P&B Solo class National Championship 2026 at Royal Torbay Yacht Club - Day 2
by Will Loy 8 Aug 13:58 UTC
6-9 August 2026
Day 2 - P&B Solo National Championship at Royal Torbay © Will Loy
The day dawned like any other 2026 Torbados Summer day, buckets of sunshine and a gentle breeze though its northerly direction hinted that this heatwave might soon be over, until the next one.
Competitors meandered to the vicinity of the boat park from all quadrants of the town though I would be surprised if any made it out of Hele though I am sure the accommodation fees would have been minimal.
Steve Watson, our NSCA Jury arrived with a spring in his step, possibly rejuvenated after another night's stay at the Imperial Hotel, his little rubber wellies, fittingly dyed in green and red, had again been polished to perfection by the facilities boot boy who was probably deciding how to spend the generous fifty pence tip.
Some of the sailors, like the local bird population, congregated near an easy food source, Lymington's Andy Hyland and Malcolm Buchanan in particular had just about mastered the art, one distracting me with note worthy stories while the other tried to poach the half eaten sausage from my full English breakfast.
Race Officer Bob Penfold, having visited a local oracle, wisely AP'd the start time by one hour, with less than four knots in the bay and no shade, the welfare of the bald guys was paramount, even if they had won P&B baseball caps.
The breakwater is adorned with some rather large flags and these were being closely monitored by many of the fleet so it was a relief to see them shift from a slow smooch to disco as the minutes ticked by though only a few would have wanted them to go to techno.
The kids were finally allowed to go to the playground at 11.30 am and with the start time shifted back to 1pm and three races planned, this would be a long day on the water.
I made my way to our media/jury rib which was moored in a marina stocked with money and was greeted by the sight of an engineer, his head deep inside the bowels of the craft. A few cable ties later and we were on our way, the new wiring loom and gear stick thingy appearing to satisfy my drivers high standards.
Only once past the DEAD SLOW signage emblazoned on the harbour wall and after issuing a 'power on' instruction did Steve decide to put the new kit through its paces, opening up the throttle to the red line. Five seconds later we both loosened our grips on the hand rails and re-positioned the speed goggles to our foreheads, the bloody thing still would not lift off.
We both acknowledged that our displacement was on the high side but in order to weave in and out of the fleet we needed instant power so this would inevitably inhibit Steve's ability to judge throughout the day.
The fleet congregated in the start area and awaited the course to be laid, the sea breeze at 140 degrees or so already kicking up some robust wave patterns which would provide some challenge to the largely land locked sailors.
Race 3
Breeze holding at 10 knots and the sailors are too punchy, Wilde and Savitsky in particular, like a micro twitch from a sprinter in the blocks, initiating a fleet wide trigger pull and subsequent recall.
Incidentally, Davenport had opted for the Committee end while Cumbley was two thirds of the way down the line, both their sails easily identifiable from the drone's elevated position above the Committee boat.
The fleet finally get it right at the second attempt, Savitsky and Andy Willcocks finding the blind spot in the starting vessel's rear view mirror and looking sweet. Davenport starts a third of the way down the line with Turner in his lee and Chris White doing his best to windward while Cumbley, mid line at the gun has Nunn above him and Kev Gibb below and eating exhaust fumes.
Top mark and Davenport leads with a twenty six second gap to Willcocks, Wilde and Lucas with Savitsky completing the top five. Winder, Nunn and Cumbley follow, having made great starts down towards the pin end, the RO should be rightfully satisfied with his course management.
The 74 competitors on the water were being treated to some classic Tor Bay weather, the breeze and wave patterns providing conditions all could manage while the sunshine presented me with no excuse not to get some great footage. Steve meanwhile, like a Lion hunting a wounded Antelope was trained on his first meal of the day, his little silver whistle jutting from his nordic lips like a bad tooth. I took a moment to ponder his DNA trail, true, the Dupuytren contracture was quite visible on has horribly twisted right hand but other than that, I could not detect any hint of Viking ancestry, unless they were a short and portly race.
Back to the racing and after two laps and a second beat which saw the majority of the fleet hit the right lay line it was Davonport with a convincing first bullet in his Championship defence. Charlie Cumbley held second from Andrew Wilde with Harry Lucas and Alex Butler completing a talented top five. A special mention and kudos to Andy Willcocks, racing his nineteen year old composite Solo 4770 to sixth and to Elaine Turner who maintained her overall lead on Maria E Franco with a forty first. Good news too for Vernon Perkins who posted his best score of the regatta despite a tardy start.
Race 4
The breeze had built to 12-14 knots, some small white caps, possibly created by wind over tide producing a perfect setting for the next act. Nigel Thomas is strong out of the Committee end with Willcocks again punchy and Davenport more conservative just a few lengths down but with speed to burn. The sailors begin to look over their shoulders, looking for gaps and a way out of the starboard tack, the right having paid dividends in race three.
Top mark and Davenport has done it again, the distinctive gold Contender cloth of the Davenport sail illuminated by the Sun's powerful rays. Cumbley and Wilde are next and I take the opportunity to grab the Nikon P950, snapping away as the fleet power up to our position just above the course arena.
At this point we had Jury duties to perform and so I was unable to monitor the racing but did have great fun watching Steve in action, the level of decibels omitted from his favourite whistle was quite alarming and I will be sure to don the appropriate ear protection in the future.
Davenport went on to his second win of the day with Cumbley, Butler, Wilde and Brown completing the top five, the latter having just spent two weeks in a 'men only'ward though I would argue that an eating rehabilitation clinic was not a proper hospital.
Other notable finishes included Charlie Maunder and Harry Lucas, young guns and impressively quick, race two winner Ian Barnett in eleventh and Paul Davis in his own build who recorded a fifteen which must have been a relief. Six places separated Elaine Turner from Maria E Franco, their tussle continuing in favour of the NED sailor.
Race 5
Very starboard biased and this resulted in three starts but the U flag yielded no victims, the clean start saw the fleet spread pretty evenly down the line with Cumbley towards the Committee boat and Davenport near the pin but the Stella start was apparently from Chris Bunn who executed a perfect port flyer. Unfortunately my DJI Mini's lithium batteries were already depleted so I missed this moment of TV magic but no doubt Bunn will be bleeding on about it for a few months.
Davenport and Cumbley cross paths, the gold sail just ahead as he heads to the right before tacking back on the lay line, rounding first for the third race running. Charlie Nunn is in second, his assault on a top ten finish overall no longer a pipe dream with Bunn, Kev Gibb, South Staffs finest Chris White and Alex Butler. Cumbley was in seventh but would make gains down the run, his leader vest providing a perfect contrast to the pitch black aramid sail that was driving him forward.
Special mention to Nigel Davies, already having a good tournament, he was inside the top fifteen as the sailors swept down the run with the breeze at 13 knots. Wilde and Lucas were having their own battle and seemed tied at the waist which is inconvenient. Bottom gate and the leader is the same but Gibb is up to third. Meanwhile we were busy putting another competitor on the naughty stool though to be fair to Savitsky, I could see no wrong but I was not about to argue with my short, Nordic companion.
The second beat saw Davenport consolidate from Cumbley and Butler with Nunn and Gibb SCO completing the top five, the 12 hour drive back to Largo Bay on Sunday would be sweeter for Gibb who had also beaten his brother Roger by seven places. Mention to Shropshire's Cameron Norris in fifteenth and Elaine Turner who recorded her best finish of the week in thirtieth.
So overnight the event leader is Oliver Davenport (8)-3-1-1-1 from Cumbley (4)-2-2-2-2 with Butler recording 2-4-(5)-3-3.
Turner leads Franco with a healthy margin of error but with five more races planned, much can still happen.
Results: results.rtyc.org/hosted2026/SoloNationals.htm