Topper worlds China

The Finale

As it turned out, the conditions did not improve as the week went on. Where we were sailing the density of the wind was very low. This meant that when the first fleet moved through, the following wind became very disturbed for the Blue and Red fleets. This was made worse on the sausage leg between marks 2 and 3 with boats running and beating on the same leg. The Race Officer therefore decided to increase the distance of each leg and remove any additional loops. It was now just a trapezoidal course, which provided much better racing. However, as the wind dropped again no amount of course adjustment, or movement to any other part of the bay would change the shortage of wind. By the end of the competition, everyone had two completed races along with a number of abandoned attempts. Throughout the event the Race Officer John and his wife Linda did a superb job. Not only did they try everything they could to get races run, but that also made sure that the races that they did run were fair and they weren’t afraid to abandon it if most the field were disadvantaged by a shift or drop.

So, my last big topper event is finished. Although there was no ‘Official World Champion’, there was still an overall event winner and competition placings. I managed to come 6th overall and grab the 1st Lady slot as well. In all, 4 Irish (Hugh O’Conner, Hugh Lynch, David Jones, and myself) made it into the top 10 so we were quite pleased with our overall performance.

The wind conditions may not have been great for this event, but that’s just the nature of the sport. The amount of effort required to put this event together was huge for such a small group, so I would like to thank the organizers for doing such a great job and also for the generous sponsorship provided in order to get us all out there. I would also like to thank the Mary Peters Trust for sponsoring me in this event.

With one more Topper Traveller to go before I move onto 29er’s I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the RYANI, and my coach Chris Penny for all the training and support that they have given me throughout my time in Toppers, and hopefully will continue to do so as I move into double-handers. Starting off in 4.2’s, I have on been on the Topper circuit for 5 years. I have made loads of friends along the way both at home and internationally and everyone still keeps in touch. The Topper community is one of the friendliest and most helpful classes that you will come across and I am proud to have been part of it.

They said China was going to be a trip of a lifetime and it certainly was. The sailing may not have turned out as expected but the atmosphere, as usual, was brilliant throughout the whole event. Even that panic moment when I found out that the AP had been lowered and the last of the fleet were launching while I was still in my hotel room, lying on my bed in my normal clothes, now seems funny! A DNS would have been a difficult one to explain!. Fortunately it turned out to be my best race!

As for China, I really loved it and would most definitely go back again.

ITCA World

RYA Northern Ireland

Mary Peters Trust

Irish Sailing Performance

Vanhang Sailing Academy