Please select your home edition
Edition

Topper Open at Broxbourne Sailing Club

by Simon Butterworth 15 May 2012 15:44 BST 12 May 2012

Three bullets for Richard Bettles!

Twenty eight Topper sailors attended the Broxbourne Sailing Club Open on Saturday 12th May – seven more amazing youth sailors than 2011!

Wind was a steady 12knts but forecasted to drop later in the day. The Race Officer, Simon Hayes, reliably informed the competitors that the “sea breeze” would kick in the afternoon…

Race 1 was an epic battle between four sailors – Richard Bettles, Phoebe Connellan, Joseph Mullan and George Hunter. Phoebe led from the start until the second lap when the starboard side of the beat paid off for Richard to take the lead. An amazing finish with all four boats crossing the finish line within seconds of each other – a grand stand finish for all the spectators in front of the new clubhouse and lawn! Richard collected his first bullet with Joseph and Phoebe clinching second and third respectively.

After a sumptuous ‘Bev” lunch and probably too much chocolate – adrenalin was pumping so the inevitable general recall was flagged at the start of Race 2. On the second start, Richard sped off the start line and showed a clean pair of heels leading by over a leg from second place George Hunter – even taking time out to give advice to some of the BSC novices down the broad reach. Second bullet for Bettles, with Hunter coming in second and Connellan third.

Was Richard Bettles settling for two bullets? We think the photo shows his determination for the ultimate hat-trick – grrrrrr! “Race face” on and off he went exchanging first and second with Phoebe throughout the Race 3. Eventually, he passed her to round up a convincing victory with Phoebe securing second overall and Joseph Mullan bringing home third place.

Congratulations to all the competitors who joined in a fantastic day’s racing with twelve BSC Toppers joining in with the fun too. Richard Bettles picked up all the silverware including Best Broxbourne Sailor. Thank you to all the amazing volunteers and parents that made it a very special day.

Special mention for our sponsor for the Open – Virtual Rigger for organising the grand raffle (including a new Topper Sail, buoyancy aids and loads of clothing) kindly donated by Topper Sailboats, Gul, Neil Pryde and VR. The Paps (everyone on the committee boat and spectators) also picked up a few interesting moments when the sponsor managed to break the dory and had to have a Topper (Harry Janes – VR Gul Race Team) tow him into port…

Overall Results:

PosHelmPts
1stRichard Bettles2
2ndPhoebe Connellan5
3rdJoseph Mullen5
4thGeorge Hunter6
5thHarry Janes10
6thBen Campbell13
7thTom Charter13
8thCameron Harns13
9thEmily King13
10thAshley Deaton19
11thJack Collis20
12thAlexander Clarke22
13thAlice Butterworth24
14thJamie Gleaves26
15thBen Hunter27
16thHarry King27
17thEmily Butterworth32
18thSamuel Shackle34
19thOliver Turberville34
20thLewis Morey35
21stThomas Hendrie42
22ndRobert Burnside42
23rdLucy Turberville45
24thLuke Seabrook46
25thGeorge Eaton46
26thFrancis Shackle53
27thBen Smith54
28thJack King58

Related Articles

SWYSA Winter Race Coaching
Toppers and teras at Bristol Corinthian A wonderful friendly welcome was given to the SWYSA sailors by Bristol Corinthian YC. For the first time this year, SWYSA is running two-day camps for the more experienced Topper and Tera sailors in addition to the traditional one-days. Posted on 20 Dec
Southern Rooster Topper Travellers at Spinnaker
Soggy weather conditions and a tricky westerly wind for the final event of the series Soggy weather conditions and a tricky westerly wind direction greeted 29 Topper sailors to Spinnaker Sailing Club on 19th October. This was the final Southern Area Rooster Traveller series of the year, with eleven 5.3 and eighteen 4.2 sailors. Posted on 22 Oct
ITCA Midlands Topper Travellers at Shustoke
Third round of the 2024 mini-series The ITCA Midlands Topper Traveller series ventured out to a new location at Shustoke Sailing Club on October 6th, to complete the third round of the 2024 mini-series. Posted on 20 Oct
Toppers and Teras at Starcross
With capture the flag and tug of war Following the tradition started last year, the day of the annual Tera and Topper Open Meeting dawned sunny and windless. Nearly 30 sailors had travelled to Starcross, from as far afield as Oxfordshire and Fowey in Cornwall. Posted on 14 Oct
SW Topper Travellers at Chew Valley Lake
Penultimate event of the South West Travellers season A huge thank you to the very friendly and scenic Chew Valley Lake Sailing Club for a superb weekend as we sailed the last but one SW Topper Traveller event of the season on 5th and 6th October 2024. Posted on 13 Oct
NEYYSA event at Yeadon
17 youth sailors brave the uncertain forecast During the two weeks prior to Sunday 29th of September the forecast offered a variety of possible options, ranging from heavy rain with F8 gusts, to clear skies and no wind. When the day arrived, it settled somewhere in the middle. Posted on 9 Oct
ITCA GBR Topper NS1 event at Carsington
A glowing report on the club's facilities and friendliness Carsington was our closest NS event this series, only 4 hours away! When we got there we ran out of gas and then the hot water boiler wouldn't work in our motorhome so things hadn't started well. Posted on 3 Oct
P&B Northamptonshire Youth Series finale
Draycote sees 40 sailors applying suncream The season finale took place at Draycote. The forecast was for a building breeze up to perhaps 14 knots. Sun cream was definitely required, but would the wind fill in as forecast? More than 40 sailors signed on. Posted on 2 Oct
Parkstone Youth Week
Lifelong friendships through sailing At Youth Week, we believe that "Lifelong Friendships Through Sailing" lies at the core of everything we do. With this guiding principle, our team began planning Youth Week back in January, thanks to the return of Quilter Cheviot as our Title Sponsor. Posted on 30 Sep
Kent School Sailing Association Annual Regatta
Held this year at Downs Sailing Club The Kent School Sailing Association's annual 2024 Regatta was held this year at Downs Sailing Club on Saturday 14th September. This was particularly appropriate given that Downs is marking its 75th anniversary this year. Posted on 30 Sep