Successful TCYC Solo Open Meeting
Published 08:10 on 23 Sep 2026
Sponsored by P&B.
Three visitors and ten local sailors came together for the annual TCYC Solo Western Series Open Meeting at Coombe Cellars on the Teign estuary. Although sunny and warm the wind forecast for Saturday 20th September was not encouraging ranging from 5 to 6 knots throughout the morning and into early afternoon dropping off thereafter. As things turned out we actually had around 8 knots pretty consistently with the occasional gust thrown in for good measure.
The bigger issue for the Race Officer, Steve Pocock, turned out to be wind direction. The wind veered from West to North and back again leading up to the start of Race 1 requiring some delays to the start with consequent moves to the start line and windward marks. It settled as a northerly and the race began.
First around the windward mark was John Steels from Starcross SC closely followed by Vernon Perkins from South Cerney SC. Following the downwind leg the fleet had a choice of 2 spread marks before continuing back up the beat.
Up this second beat Vernon was overtaken by TCYC sailor John Ewbank. Just behind these three were visitor Steve Roberts and TCYC sailors Richard Bryant and Grant Simmons. There was little between many of these boats. In the final lap John Steels consolidated his lead to win followed by John E, Steve R, Malcom Davies, Vernon, Grant and Gary Molton in that order. Further back the racing was just as close as the wind reduced.
There were some more course adjustments prior to Race 2 as the wind settled in a more North Westerly direction, still around 8 knots. The contour of the estuary allowed this beat to be longer. First around the windward mark was again John Steels closely followed by John E, Vernon, Malcom, Gary and Owen Martin.
As the race progressed the order stayed fairly consistent except that John E managed to overtake John S at the final windward mark and then hang on downwind.
The wind now settled into a North Westerly direction with the course therefore requiring no change and Race 3 started fairly promptly. Up the first beat Malcom Davies led up to the windward mark followed closely by Steve R, Gary and John S. These 4 boats started to pull ahead of the rest of the fleet.
As the race progressed another TCYC sailor David Northcott closed on this group as did TCYC sailors Paul Heather and Owen Martin, however the race order for the first 4 remained unchanged with Malcom extending his lead down the final downwind leg.
All were left to reflect on an enjoyable and closely contested days sailing and came ashore to enjoy a hearty tea provided by Cathy and Maggie.
Prizes were presented by TCYC Commodore and Race Officer for the day Steve Pocock to the following :
Winner : John Steels Starcross SC
Runner Up : Malcom Davies TCYC
Third Place : John Ewbank TCYC
and to Rod Craig sailing the first wooden boat.
In addition P&B spot prizes were awarded by Vernon Perkins (Solo South West Rep) to :
David Northcott (7th)
Owen Martin (8th)
Paul Heather (9th)
John Steel thanked Cathy and Maggie for the food and drinks provided before and after racing. He also thanked the safety boat crews and onshore helpers. In particular he praised Steve Pocock as Race Officer for expertly handling the conditions despite the frustrations.
All photo copyright Garnett Showell and Heather Davis (c) 2026
Last updated 16:38 on 23 September 2026
