Scottish Topper sailors take National Championships by storm!
by Claire Caffrey, RYA Scotland 11 Aug 2014 14:35 BST
3-7 August 2014
Top Girl (4th Overall) Anna Sturrock and Top Boy (Winner) Calum Rosie at the Crewsaver Topper Nationals © RYA Scotland
Scottish Topper sailors returned from the 2014 Crewsaver Topper National Championships held in Pwllheli, Wales last week (3-7 August 2014) with armfuls of silverware. Helensburgh sailor Calum Rosie won the event overall and was crowned UK champion whilst his team mate Anna Sturrock from Letham near Forfar clinched 4th overall and 1st girl.
RYA Scotland Development Team Topper Coach, Duncan Hepplewhite said:
"The last race saw Anna lead round the windward mark with Calum back in 6th. Anna was very determined and wanted a race win, in addition she wanted to finish as Top girl. Calum continued to progress through the fleet and followed Anna over the finish line, Anna 1st and Calum 2nd. Then we had to wait for their competitors to finish so we could begin working on the maths. We were confident Calum had sailed well and done all he could, but it came down to where his competitors finished. Anna moved into top girl position but missed out on 3rd overall by 5 points. Calum took the title as UK National Champion.
"Calum is the first Scottish sailor to win the title. We have had others win the Inlands and World Champs, we have also had 2nds and 3rds at the Nationals, but not a win. The whole team sailed very well, physically, tactically and mentally. In 2013 I think Niamh Harper finished in 134th place and now in 2014 she finished 14th, a huge achievement!
"As a coach I am delighted that the whole team performed, they have all worked incredibly hard all winter and deserve the success".
Calum Rosie, aged just 14, explained what it was like to compete against a fleet of 206 boats over five days of racing in the championships:
"The results of my qualification races meant that I was in gold fleet. The first day of championship racing was Wednesday and the winds were medium to strong. This was my best day with my results being two firsts, a second and a sixth. I was leading gold fleet going into the final day by 1 point and I was nervous for the first race. I didn't get a good start in the swinging wind and a major shift meant I finished this race well down the fleet. At the start of second race I knew that I couldn't afford to let my nerves affect my racing so I resolved to get back on track and finished second in that race. With no time left for a third race, the fleet was sent in and I knew then that I had done enough to win. I was incredibly happy and could hardly believe it as we sailed into Pwllheli beach".
Anna Sturrock who just turned 14 on the Friday after racing finished was happy not just with her own result but also with how the whole Scottish Team had performed:
"When the results went up there were mixed emotions in the clubhouse but I was extremely pleased. I had finished in fourth position and first girl which meant that I was the new female national champion. In addition fellow Scottish teammate Calum Rosie had won the whole event which was extremely good for the Scottish team spirit and everyone was very happy for him".
The rest of the Scottish sailors in the gold fleet also performed well with Niamh Harper from Loch Tummel finishing 14th, Mara Lyon from Prestwick Sailing Club was 20th, Angus Lawson from East Lothian Sailing Club was 27th and David Rosie from Helensburgh Sailing Club was 37th.
The team will barely have time to catch their breath as the Topper World Championships get underway at the same venue this week. With such great results behind them they should be brimming with confidence and hopeful of bagging yet more successes.
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