Topper & Pico Open at Spinnaker Club

Toppers and Picos competed separately at the joint Open on Sun 18th July. The weather was unexpectedly good; starting with the forecast 5mph wind, it got stronger later, with the direction favouring relatively long beats on this small lake in south Hants.

Race One started in a variable breeze and wind shifts continued all morning. George Beck, from Papercourt, snatched the lead from local sailor Paul Irons on the last lap, to win - Paul being followed by James Muir. Race Two followed almost at once, and Alan Roberts from Hayling Island had clearly now mastered the intricacies of the lake and won from local sailor Steve Broom (just back from 4th place at the Solo Nations Cup in Lake Garda), who was getting attuned to an unfamiliar boat, whilst George Beck came 3rd.

The afternoon racing brought somewhat stronger breezes, with gusts, and more sunshine. In race Three, Alan Roberts recorded another win, closely pursued by the two local Solo sailors Broom 2nd and Irons 3rd. The wind was now clearly favouring those with a bit more weight and experience, with George Beck, just into his teens, not doing so well. Race Four followed back to back; Paul Irons got his borrowed boat in the groove, and won from Roberts, who just squeezed past Broom at the last mark to take 2nd, with Catherine Whitehill from Papercourt finishing 4th having moved up progressively during the day.

Topper Results:

1st 44737 Alan Roberts (Hayling Island)
2nd 13232 Paul Irons (Spinnaker)
3rd Steve Broom (Spinnaker)
4th 43685 George Beck (Papercourt)

Picos competed for the first time on the lake, as an experimental toe-dipping event which turned out to be well worth while, with those competing - many for the first time - enjoying a very pleasant day's sailing, all sailing single handed with the standard rig. Gabie Burns of Spinnaker won both morning races, with Hywel Morris coming 2nd in both. The afternoon was a slightly greater test for Gabie and Hywel; in the third race they were both beaten by Matthew Hales - coping remarkably well in stronger winds, at the age of just 13. The last race was won by Tony Mayhew. However Gabie and Hywel only yielded one place in each case, and their consistency paid off in the end, but with good close racing.

Pico Results:

1st 6909 Gabrielle Burns
2nd Hywel Morris
3rd Matthew Hales
4th 7546 Tony Mayhew