Ovington Boats have loaned the Club a Solution Dinghy for a period of six weeks.  If you would like to give the Solution a try then please contact Jeff Dolton on jeffdolton@hotmail.co.uk. 

The Solution Dinghy: specification

Length 3.92m

Beam 1.75m

Hull weight 57kg

Sail area 8.5m

Foam sandwich Epoxy

PY 1074

The Frensham 5 comprises 10 races run over 5 weekends between February and April, with the best 5 results being counted. It is a way for all Lark sailors within striking distance of Frensham to enjoy some winter class racing and – for those needing early-season practice – to gets lots of mark-rounding and shift-spotting practice.

The 2012 series was contested in predominantly light winds, reflecting the mild start to the season. Visiting sailors Chris Whitehouse and Ellie Bremer convincingly won four out of the first eight races, but going into the final weekend, Chris Ellis and Natalie Hawes could still have won overall if they had won the last 2 races. Unfortunately for them, Andy and Ben Shorrock re-appeared on the scene to score two bullets. This left Whitehouse and Bremer as worthy winners of the series for the first time, with Chris Ellis and his crews (Natalie Hawes & Ed Cummings) second and the Witneys third.

1^st Chris Whitehouse & Ellie Bremer
2^nd Chris Ellis & Natalie Hawes/Ed Cummings
3^rd Phil and Linda Witney
4^th Nigel Hufton & various crews

Full results are here

We hope to see you all (and more) next year

Congratulations to Graham Howlett who today won the May Knott Trophy.

Results

Don’t forget that the races on bank holiday Monday are for the May Knott Trophy.

The trophy was presented in 1982 by C.Draper for the May Day Holiday Racing.  There are two races, a handicap race starting at 11:30am and a pursuit race with the first boat start at 1:27pm. 

The trophy will be awarded at the Winter prize-giving on 9th June 2012.

It was wild and windy for the 33rd Solo Open at Frensham Pond. The Pond is renowned for its shifting winds and it lived up to its reputation as the four races were held in very different conditions. Only eleven sailors entered the event, of which five were visitors; but this was not surprising given the overnight gales and driving rain.

Race Officer Jeremy Hudson got all races underway promptly choosing a short start line in each case and with the pin end close to the shore.

Race one started amid huge gusts and white crests topping the chop. It was also very cold and wet. Home club, and former National Solo Champion, Keith Videlo is at home in these conditions and he ran out an easy winner ahead of Frensham's Solo Fleet Captain, Simon Lomas-Clarke. Videlo didn't have it all his own way in the second race, as a capsize and a penalty turn cost him dearly and Hamble River SC’ James Ross took the honours.

During the short break for lunch the wind shifted 90 degrees to the south and it became much warmer and the wind died away. Keith Videlo didn't hang around and he led from start to finish and won by a massive margin. The wind freshened in the last race and squalls and shifts were frequent. Frensham's Tim Deacon sailed well and hung on to win the race from a closing Keith Videlo.

Frensham's Commodore, Jeff Dolton, presented the prizes and thanked all those who had turned up and braved the conditions. Thanks also went to Frensham's Fleet Captain for organising the day, the race team for their fortitude and the galley crew for feeding cold, wet and hungry sailors.

Results of the Frensham Pond Open Meeting

1^st 4369 Frensham Pond Keith Videlo

2^nd 5129 Frensham Pond Tim Deacon

3^rd 5281 Hamble River SC James Ross

4^th 4800 Frensham Pond Simon Lomas-Clarke

5^th 5167 Chipstead SC Peter Curl

6^th 4400 Spinnaker SC Jonathan Moon

7^th 4670 Frensham Pond James Hewitt

8^th 3061 Chipstead SC Robert Trend

9^th 4120 Chipstead SC Andrew Thompson

10^th 5083 Frensham Pond Jeff Dolton

11^th 3746 Frensham Pond Graham Douglas