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Topper NW Area Championships

Overall

Saturday

First day of Summer! Somewhat overcast, but the wind doth blow (a bit at least), from the forecast SW direction. The wind is due to pick up later in the afternoon, and give a good blast tomorrow!

The first race was all set for starting on time, until the final couple of minutes before the start when there was 60degree windshift that forced the OD to postpone and rethink. Although the wind continued to blow from the south at the southern end of the lake, the wind in the start area was from the E – NE. After a half hour delay a new course was set and the race got under.

Guess what! The wind picked up during the race with gusts of 25mph. Of course the wind swung back towards the south, so the spinnaker reaches were somewhat testing. Those that tried, more often than not, failed and ended up swimming. The gybe mark proved to be a tough test too, and there were several more capsizes. There were 11 finishers overall.

Races 2 and 3 were sailed back to back, and as the wind increased the numbers dwindled. There were 12 starters and finishers in race 2, and it was John Riley and Nigel Lewis from Bass that showed the way, with Hugh Godfrey and Rhonwen Bryce close on their tail. Perhaps lessons had been learnt from the first race as no-one chanced flying their spinnakers again! There were many white horses by the time the fleet finished, and some opted out of the final race leaving only 8 starters. The first gybe mark proved to be the downfall of several boats, including John Riley, but Hugh stayed upright and took the lead. With rescue boats failing, the committee boat went to the aid of one boat stuck in the mud, and with a small fleet that had numbers reducing there was a bit of a race to get to 0 ahead of the leading boat and shorten the course so that the fleet did not have to sail an additional beat! Hugh stayed ahead to take lead position overnight.

Will that be the final result as the forecast for Sunday is horrendus?

Sunday

The forecast was right! The wind picked up as the morning went on so the OD opted to abandon for the day. There was an early prize giving and the remaining competitors were able to pack their boats up and get home early.

Oops – Can you tell who it is yet?Click on the following link to see more photos of the event by Scumper

Saturday

0900��� There’s a multitude of keen sailors that arrived last night queuing up for bacon and egg baps. The weather is overcast, but the breeze is from the south west, and is due to freshen as the morning moves on

1200��� The entries are still coming in, and the fleet list has reached 51 boats. The weather is not as sunny as expected, but at least there seems to be wind under the black clouds 🙂 The wind is in the forecast direction and forecast to increase slightly as the afternoon goes on. The OD is considering holding three races today in what is expected to be the better conditions

1300��� The entries have closed at 51 boats. The competitors are preparing for the first ‘decent length’ race (as the OD put it). The fleet will come ashore and venture out again with a view to having a further two races back to back

1345��� The competitors have all launched, at least two have capsized, and one has returned to shore! What will follow?

1400��� There was a good clean start and a fleet of 50 boats set off for the first race. Perhaps the ODs promise of black flagging was taken heed of!?

1455��� The winner of the first race crosses the line – Nick Craig of Frensham Pond

1600��� The fleet are preparing to go out for race 2. One helm looking for a replacement crew was, sadly, not inundated with offers from stand-ins!

1615��� Race 2 gets under way – another clear start

1705��� Nick Craig wins race 2

1735��� No peace for the wicked – Race 3 gets underway – another clear start!

1820��� The wind having eased slightly for the last race (not that the sailors would feel the benefit after three long races), did not alter the position of the strongest competitor of the day – it was Nick Craig that again led the way and take his third win of the day

All that’s left is for the competitors to come ashore, pack away their boats and get ready for their Christmas dinner! You think we’re joking!

A protest relating to an incident in race 2 led to the non discardable disqualification of Steve Blackburn – will he take out on the revellers in the disco?

Sunday

Three windy races, a Christmas dinner and a quiz were enough to tire out most of the visitors and they had a relatively early night with most having gone to bed by midnight.

0800��� There are only occasional zephyrs breaking up the mirror like water. The forecast is for light winds gusting 15-19mph. It seems unlikely that it will come to fruition in just two hours, but we hope it does! There’s not much activity on site at the moment (a bit like the wind I suppose)….

1040��� The start time for race 3 has passed, but the wind has not settled in yet. Until the direction settles down into a NW direction the prospect of a good race is poor. The galley had some brisk business with bacon/ bacon & egg baps. Head chef Elaine said to some of the late night revellers that service would be available until 930. Little did she know that 930 would be the time when the food stocks ran out! Unfortunately there were a few disappointed sailors still in the queue at that time. Ah well, there’s always lunch!

1110��� The wind is settling down to the forecast WNW, the course is set, and the fleet’s lining up for the start. Now that the wind is in the right direction, the breeze should strengthen a little

1325��� Race 4 got underway at 1135 after several general recalls. The wind held out, but didn’t freshen as expected, or hoped! Nick Craig failed to make it four in a row, coming in 2nd but with an unassailable position that means he has won the championship even before the final race gets underway. Over lunch the wind has continued to ease, and has swung to the north. Hopefully the final race will get underway shortly

1415��� After quite a while hanging around, and a general recall, the final race has been underway for about 5 mins, but the wind is continuing to swing significantly. Fortuitously, the wind pattern matches the route of the course (or did the OD set the course within the wind?). The general recall resulted in the use of the black flag rule being applied – three boats fell foul of it and it meant they were to come ashore early and pack their boat away.

1505��� The final race is coming to and end. The wind did hold out till the end, but only just!

The Commodore thanked all the competitors for travelling so far and wished them a safe journey home. Prizes were presented by his wife Elaine