Cadet Week at Solway Yacht Club
Four fleets raced this year, the traditional Mirror's, Toppers and Laser Radial's with the Handicap Fleet introduced last year. The handicap fleet consists of different types of boat which race against each other and use a system called the Portsmouth Yardstick to calculate times. This means that a boat may finish first but not be the winner.

The Mirror class uses a conventional Main and Jib sail set up and can use a spinnaker. On Monday the first race was a close contest with Martha Tabor and Keiron Brown in Ruby Rose eventually taking first place from Ross Kennedy and Daniel McFern in Y-Knot. The second race was quite different in dying winds which meant the race was shortened and saw Robert Johnstone and Matt Downing in Don't Stop Me Know take first place with Caitlin Ross and Emma Kelly in Grace take second. Day 2 first race saw another new winner when Katherine Kelly and Struan Robinson in Nippy Sweetie took first place followed by Caitlin and Emma. And yes another new winner for the second race of the day when Caitlin and Emma went one better to get first. They were followed in by Hilary Oldfield and Rhys Williams in Walrus for second. Day 3 was a non event having towed out all 31 boats competing tying them up to the committee boat and waiting over an hour for wind which didn't come they were all towed back in. So day 4 was welcomed with a good breeze from the south east. The race officers decided that the wind was right for the fleets to be taken outside the inner bay and the boats were sent out towards Castle Point. The traditional trophy race for first race on a Wednesday had become first race on a Thursday and all competitors were raring to go. It was taken in a close race by Katherine and Struan with Martha and Keiron second. The last race of the day sailed in a good breeze was testing for the Mirrors and resulted in Martha and Keiron winners followed by Ross and Daniel second. The interchanging of winners meant that up to four boats could finish in overall first place for the series with good results on the last day. The last days racing started with good winds which dropped dramatically to cause the race to be shortened with Martha and Keiron repeating a first and Caitlin and Emma in second. The lack of wind meant no further racing could be run. Overall results for the series were: 1st Martha Tabor and Keiron Brown in Ruby Rose, 2nd Caitlin Ross and Emma Kelly in Grace and 3rd Katherine Kelly and Struan McFern in Nippy Sweetie.

The Topper class uses a single main sail with no jib or spinnaker. On Monday Jessica Campbell in Silver Streak started well getting two first places by quite large margins. Second in the first race was Mhairi MacDonald in Notty Bouy and in the second race it was James Kelly in Blue Streak. However, day two saw Alastair Johnstone in Wild Thing take first place in both races. Jessica took second place in both races keeping overall first due to Monday's results at this stage. When racing resumed on Thursday Alastair continued his winning streak winning both races again. However, this time it was Mhairi who took second place in both races. This meant that on Friday Jessica needed a first place with Alastair getting third or worse to take the overall lead from Alastair. In the event Jessica did take first place however, Alastair was second. Overall results for the series were: 1st Alastair Johnstone in Wild Thing, 2nd Jessica Campbell in Silver Streak, 3rd Mhairi MacDonald in Notty Bouy and 4th Joanna Barrie in Fab.

The Laser Radial class has a single main sail, thelarger boat and sail mean they should be faster and more demanding than the Toppers. This class is also mixed between Cadet (under 18) and Youths (under 21). George Clark was in confident mood after being part of the winning Scottish Universities Championship team with Edinburgh University. His confidence was well founded taking first place during the first 4 races on Monday and Tuesday. But it wasn't all plain sailing when on the second race on Monday as George was overtaken by Adam Firby and Amelia Joseph but managed to regain the lead metres from the finish line. Adam was achieving second places apart from this race when Amelia eased through to third place. On Thursday George again took first place in the first race with Adam again second. However, as they waited for the next race George's mast snapped and he was out. This left it clear for Adam who duly took first place followed by John Howe in Monkey II. This meant that George had to return from the Wickerman Festival on Friday to ensure we retained overall first place. Friday's race saw George getting first place with a replacement mast and sail and Campbell Benson came in second. Overall results were: 1st George Clark in The Green Gherkin, 2nd Adam Firby and 3rd Amalia Joseph.

The Handicap Class had three RS Feva's, a 420, a Tera and an Enterprise sailing. This class therefore has a mixture of sail types and boat sizes. The first race on Monday saw Fergus Barrie and John Beardon in their RS Feva take a lead they never relinquished followed by Bronagh Gillespie and Ailsa Ross in their RS Feva called Hyperpyrexia. But the second race it was Samuel Tabor and Paul MacAulay who started well and pulled out a lead they would not relinquish on the shortened course. However, although Fergus and John had a commanding lead over Bronagh and Ailsa for second place they chose to stay close to Rough Island while Bronagh and Ailsa cut across the bay towards the start line. This allowed Bronagh and Ailsa to fly their spinnaker all the way to the finish line and overtake Fergus and John for second place. On day two roles were reversed when Bronagh and Ailsa had a good lead but on the penultimate leg flew the spinnaker just to long before taking it down and it touch the bouy. They did their penalty turns allowing Fergus and John to take first place. First race on Thursday gave Bronagh and Ailsa first with Fergus and John second but these position reversed for Thursday's race 2. So again it was down to Friday's result to decide the overall first place between the 2 Feva's. But the Enterprise had other ideas and took first place with Fergus and John in second. Overall results were: 1st Fergus Barrie and John Beardon in a RS Feva, 2nd Bronagh Gillespie and Ailsa Ross in an RS Feva called Hyperpyrexia and 3rd Samuel Tabor and Paul MacAulay in an Enterprise called WhatNot.

Cadet Week is not just about racing and the club provide a week long RYA approved sailing course for beginners. Over 20 boys and girls took the course gaining either level 1 or level 2. The trainees not only learn the basics of sailing but also carry out capsize drills and some essential knots. As with all Cadet Week Activities the training is run by qualified volunteers. This keeps costs to a minimum and allows the club to charge a fee which would be far less than a commercial equivalent. By doing this we hope to open the sport of sailing up to more children.

The Cadet Officer, Neil Kelly, with the help of the cadet captains, Campbell Benson, Bronagh Gillespie, Ailsa Ross and Katherine Kelly organise evening activities which brings competitors and trainees together. Activities this year included building and racing a raft, a triathlon and mud larks. The winning team was captained by Campbell Benson.