Gul Topper Worlds at Fraglia Vela Malcesine, Lake Garda

Racing during the Gul Topper Worlds at Malcesine, Lake Garda © Roger Strawbridge

Andrew Brown, Topper World Champion Mike Wood and Freddie Connor at the Gul Topper Worlds at Malcesine, Lake Garda © Andy Billowes

The Topper Class returned to Lake Garda and our host Fraglia Vela Malcesine for a second year for the Gul Topper World Championship. There were 173 entrants with a good contingent of British sailors. Many sailors arrived at Malcesine early for pre event training. One thing was clear early on; the weather was not going to be as predictable as last year. So the sailors needed to adjust quickly to the variable conditions.

Monday 27th August

No racing as the afternoon breeze that was so reliable last year (except for the final race!) failed to develop.

Tuesday 28th August

An early start for the Topper fleet with the boats launching after 7am to catch the morning catabatic breeze coming down from the mountains. The fleet was separated into four flights and sailed a series of round-robin races to complete the qualification from which they were separated into Gold and Silver fleets.

Race 1 (Green and Red) was won by the defending champion Andrew Brown, followed by Mike Wood and Joe Wellerd. Race 1 (Blue and Yellow) was won by Phil McCoy with Freddie Connor second and Max Richardson third.

Race 2 (Red and Yellow) was won by Ben Palmer with Mike Wood taking a second followed by Phil McCoy in third. Race 2 (Blue and Green) Andrew Brown took his second first followed by Freddie Connor and Sam Knight.

As the morning breeze failed the fleet came in for lunch and to wait for the afternoon breeze. The bright sunshine started the Southerly breeze, but a thunderstorm at the northern end of Lake Garda interrupted its development and what finally arrived was another northerly breeze! Which was good for race 3 but started to fail during race 4. However, four qualification races were completed giving a discard.

Race 3 (Green and Yellow) Andrew Brown made it three straight firsts with Matt Johnson and Tom Weatherhead second and third respectively. Race 3 (Blue and Red) Mike Wood went one better to take a first win followed by Sam Knight and Freddie Connor.

Race 4 (Blue and Yellow) Freddie Connor, never out of the top three, took his first win followed by Phil McCoy and George Spedding. Race 4 (Green and Red) was one by Lorenzo Chiavarini followed by Philip Doran and Ngaire Strawbridge.

Wednesday 29th August

And another early start for the Topper fleet launching promptly at 7am. The conditions were overcast with a light to moderate northerly breeze. Three races were completed in the morning. In both the Gold and Silver fleets the competition was strong with no one sailor dominating either series.

In the Gold Fleet race 1 was won by Ben Palmer with Mike Wood and Sam Knight second and third respectively. In race 2 first place was taken by Robin Elsey followed by Andrew Salt and defending champion Andrew Brown in third place. In race 3 Mike Wood went one better taking a first with Andrew Brown improving with a second and Ben Palmer again in the top three with a third. The overall standing after three races was: 1st Mike Wood (12 points), 2nd Andrew Brown (21 points), 3rd Max Richardson (27 points), 4th Ben Palmer (30 points) and 5th Freddie Connor (36 points).

In the Silver Fleet races 1, 2 and 3 were won respectively by Shona Ross, Carl Mitchell and Federico Angelini. The Overall standing after three races being 1st Joric Gebhard (133 points), 2nd Federico Angelini (136 points) and 3rd Tom Piggott (137 points).

Thursday 20th August

The penultimate day, and another early start with the Topper fleet launching in a light but freshening northerly breeze. During the first race (Race 4) the wind built to a good force 4 with strong gusts on top, making the conditions challenging for both fleets.

In the Gold Fleet the race was won by Andrew Brown with the overnight leader Mike Wood in second place and Phil McCoy third. The silver fleet race was won by Thomas Tindall.

With the weather deteriorating the fleets returned to shore to shelter from an approaching thunderstorm. After the storm had cleared the fleets launched again and were making their way to the racing area when a further thunderstorm rolled over the mountain. The fleets were promptly sent back in. After waiting to see whether the weather would clear the race officer finally decided to postpone racing for the rest of the day. Leaving two races to complete the series on the final day.

Friday 31st August

Final day and two races to decide the World Championship. At 7am the wind was very strong with an average speed of 30 knots. Racing was initially postponed. By mid morning the average speed had dropped to 20 knots. Two races were completed.

During the first race the breeze continued to drop. The wind then swung to a southerly breeze for the first time in the week, enabling the second race to be completed.

In the Gold Fleet the first race was one by Freddie Connor with Phil McCoy second and Andrew Brown extending his lead in third. The second race (Race 6, the final of the series); Freddie Connor took a second win followed by Felicity Foulds and Andrew Brown in third. However, Mike Wood successfully protested Andrew Brown promoting Max Richardson to third.

The disqualification of Andrew Brown in the final race meant that the Gul Topper World Champion for 2007 is Mike Wood, with Andrew Brown second and Freddie Connor third. First Lady was Lynn Billowes (14th) with John Bell (36th) First Senior Male and Susan Brown (76th) First Senior Lady.

In the Silver Fleet the first and second races were won by Christopher Wheeler and James Dugdale respectively. The overall standings were 1st James Dugdale (154 points), 2nd Shona Ross (155 points) and 3rd Isabel Quicke (159 points).

The generous sponsor’s prizes were awarded by Mike Pickering of Gul. In his closing speech, George Clark the President of the International Topper Class Association thanked all at Fraglia Vela Malcesine, the Judges and sponsor Gul for their contributions and support in making a great success of the World Championship. He went on to announce that the 2008 World Championship is to be held in Ireland.

Overall Results:

More information and full results so far on the International Topper Class Association website.