East coast o ff ers some great sailing. Chris Bunn and Bryan Morum completed the podium, Morum racing his Miles build 4443 showing that a good woody is still competitive. Steve Bishop and Chris Bolton kept the guys honest, more practice over the Winter could see further improvement in 2026. The 10 events averaged 12 per open meeting.
Jonathan Swain
Mark Maskell
The Southern Series, sponsored by Superspars and Cb Coverstore was won by Alex Butler (below left) with wins at his home club HISC and Papercourt, always a hotbed of competition. Chris Brown and Fraser Hayden completed the top three and special mention to Mike Barnes racing his wooden Beckett 3847 to 9th overall and he competed in 8 events. Over the 10 events entry averaged 22 Solos. Ian Matthews won the Thames Valley Series from Mark Maskell and Fraser Hayden, his highlights, wins at West Oxford, Littleton and Papercourt with Maskell finishing on equal points but piped on number of wins. Over the 9 events, attendance averaged just under 16.
Finally the Western Series sponsored by P+B and Dinghy Shack and Mike Dray (above right) took the title from Steve Roberts and Andrew Bownes, his win at Porthpean was good but his second at the Welsh Champs even better. I see big improvements coming for Roberts and Bownes if they can keep focused and driven over the Winter. Over the 7 events, entry averaged 14. There really is no better way to improve than to attend open meetings, you meet new people, see how the better sailors set their Solos up and observe how they manoeuvre. Di ff erent venues provide di ff erent challenges and there is no club race pecking order so you start with a clean slate. Fleets sizes are usually around 15-25 so not as daunting but a step up from the standard club line and once seasoned you can move up to the bigger events in the Super Series.
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