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ITCA Midlands Topper Traveller Series Round 4 at Draycote Water Sailing Club

by Mike Powell, ITCA Midlands Racing 25 May 2021 06:55 BST 22 May 2021

The final round of the Spring Midlands Topper Traveller Series on Saturday 22nd May saw the sailors returning to Draycote Water Sailing club where we had an amazing turnout with 38 entered.

It was really great to see new sailors entering the event from Carsington, Banbury and Northampton Sailing Club and with the support of Russ Dent from Topper Sailboats being on hand to provide any boat maintenance tips and spares support, it made for a really excellent day.

Wind conditions had relaxed from the previous day where we were having very high gusts, so we were set racing with westerly wind speeds ranging from 7-10 knots. A Trapezoidal course had been set by the Race Director with a long beat to the windward mark. For race 1, Eddie Quinn had an amazing sail and stormed away from the rest of the field to win with Caitlin Thomas finishing an excellent 2nd, followed by Finn Morgan 3rd.

The winds were starting to drop for race 2, however it was Finn Morgan who stepped it up a gear by winning, followed by Gwyneth Lanyon, who was having a really great event and then Eddie Quinn 3rd, backing up his win from Race 1.

At this point the sailors were greeted by a strong rain shower just before the start of Race 3 which dropped the wind considerably. The race director AP'd the racing to enable the rain to go through and the wind to pick back up. Unfortunately, race 3 had to be abandoned due to the time taken to reach the windward mark and with the sailors being on the water for a considerable time, the decision was taken to reduce the day to a 3 race event, meaning there would be no discards. With Eddie Quinn and Finn Morgan in excellent positions to take the event win, with equal points and equal positions; it was going to be a Race 3 decider.

Once the wind direction had settled Race 3 could start, however very quickly the wind started to shift a little making it a real challenge to pick the correct side on the upwind beat. It would be Gwyneth Lanyon, using all her experience to make the right choice and pulled out an unassailable lead at the windward mark. This would be a lead she would hold until the end of the race, winning from Graydon Mcleod Fleming, followed closely by Caitlin Thomas.

So at the end, it was Gwyneth Lanyon, improving her results throughout the day who took the overall event honours, from Caitlin Thomas and then Finn Morgan.

For the 4.2's, this would be we had another strong field in attendance. Fleet wins would exchanged between Arthur Quinn and Katherine Gunn, with 4.2 Top honours eventually going Katherine, followed by the very consistent sailing of Imogen Green

Congratulations go to Gwyneth Lanyon (Event Winner) and Katherine Gunn (4.2 Winner)

Look out for the 2021 Spring Series Report to follow soon.

Overall Results:

PosChamp NoSail NoSailorRigR1R2R3Pts
1st24746168Gwyneth Lanyon5.35218
2nd12146205Caitlin Thomas5.326311
3rd13448586Finn Morgan5.331812
4th15648744Graydon McLeod Fleming5.364212
5th31648216Charlie Hopkinson5.31151026
6th61146391Jessica Powell5.3813627
7th68648317Noah Wood5.3167528
8th2844036Joseph Rowe5.3410SCP30
9th5747777Katherine Burgess5.31214733
10th33148259Edward Paling5.37121534
11th6747181Clem Middle5.31581134
12th38647790Ben Paling5.3239941
13th8545772Georgia Hughes5.313151341
14th27048092Martha Christensen5.310201242
15th16048165Eddie Quinn5.313UFD43
16th69647764Tara Ewbank5.39171743
17th38048675Kitty Davy5.314112045
18th5348713Matthew Chadderton5.319211454
19th2642830Keali Rhodes5.322161957
20th343754Robert Byne5.324181658
21st8148651Harriet Temple5.318242163
22nd53046227Harry Sims5.320222264
23rd18948193Jasper Focardi Dolling5.325251868
24th3148664Toby Gammond5.321262673
25th53948066Jack Sims5.31719UFD75
26th12328381Beth Edwards5.326232978
27th35344012Jake Blakeway5.330272380
28th20546241Oli Rogers5.327282580
29th23548571Katherine Gunn4.231292484
30th16545884Charles Hutton5.329342790
31st27548653Imogen Green4.232302890
32nd16127192Arthur Quinn4.228333192
33rd19247222Georgia Riddell4.234323096
34th 31767William Mawby‑Groom5.333313296
35th7246734George Sims4.2363533104
36th7733848Morris Mellor4.235DNCUFD113
37th58248667Millie Hardiman5.3DNCDNCDNC117
37th34945197Polly McMullan5.3DNCDNCDNC117

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