Island SC Nab Tower Race 19th Sept. 2009 Royal Corinthian YC Regatta Tiny Mitchell Trophy 20th Sept. 2009

Everything was still to play for going into the last weekend with good entry numbers bringing the total for the series to well over 100 boats. Nobody had tied up their class and four boats could still win overall. David Rileys Corby 33 No Retreat, leading Class 2 comfortably over the Batesons’ Starspray, which had a slight overall points edge over Peter Jackson and Gary Shaffer's Stimson 42 Icom Assassin, leading Class 1 from Dirk van Beek's consistent Match 42 Sabriel.

Teresa Whelans X343 Xarifa was neck and neck with Stephen Parry's 31.7 Kurtrekker in Class 3. Class 4 had been led by Rupert and Kathy Smalley's Flying Fish before she sank in a collision off the Hamble leaving a 3 way battle for class honours between Crackerjax, Catch 22 and Mestengo.

Day 5. Nab Tower Race.

With normal helm James 'Fingers' Gair away John Corby had to be drafted in to steer No Retreat, while Assassin was fully teamed up. But the Corby had another problem, as it was the Nab Tower Race Jo Richards was on the ISC line with Steven Fein's modified 1720 Full Pelt, and literally on the line as the rest of the mass start fleet were a little line shy for the light northerly wind fair tide reaching start and Jo flew out into the lead from the inshore end with a hot angle.

No Retreat had to eat some exhaust from Assassin off the start as the Class 1 boat chased the 1720, accompanied by Derek Saunders scratch boat Incisor, and Alistair Ray's Santa Cruz 37 Jumunu lll. For history buffs, Incisor is the 're-hulled' twin wheeled Everitt deck that Jackson had influenced as tactician when designed for AC boat 'Backlash', just as Corby joined Everitt from college, and raced against an earlier Richards/Fein Full Pelt, the year after Jacksons last Solent Points win 25+ years ago. So there they all were again!

Incisor went north of the Ryde Middle bank and out of the pressure, far better on the Island Shore. This brought ex Flying Glove 'Erivale III' through to the lead as Full Pelt and Assassin had to gybe back in. Further back the Riley/Corby team, two of who had raced on Assassin the previous weekend, was hanging on, David McDonalds Grand Soleil 34.1 Easy Tiger was eeking away from the 34.7 Jos of Hamble in Class 3, and Ian Southworth was showing his Class in the newly relaunched 'Whiskers' (Snoopy), going straight to the front of the 1/4 tonners and Class 4.

In a very tactical gybing duel out to the tower the asymmetric Assassin found her angles and a wind line and pulled away. The light airs beat back into and up the deep blue Solent in fabulous autumn sunshine was testing but pleasant sailing for all on the building ebb.

After comfortable line honours and the Class1 win the Assassin team were in the ISC balcony as Full Pelt crossed the line with the tide under her, the ex 1720 saving her time comfortably to win the event overall, beating the Corby 33 into 2nd in Class 2 and throwing the overall wide open between her and Assassin. Teresa Wheelers 7th put Xarifa out of the game. The 33's crew were also there by the time Whiskers appeared, sweeping the board of the quarter tonners, Class 4 and beating Assassin, but only 2nd behind overall winners Jo Richards and Steven Fein.

Day 6. Royal Corinthian YC. Tiny Mitchell Trophy Regatta

A beautiful day again, still with light airs and flat water for a mid Solent start. With the wind in the north the 1st beat to the mainland shore was going to be increasingly shifty. Assassin was quickly away in clear air from the port end and hit every shift perfectly for a two minute lead at mark one. A long run followed to Price Consort, in a fading breeze with a strong east going tide. The angles were poor for asymmetric boats and the fleet spread wide. Assassin was stretching her lead and went direct for the shelter of the Brambles, skirting the south side, but then ran out out of shelter and wind. The majority saw this and headed uptide north of the Brambles post, but all ended up in less than a knot of wind. The asymmetric Assassin gybed on to port and sailed on pure tide wind, pointing at the breakwater but heading east of Osborne. Another assy boat, Mike and Sarah Wallis's J109 Jahmali, did the same, going hard left and heading half way to Ryde for a while.

Back on starboard Assassin got within 150m of Prince Consort but the wind died and the fleet slowly crept closer. Then a strange thing happened. About the largest supertanker on the planet, with a flotilla of 55ft launch and tug, approached from the east. Rather than cut off the faint breeze to the J109 to her south side the tanker fleet proved Fresnels 200yr old discarded 'Aether Drag' theory correct and created her own moving 'local field' ecostructure and wind. Jahmali sailed nicely uptide with the flotilla, and when the tanker came within 100ft of Assassin she to picked up and slid round the buoy. The J109 just two minutes behind, and a few minutes later the rest of the fleet benefited and all trickled round.

At this point Jahmali led Overall, with Andrew Given's 109 'High Tension' and Mike Bridges Elan 'Elaine' following in Class 2 and David Rileys No Retreat lagging. But, now enter another Corby 33; Lance Adams 'Banshee', rating higher, in Class 1, and now leading it! Sabriel was also probably beating Assassin by then so the Jackson/Shaffer 42 still had it all to do all over again.

Classes 3 and 4 had sailed a shorter course on the mainland side, but in very little more wind. A sensible shortened course off the mainland shore was however little help as the wind took off again and the leaders from both courses parked up with half a mile to go. As if the intrigue for the overall wasn't good enough, in class 4 Peter Morton, obviously worried by wife Louise's reports of Whiskers walking away with the previous days silverware, popped out for the day with his much modified 'Anchor Challenge', now reputedly a 1/3 tonner. Locked together at the front Morton and Southworth traded blows, or rather catspaws, all the way round, creeping in at snails pace with kites up and down like... Well it was reputedly only the slight extra length of Challenge that got her nose across seconds ahead of Whiskers for the Class 4 win and the promise of much more fun to come. The next 1/4 tonner Menace got 3rd from Ursula Bagnells X95 'Crackerjax', which tied up 1st in class for the season from Mestengo and the unfortunate Flying Fish.

In Class 3 Teresa Whelan was back to winning ways over Kurtrekker, to tie with Stephen Parry on 8 points but win class overall on the tie break with Jos 3rd from Hot Rats.

Assassin crept across with the 1/4 tonners, having wriggled and gybed in every breath to pull out another lead. Banshee hung on for 2nd, confirmed Assassins Class win from Sabriel, 3rd in the race and 2nd overall in class from Graham Nixons Elan 40 'Magic'. Overall for the day and the 2009 Championship was all now down to Class 2. Jahmali kept her comfortable lead, Mike and Sarah Wallis followed by fellow J109 High Tension, Elaine, and Starspray, with David Rileys Corby a disappointing 5th, handing the Tiny Mitchell and Seasons trophies to Peter Jackson and Gary Shaffer.

Assassin is one of a pair of Swedish built ProNavia 42's from a design commissioned and strongly contributed to by the owners. Her skipper, the Round the Island winner in1982, identifies her lack of vices, preference for lighter airs and experienced team as keys to her win.

To view the full Solent Series results please click here