Topper Magic Marine Winter Regatta at Datchet Water
by Tim Yeates 2 Feb 2011 16:29 GMT
29-30 January 2011
Its a new sailing year & its largely a new Topper fleet that congregated just outside the M25 on the last weekend in January for the 2011 Topper Magic Marine Winter Regatta at Datchet Water Sailing Club. 220 entrants for this winter national event is testament to the strength of the class as the various squad, youth and club sailors rigged their dinghies on the beach prior to the 10am briefing, brought forward to make the most of the winter daylight. The cold weather did not dampen the enthusiasm of the sailors as the efficient Team Datchet managed the flow of cars, trailers, boats and support crew around the site to the aroma of bacon rolls & fresh coffee from the galley. The Topper Camping Association was out in force as motorhomes formed their usual camping village on the green, the fact that there were no tents to be seen was no surprise given the subzero forecast, local travel hotels and B&B’s did a roaring trade.
ITCA GBR Chairman, Jonathan Cunnison, welcomed everyone into the upstairs room of Datchet Water Sailing Club which offered a splendid viewing platform for the parental support teams to keep a watchful eye on the weekends main entertainment—the racing, which was to be held in flights due to the size of the fleet. Peter Saxton, PRO for the weekend, forecast a 9mph NE breeze which meant a start line at the far end of the race area so he asked that the fleet did not delay in getting onto the water in time for a planned 11am 1st start. There were several reminders about other aspects of the weather, this is a fun event where no squad place pressures are present but, the temperatures were very low and the competitors were asked to review their clothing & ensure that it was suitable for 3 races in potentially very cold conditions - a wide variety of winter hats were seen, it would be a serious mistake to go out in light clothing today. The tally board was out & the fleet started to launch very shortly after the briefing, tallying is important so that the safety team can account for all the sailors on the water, some forgot to collect their tally band & suffered a points penalty as a result - lesson learned. The water level is a little lower than optimum and the concrete sides of Queen Mother Reservoir do get a little steep but the floating beach helped the launch process, on the main beach only one person was witnessed to get totally immersed by slipping into the cold water & there was an injured shoulder, plenty of medical help is always on hand at Topper events.
The parental support teams took full advantage of the Datchet Water Step Aerobic facility between the carpark & the clubhouse - nice exercise whilst the sailors jockeyed for position on the water with the backdrop of Windsor Castle just behind & the flight path to Heathrow Airport overhead, this area offers something for everyone.
The first flight of race 1 got underway in a 9mph breeze on a 900 Metre course after a general recall which brought out the black flag, this was to stay out for the rest of the day. The cold temperatures meant that waiting time between races needed to be kept to a minimum to reduce the effects of the cold. The competitors remarked that the wind was oscillating in direction with a few stronger gusts but not so much to overpower the smaller sailors. Winners of race 1 were Dan Venables and Henry Martindale. The cold was really quite extreme & some sailors decided to head for shore & the warmth of the clubhouse. Race 2 got underway shortly after the backmarkers of race 1 had got back into the start area. A great port flyer by championship number 73 was witnessed by the committee boat, well done Annabel, on her way to her best result of the weekend - the race winners were Curtis Mearns and Giles Kuzyk. As the race drew to a close it was fairly obvious to the observers around the racecourse that the cold was getting too severe for the competitors and rib crew to continue, it was decided not to start the 3rd race of the day but to retire to the clubhouse for warmth. Well dones were earned throughout the fleet today, well dones to the winners, to the inexperienced for going out in the cold conditions (not exactly what you would call a baptism of fire!), to those who made the decision to come in early (sometimes this takes as much bravery as staying out), to the rib crews who managed to survive the windchill associated with speeding around the water in negative temperatures and to Team Datchet who got all competitors off the water with the minimum of delay - Well done everyone. After 2 consistent races Curtis Mearns was the overnight leader from Henry Cunnison 2nd and Steven Clayton 3rd, looking down the fleet results & with 4 different race winners it was still an open competition.
Sunday dawned with the temperature feeling a little warmer, the sailors heeded advice & came suitably dressed for the 9:45am launch signal. The wind conditions were very similar to the previous day but the skies were brighter with the odd flash of sunshine. Peter Saxton got racing underway without delay at 10:30 and 3 fresh names earned race wins, Freddie Chiddicks and Danielle Thomas got 1sts in race 3 whilst Ed Connellen got a win & Dan Venables got his 2nd win of the weekend in race 4. Away from the winning a number of sailors were knotching up impressively consistent results as race 4 introduced a discard into the position calculations. It was Dan Venables who was in the pound seat as his 4 points was 4 ahead of Giles Kuzyk & 6 ahead of 5 sailors who were on 10 points including overnight leader Curtis Mearns. The event results were to be decided in race 5 which was to be the last race of the day, the course was increased in length for this one as the wind speed rose slightly. Dan was in the 1st Flight and was looking strong in the leading group whilst his main rival Curtis, sailed in Flight 2. Lucy Yeates took control of flight 1 after the 1st windward mark and pulled away to take her 1st win of the event, Dan came in 7th, all eyes were on flight 2 where Curtis had managed to take & keep the lead to the finish - the calculators came out!. In the end Dan took the event win from Curtis on countback after tying on 11 points, Freddie Chiddicks had a great second day to earn 3rd on 13 points from 1st Girl Danielle Thomas in 4th.
The prizegiving was held in the clubhouse whilst it was still daylight outside such was the efficiency not only of the race committee but also the protest & results teams. There were 217 entrants who did not get on the final podium but the event was made so very interesting by their competing for their own personal goals & ambitions throughout the fleet, not just the squad members who were using this event as a guide to how their winter training was progressing - this was an event for all sailors to gauge their progress before the more serious racing takes place later in the year.
It was great to get away in good time for the long drive home and it has to be noted that some will go to extreme lengths to reduce the burden of these journeys, one dislocated shoulder led to a back seat journey but a motorhome on the back of an AA lowloader - well that must be the ultimate in fuel cost saving - what will they think of next!
Many thanks to Magic Marine for sponsoring the 2011 Topper Winter regatta and to Datchet Water Sailing Club for being efficient hosts.
Next major Topper Event - Craftinsure Topper National series event 1, Rutland SC April 9th/10th 2011.
Results are available here and more photos are available here.