Volvo GJW Direct Topper 5.3 and 4.2 Nationals at Pwllheli - Overall
by Chris Woodard 13 Aug 2017 13:06 PDT
5-11 August 2017
The final two days of the Volvo GJW Direct Topper 5.3 and 4.2 National Championships at Pwllheli could hardly have had greater extremes of weather, unfortunately neither of which were particularly conducive to good championship racing!
Day 5 was a glorious summer's day, ideal for families and supporters to spend the day on the beach, but with very light winds that were not so ideal for sailing! All fleets launched into a tenuous 7 knot breeze, and headed out to their respective race areas.
In the 5.3s, the Gold fleet got away cleanly, but the Silver and Bronze fleets, sailing together as a single flight, were misbehaving, and it took 4 attempts to get them away, with 20% of the Silver fleet falling foul of the black flag, by which the wind was already fading around the windward mark. In the Gold fleet Sam Jones took the race victory, with Sam Cooper taking 2nd to add to his perfect score from the previous day, in the Silver fleet Thomas Williamson took the win with overnight leader Kamran Ewbank adding another 2nd, and in the Bronze fleet Oliver Smoult led the fleet home, with a 3rd for Alexander Baird keeping him in the overall lead.
With the wind now repeatedly shifting from around 270 degrees to 330 degrees, and back, and coming and going in strength, numerous attempts were made to relay the course, whilst the sailors relaxed and at times appeared to be attempting to raft up as a record 175 boats! However, after four hours on the water, and little sign of the wind settling, the fleets were sent ashore for the day, with just one race completed.
As usual, matters were somewhat simpler on the 4.2 course, with a smaller fleet, shorter races, and only the outer loop to keep true, and the full schedule of four races were completed, albeit that the 4.2s were still out on the water after the 5.3s had come in. The front runners generally recorded a mixed bag of results, with Tim Evans winning 2 races but also scoring a 12th and a 13th, Dan Perkins in the top 6 in each race including one 1st, and Tom Thwaites taking the lowest score for the day with a 1st, two 2nds and a 4th.
Day 6 dawned exactly as forecast, raining and with the wind already blowing at around 18 knots, and forecast to rise, and with the direction being south-westerly it came with the customary Pwllheli waves. All fleets launched on schedule, but some of the 4.2s were falling over even before they reached the breakwater, and after a short opportunity for the more experienced 4.2 sailors to enjoy a blast around the start area, it was a relatively easy, and sensible, decision to abandon racing and send these small sailors ashore.
The 5.3s made it out to their race area and enjoyed some exhilarating sailing in these waves and wind, but by the time that the Gold fleet were into their start sequence the wind had already built to a solid 22 knots, with gusts recorded at 26 knots, and visibility was dropping fast. At this point the call was made to send the Silver and Bronze fleets ashore, and focus all the safety crews on the Gold fleet in the hope of getting some races in, but as the Gold fleet were into their start sequence again the gusts were hitting 30 knots and the decision was made to abandon all racing for the day, and therefore of course for the championship.
And then to the mammoth prize-giving. The echo-chamber that is the main "hanger" at Plas Heli was packed to the rafters, and thanks to the generosity of our various sponsors there was a vast array of prizes to be distributed, in addition to all the customary silverware. Special thanks to Rooster, probably already the most popular brand in the fleet, but with the volume of Rooster gear dished out it will be even more in evidence after today! Incidentally one of our other sponsors deserves a special mention here too, GJW Direct, - this really wasn't a great week to be an insurer, with way more than the usual quota of damage and breakages, but GJW took it on the chin and their response time approving claims and getting competitors back on the water generally ranged from an hour to instantaneous!
But back to the prizes, firstly gifts for many of the key volunteers and supporters who help to make these huge events run so smoothly, then a myriad of age and gender and miscellaneous prizes, and of course the principal podiums; 4.2 fleet - Giles Baker, Cameron Sword, Tim Evans, 5.3 Bronze - Alexander Baird, Rachel Wyss, Aimie Taylor, 5.3 Silver - Kamran Ewbank, Harriet Kirk, Daniel Nicholl, 5.3 Gold - Samuel Cooper, Scott Wilkinson, Andrew Homer, - a remarkable performance by Sam and Scott who had finished 1st and 2nd in the Topper 5.3 Worlds just two weeks ago, albeit in reverse order, one title each! One of the biggest cheers of the day went to Andy Peng who finished near the back in the qualification series after his boat went missing for almost 24 hours before being found by the coastguard, virtually unscathed, and Andy fought his way back into the prizes with three top 10 places in the Bronze championship series!
And with that, 225 happy but exhausted young Topper sailors headed back home, for many families this has been a tough few weeks with the selector at Lowestoft, promptly followed by the Worlds in Loctudy, and then for some with younger siblings the Optimist Nationals at Weymouth, and finally this gruelling Nationals! Thoughts now turn to the 2017-2018 Topper National Series, which starts in Poole in just 5 weeks time!
Results can be found at www.itca-gbr.co.uk/results (just filter National Events, and 5.3 or 4.2).