Zhik Topper World Championships at Pwllheli Sailing Club - Overall
by Bill Brassington 22 Aug 2014 09:01 BST
10-15 August 2014
The final day of racing at the Zhik International Topper Class World Championships provided excellent racing conditions. The Race Officer, Peter Saxton, hoped to run at least three races so that the second discard could come into play. With the weather looking good the sailors were off the shore without delay once the release flag was raised. The Topper 5.3m2 sailors now split into Gold and Silver fleets, for the final series of races.
Starting in both fleets was very tight with the "U" flag quickly replaced by Black, but the sailors still continued to press the line. The change in weather conditions also saw a change in the leading boats; first in Gold fleet to the windward mark was Jack Butters (GBR) while overnight leader Tom Walker (GBR) had a disastrous first race and came in 24th, dropping him to 7th place overall. At the line. Jack retained the lead, followed home by Adam D'Arcy (IRL) and Bella Fellows (GBR).
As the wind increased to 14 knots the Gold fleet restarted following a general recall, and Ross Morgan (IRL) led at the windward mark, and he fought hard to cross the line in 3rd place behind Lucy Mearns (GBR) and Patrick Crogham (GBR) 2nd after very close racing around much of the course.
For the third race of the day the wind settled in direction and increased to 19 knots,with competitors describing champagne sailing conditions at last. After a recall for the Gold fleet Callum Rosie (GBR) rounded first with Tom Walker just behind and these two battled for line honours with Tom eventually cross ahead and Oliver Blackburn (GBR) in third place.
With superb sailing conditions the Race Officer requested a fourth race for the day and what an exciting race it turned out to be. Calum Rosie pulled out a huge lead, only to be pegged back as the race continued, chased by Bella Fellows (GBR) and Geoff Power (IRL), these three crossing in that order for the final race of their day and it had a big effect on the final results with just one point separating the first three!
International Topper 5.3m2 Gold Fleet Results: (top five)
1. Calum Rosie (GBR) 27pts
2. Adam D'Arcy (IRL) 27pts
3. Tom Walker (GBR) 28pts
4. Bella Fellows (GBR) 32pts
5. Oliver Blackburn (GBR) 37pts
In the Silver fleet, after a couple of recalls and resetting the course, an exciting race between the leading boats ensued. Elliot Kuzyk (GBR) leading them home followed by George Coles (GBR) and Ashwin Murali (IND) 3rd.
Elliot continued his success crossing second in the second race, well clear of the fleet. He was followed home by Charlotte Watson (GBR) and Thomas Woodings (GBR). The third race of the day for the Silver fleet saw Thomas Woodings cross in first place and Harry Pulford (GBR) in second and Jackson Smyth (IRL) in 3rd.
The final race of the Zhik International Topper Class World Championships contributed to an excellent final series, and competition was tight at the front of the fleet in efforts to top the Silver fleet standings, and this contributed to three new names finishing at the front of the fleet, Nell Staunton (IRL) crossing ahead of Grace Bradley Shankar (GBR) and Thomas Woodings in third place.
International Topper 5.32m2 Silver Fleet Results: (top five)
1. Elliot Kuzyk (GBR) 169pts
2. Jethro Brophy-Tintinger (GBR) 192pts
3. George Coles (GBR) 194pts
4. Charlotte Watson (GBR) 196pts
5. Andrew Mitchell (IRL) 196pts
The 4.2m2 fleet started with a brilliant port end flyer by Natham Gribbens (GBR) who cross the entire fleet but fell back to finish 10th. The race was won by overnight leader Daniel Thompson (GBR) who finished the series with 10 wins. In the first two races of the day Jenna McCarlie (IRL) posted a second and fifth in the last race. Third in the first race of the day was Haken Digby (GBR) who also recorded a 2nd in the final race of the day. Rachael McCluskey recorded a 3rd in the second race, and Milly Jinks (GBR) a 3rd in the final race.
International Topper 4.2m2 Results: (top five)
1st Daniel Thompson (GBR) 8pts
2nd Jenna McCarlie (IRL) 23pts
3rd Rachael McCluskey (GBR) 26pts
4th Haken Digby (GBR) 28pts
5th Jundet Cartoon (THA) 40pts
President of the Class, Bill Brassington, congratulated all the sailors, especially those in the 4.2m2 fleet, who despite numerous capsizes in the stronger winds experienced in the afternoon, persevered and showed true determination and spirit demonstrating that those in the 4.2m2 fleet would soon be pushing up the 5.3m2 rankings.
Bill praised Peter Saxton and his team, "with an early finish planned, so we could get on with prize giving, I was surprised with the speed that the races were turned round, Peter set superb courses with excellent lines allowing so many clean starts, it was a pleasure to watch, and we are very honoured to have so much experience on the race committee, with Peter Baldwin acting as ARO on the pin end boat, what a team!"
Full results and more information can be found at topper2014.com