars but I would award them four based on the breakfast alone. The hotel is also within a mile of the P+B store so if you want a romantic weekend away its ideal for spending the day in the superstore with your partner before retiring back to your room and some free tea and coffee.

I arrived at Pitsford Reservoir just after 9 a.m, the boat park already full of Solos in various states of readiness, sailors, shrouded in water repelling apparel and wooly hats bimbled with clevis pins and rudder arrangements, occasionally blowing on fingertips to instigate increased blood flow.

I donned my NSCA Aquamarine breathable offshore gear and headed straight to the clubhouse, dodging sizeable puddles of water which continued to grow, the rain relentless and as penetrative as WD40 but less lubricative.

The clubhouse sits on the very edge of the reservoir with a great vista of the racing and most importantly, a small but efficient catering team headed by ‘Fred’ who provides breakfast baps of the highest quality and a fine selection of post race meals to satisfy hungry sailors after a long day on the water.

P+B CEO Ian Pinnell would be our PRO for the day, the multiple World Champion in multiple classes has seen it all and with a wealth of experience to call on, we knew he would provide us with square lines, optimal reaching angles and windward marks set into the very eye of the wind. The first mark was also covered in a large P+B logo, perfect product placement and you would expect no less from probably the largest chandlery company in the UK.

The race briefing was short and only punctuated by a universal jeer of derision towards Chris Brown who dared to question the implementation of a triangle course which he declared had been omitted from the online sailing instructions. Had there been a crate of rotting vegetables to hand it could have got messy.

The forecast was for the rain to subside by midday and the wind to swing south-westerly with an increase in pressure, a chance of some sunshine seamed a bit of an over-reach but would prove correct.

My ride for the day would be aboard the lead rib which was currently busy mark laying so I waved the fleet away with a hanky and strode out along the short jetty, keeping the NSCA WhatsApp reporting community sated with a string of drivel, only occasionally pausing to wipe rain drops from my Samsung A14 7 inch screen before continuing with the stimulating coverage.

I noted that the wind was swinging to the west, a shadow of mirror-like water creeping across the reservoir and this was backed up by the wind sock just above my head. A klaxon echoed around Pitsford denoting a short AP, the mark laying/media rib bursting into life, plumes of spray confirming that it was in a hurry to reconfigure the triangle/sausage course. With three races planned, daylight was at a premium and with skies as grey as the Solo demographic hair colour, the PRO needed to get a shake on.

I waited patiently, opting to take a moment to complete my stretching and strengthening routine

on a recently replaced hip joint, I would imagine it must have looked like I was practicing for a morris dancing competition from the clubhouse but I am too old to worry at this stage of my life.

Another hoot signified we were into sequence and four minutes later the fleet began to take up position on the start line and after glancing over to the rib which was now stationary just off the pin end, I uttered a few naughty words before training my Nikon P950 lens towards the action.

Race 1 Olympic course

Simon Maskell nails the committee end, his distinctive turquoise Winder hull standing out like a penetrating beam of a lighthouse on a stormy night. Ballsy choice of colour and fine if you are not over but in this case OCS. Simon would later testify that he thought he was pushing it but took a chance (he did have the NSCA transom cam on board) and, possibly worried that the footage of going back would be aired world-wide, opted to continue and take the hit.

The breeze was fickle, 4-6 knots at best but at least the rain had stopped, I re-calibrated my personal expectations of media coverage of this particular race, keeping the WhatsApp followers informed via text messages, like any worthwhile reporter, generously embellishing the truth to make it more read-worthy.

Iain Carpenter had generously provided the safety/media teams with sweets and though my parents had warned me never to take things from strangers the bag of Werther’s Originals was worth the risk and so, after rummaging in my dry bag where I had placed them, unwrapped one and, like our Labrador Bob with a ball, sneaked it into the corner of my gob for later before unwrapping a second one to keep my mouth occupied.

The fleet trickled down to the wing mark, some competitors standing up which, unless you are Graham Cranford Smith about to gybe, usually indicates a lack of any decent pressure. S. Maskell (OCS) holds a slim lead over Brown, Birkin-Walls, Honnor and Stuart Gibson, the Glaswegian who, like any frugal Scotsman was killing two birds with one stone, his son lives nearby making the 680 mile round trip a no-brainer. Mark Maskell, also carrying a Go Pro is well placed as they start the second beat with recently crowned Inland champion Jasper Barnham improving to join the front runners as the fleet, looking for a clear lane, splay out behind like the legs of a baby Giraffe taking it’s first steps.

Honnor works the right and leads into the top mark and with Simon doing turns, stretches into a comfortable lead which he holds down the run to the finish line. With the turquoise hull passing through the line to silence, his brother Mark inherits second with Gibson, Brown and Solo newcomer Chris White completing the top five.

Finally, with the breeze direction stabilising, my ride was freed from mark laying duty and thundered up the reservoir to pick me up before positioning itself just down from the pin end with the race sequence active. Like the Pope out for a Sunday drive I waved to my children, their faces etched with warm smiles and eyes filled with tears of joy seemed pleased that I was finally on station to capture some kind of action. That said, they may have been grimaces and tears stung by the harsh elements God had bestowed on them.

I surreptitiously repositioned my reserve sugar treat into place, making sure as to not alert the safety team just incase they had headed their own mothers advice about weirdos and sweets/puppies and focused my DJI stabilised A14 along the line as the seconds counted down to zero.

Race 2 Reverse P course.

The breeze has gone around to the south, enabling a longer course up towards the clubhouse and the welcome increase in pressure to 10-12mph should provide good footage for my drama hungry followers.

Honnor is carting down the line but with the pin as congested as a Pug with a cold he goes bow-down into a fast closing space between a raft of Solos which are lined up on starboard, the subsequent penalty turns putting him last over the line as the gun goes.

Chris White wiggles inside of the pin marker, directing Swain who is on his weather side to point a little higher please which he does and they escape to the left of the course with Brown and Bunn in clear lanes above while Dickinson, Bird and Barnham eat some exhaust fumes and will look to tack or foot off.

Birkin-Walls started conservatively, further up the line but with the breeze tracking right, is in a happy place.

The radio crackled into life, PRO Pinnell firing some orders towards our team which would result in us not being in position for the top mark rounding which, though frustrating from a media aspect is totally reasonable but tell that to the an ominous hero who went around first.

I unholstered the trusty Nikon, extending the zoom to it’s maximum range and managed to catch Chris Bunn and White as they rounded the second mark with Brown and Swain a few seconds back. Alan Savitsky and Harry Lucas followed with Birkin-Walls your top seven. The breeze, accompanied with a return of the rain increased to 12-14mph, snow white puffs atop waves providing a nice contrast to the dull greyness of the day making a mental note to photoshop some pics into monochrome later that evening.

We positioned ourselves just off the third mark which provided some short-lived drama, the leading two competitors almost missing it as they came down the run, I assume there was some frantic discussion and split second tactical decision-making, either way, Brown took the lead from Bunn and Swain, White deviating with metres to spare to get around it but the biggest loser dropping five places. Ironic really as Brownie had been treated so harshly at the race briefing by the gathered mob but he was probably the only one to actually read the SI’s.

Top mark second lap and Brown leads from Birkin-Walls with Jamie Cuxson coming in from the left of the course third. Sivitsky, Lucas and Swain are next with the breeze holding at a healthy 15 mph, perfect full hiking mode for the 35 competitors though Gary Stuart, who had borrowed the reigning National and Inland Champion’s Solo for the day took a swim after his footstep failed.

Of course it is standard practice for any creditable Champion to loosen a screw or two in a vital fitting to ensure the unlucky borrower will not reveal the real reason for the multiple titles, the boat itself and with Stuart retiring from the rest of the day, Davenport’s secret would stay intact.

Top mark lap 3 and Swain rounds the large P+B inflatable mark from Brown and Lucas, Barnham, brimming with the confidence of a freshly crowned Inland Champion nipping inside White with Birkin-Walls, Cuxson and Richard Instone in pursuit. the shuffle of positions indicating that it was a bit tricky.

The short final beat to the finish is as tense as any episode of Stranger Things, Brown taking the bullet from Barnham who has pickpocketed Swain on the line, Birkin-Walls and Lucas completing the top five. Steven Dickinson had a good race but unfortunately omitted to go through the start line on one lap so was DSQ which must have stung.

Race 3 Reverse P course

So, all to play/fight for in the final race of this event, Martin Honnor 1-12, Chris Brown 4-1 and a bunch of others with one good score and a discard so a good start would be even more pivotal than normal. The breeze was holding at 12-15mph and the Sun, which had been somewhere else for the first thirteen hours of the day decided to make an appearance which seemed like perfect timing to send off the season.

The pin end is favoured and Bunn is about 10 seconds early, running out of runway and out of my viewing window while Sivotsky is above the line with no gap to drop into. Fortunately the fleet are all just too keen and the result is a recall which seems to excite the throttle arm of my rib driver who, following the appropriate verbal warning to everyone onboard, accelerates to planing speed, crossing the fleet and filling my nostrils with the smell of burnt fuel.

The second attempt is worthy of any Vakeros Atlas 2 promo video, 33 Solos hitting the 150 yard imaginary line in perfect harmony, Birkin-Walls earning the bragging rites with Honnor and S.Maskell on his shoulder. White and Bunn are eating fumes and will have to foot off or make a clearing tack but hitting the left shoreline and tacking into a left hand lift is right out of the standard how to win at Northampton play book with the wind coming from the club.

Gibson, Swain and Instone have read that book too and are in the next line of Solos while Brown is holding in the middle of the course, Lucas is amongst a group who went right but unfortunately it would just keep on lifting, the starboard tack back in therefore would be character building and the post race self analysis, painful, I speak from a career of failed first beats that only corner hitters understand.

Birkin-Walls leads in and extends to a comfortable 25 yard lead from Chris White, Swain, Gibson, Honnor, Simon Maskell and Matthew Frary. Brown and Barnham have work to do with Nicholas Charles, Instone and Marlow still in the hunt.

The run to marks 3 and 4 are tricky, dead downwind and gusty so the balance between kicker tension and boat heel is the key while steering clear of the wind shadows, no wonder it is where most capsizes occur. The wind has dropped a click or two, the sunshine warming the soul and enhancing the visual effect of my photos, I would though still have to photoshop the horizon as I have a habit of holding my Nikon off by 5 degrees.

Gibson validates his trip down from another country to lead at the top of lap 2 from a rampant Honnor with Swain holding in third, Birkin-Walls and Whiter completing the top five and Brown judging the lay line perfectly to nip inside S.Maskell.

Martin Honnor is not to be denied and takes the win from Birkin-Walls, Swain, Barnham and Brown with Frary, Maskell and Gibson completing the top eight.

On paper a clear winner in Honnor but with more place changing than I could keep up with, it really was a day to keep your head out of the boat and remain calm. Chris Brown may persist with the Winder 1 experiment while Birkin-Walls, Barnham and Swain finished on equal points.

Twelve of the competitors were under 50 so to put a spin on it, more than 33% are quite young, while the experience of time is still invaluable with the winner a Grand Master (60+). Will done to Maria for completing all three races in conditions which were fatiguing, even recovering from a swim in race two but toughing out the third race with her best result. Shustoke sailor Mike Cossey was 1st Septimus (70+) and the club sent six entries which is admirable.

Nice to see some vintage Solos competing and I hope to wheel out my Thresher next year to bolster the fleet.

It is so good to see a new breed of Solo sailors competing at the upper level, Marlow, Saunders, Cuxsan, Savitsky and White look hungry with Harry Lucas putting in valuable time and experiences to call on next season.

My advise to all is work hard on your skills over the winter, you will benefit in the springtime.

This event also formed part of the Big Lake Series but I will leave that to the rep to report on.

Huge thanks to Northampton S.C. the race management and catering is always on-point and the free sweets were a real bonus.

Thanks to Allen and CB Coverstore for your continued support for the class, it is greatly appreciated by the competitors and the NSCA.

See you on the water next year, video highlights will be viewable on the Solo site asap.

Results here:

https://www.sailwave.com/results/northampton/solo-midlands-2025.htm

Not quite the end.

I jumped into the trusty V70 and set my maps app for Brixham, the 225 mile trip advisor suggesting a route taking me south of Birmingham. With my seat set at maximum comfort and hip support I headed towards Coventry and was enjoying the best of the M6 before noticing my dash lights were dimmer than usual. I headed off the motorway, sitting on that hard shoulder a level of risk akin to sailing a foiling Moth and the potential cost of recovery equally financially crippling.

My initial thought was alternator or auxiliary belt but the headlights were still strong so set forth on my journey, albeit with the radio silent so to conserve battery life for as long as possible.

I stayed on the inside lanes, the M5 seemingly longer than the combined string controls of a Merlin Rocket and fortunately made it home before 8pm.

It was only the next day that I realised I must have hit the dash light control dial while wiping the rain off on my arrival at the sailing club, inadvertently rotating it to zero.

See you on the water in 2026