Gul Topper Worlds at Malcesine, Lake Garda, Italy - Overall
by John Elliott 3 Sep 2010 11:54 BST
22-27 August 2010
“Just Another Day in Paradise”
On Sunday 22nd August, 124 sailors from six nations descended on the beautiful location of Malcesine, Lake Garda, Italy for the 2010 Gul Topper World Championships. The event attracted sailors spanning junior, youth and adults, so quite a mix of ages and experience. Fraglia Vela Malcesine was host for the third time to the Topper World Championships and the sailors were all delighted to be there again competing in the hot temperatures and against the backdrop of rugged mountains.
The wind at Lake Garda is special – it switches direction as the heat of the day builds and appears as regular as clockwork, this is a feature of the lake that needs to be witnessed to be believed:
- Peler / Vento (wind from the north)
During the night the rocky mountain ranges cool off and the warm air retreats to the Po valley in the south. A substantial difference in temperature between the cold mountains and the warm valley develops which results in a wind (Peler or Vento) which flows southward through the lake Garda valley. The Peler can reach up to F6 and in gusts up to F7. The wind loses its strength as the sun heats up the mountain peaks in the morning. So if you want to catch the Peler you have to get up early. At around 9 AM the Peler is usually gone and you'll have to wait until noon before the Ora kicks in.
- The Ora (wind from the south)
The Ora is a thermal wind which develops at around noon or in the early afternoon when the sun heats up the mountain ranges to the North (the Alps) which causes the air to rise. Then cooler air from the Po valley is sucked into the Garda lake valley and accelerated on its way thru the narrowing valley. The wind usually reaches around F4-F5 on the northern part of the lake near Torbole and Riva. The Ora usually dies down at around 6 PM.
After the practise/acclimatisation race, Sunday evening saw the opening ceremony held in the magnificent Malcesine castle. This was preceded by a march by the competitors from the waterfront through the narrow winding cobbled streets of Malcesine to the castle. Flags representing the competitors Austria, Germany, Great Britain (including the English, Scottish and Welsh flags), Ireland, Italy and for the first time this year Korea were proudly flown through the streets to the delight (and occasional puzzlement) of locals and holidaymakers. The Korean sailors had only been in the class for 2 months, they have sailed a Topaz for a while but this was to be their first ever championships – they were often seen around the shoreline with smiley faces. Good luck to their future Toppering.
The opening ceremony at the castle was conducted by the President of Fraglia Vela Malcesine in the presence of the Mayor of Malcesine and Roger Proctor acting as ITCA President after George Clark was unable to make the event due to ill health. A generous buffet saw the competitors & support crews mingling whilst exploring the castle ramparts as the sun dropped behind the cliffs over Lake Garda – fantastic!
Racing started in earnest on Monday 23rd August, the sailors briefing was conducted by Trevor Lewis of the International Jury and then at 12:15 the fleet launched to make their way to the start line for the first races in The Ora! The first two days (up to 6 races) are qualifying and the fleet sailed in four flights, with two flights per race. Following these two days the fleet splits into Gold and Silver for the Championship series which take place over the final three days. As the heat built up to 30+deg the breeze on the sparkling water strengthened, maybe 8 - 12 & gusting 18+knots, with a few white horses across the lake, this was to be the pattern for the whole week. The sun was shining and the sailors were enjoying the excellent sailing weather – these were the champagne sailing conditions that we were promised. The PRO was in confident mood and with 10 sailors caught OCS on race 1 the remaining starts were a little better behaved. Local knowledge shown by the home sailors indicated that the course was a little one sided at this time of day – but would it stay that way?
With 2 bullets each for Giovanni Benamati (ITA), Michele Benamati (ITA), Edward Jones (GBR) Reuben Murphy (GBR) & Giles Kuzyk (GBR) and single race wins for Finn Lynch (IRL) & Freddie Chiddicks (GBR) the qualifying series came to a close after 2 days & 6 races in testing conditions. A few protests were inevitable, but were dealt with during the evening by the international jury. The 124 strong fleet was then split into Gold and Silver fleets based on their results with 63 making it into Gold on account of a number of sailors being on the same points at the cut off.
Going into the Championship Series the Gold fleet leaders were Michele Benamati (ITA),Giovanni Benamati (ITA) and Finn Lynch (IRL). The Silver fleet was led by Charlotte Hooper (GBR) followed by Samantha Bonella (GBR) and James Cunnison (GBR).
On Wednesday the day dawned cloudier than previous days for the start of the Championship series but as the morning wore on the sun came through and the clouds started to lift. Around midday the first signs of a breeze wafted across the lake and continued to build – another good sailing day was promised. The fleets launched into the freshening Ora and at 13:20 the Gold fleet were away for the 1st of 3 planned races which saw a rash of Gold fleet OCSs and the left side of the beat still paying dividends however, when the winds went a little lighter during the later races, the observant sailors kept an eye on the pressure which wasn’t always on the left!. During the 3rd race the wind had become even more shifty with 20 degree oscillations meaning concentration around the race course (and a bit of local knowledge) paid. Following a few more protests the leaders overnight in the Gold fleet were Michele Benamati (ITA) by a clear margin followed by Giovanni Benamati (ITA) and Edward Jones (GBR). In the Silver fleet overnight leaders were Samantha Bonella (GBR), Charlotte Hooper (GBR) and Andrew Penney (IRL).
Thursday dawned clear with few clouds – the parental support teams were commenting about it being “Just Another Day in Paradise” whilst the sailors prepared their boats for the days racing. Like clockwork the breeze started to fill in at midday and the committee boat went out to the race course. At 12:30 the fleets launched for day 2 of the Championship series. Once again going hard left up the beat was still paying, especially in the early breeze as it swung around the headland – in fact a few swimmers in the bay may have had a surprise as the Toppers made their way as far left as they could. The wind strengthened further with a few white horses over the lake. As the races went on the winds eased a little again as the Gold fleet came down to finish. Overnight in the Gold fleet the Italians still held onto first and second places with Michele Benamati (ITA) leading Giovanni Benamati (ITA) and Edward Jones in third place. In the Silver fleet Samantha Bonella (GBR) led Tom Methven (GBR) and Andrew Penney (IRL).
The final day of the Championships dawned with a low cloud clinging to the mountains. The plan was to start racing one hour earlier than the rest of the week with a view to getting the final three races completed. Sailors arriving at the club were keeping a close eye on the weather in the hope that the wind would come in today. At 11:15 a light breeze started to fill in and the committee boat made its way to the race course. This was followed by the signal for sailors to launch as the breeze started picking up early enough to allow three excellent races before the 3pm last day time limit. The final race was done in conditions that had prevailed all week – glorious sunshine and a lovely 12 gusting 18 knot breeze.
After a great week of sailing in almost perfect conditions overall results were:
Gold Fleet:
1st place Michele Benamati (ITA)
2nd place Giovanni Benamati (ITA)
3rd place Edward Jones (GBR)
Silver Fleet:
1st place Samantha Bonella (GBR)
2nd place Tom Methven (GBR)
3rd place James Cunnison (GBR)
This event has proven that the Topper class is strong, strong enough to attract the cream of Italian youth sailors. The Benamati brothers both started sailing on Garda in Optimists then progressed to Lasers in a variety of rigs, being classed as adults (over 16) they have experience of sailing to European and World standards and, since this is their home club, also know this lake, the laylines & predicted windshifts extremely well. It is interesting that they both spoke of the fun they had whilst sailing the Topper and it is also interesting to note that the Topper is clearly backwards compatible from the bigger Laser dinghy, a point that perhaps explains why so many Topper sailors find the transition to the Olympic Laser Class a comfortable one. The Benamati brothers accounted for race wins in 8 of the 21 (including flights) race starts so clearly had tremendous consistency but did not have it all their own way, 10 wins went to GBR sailors with 2 to IRL & 1 to another ITA sailor. Udo Wendler from Germany won the 1st Senior prize, he has sailed the championships since 1978 and has been the German National Champion. Udo tried a Hobie Cat but came back to the trusty Topper, his father sailed Toppers since 1976 but retired from championships last year to assist with measuring.
As everyone packed up ready for the trip home, all praised the hospitable hosts at Fraglia Vela Malcesine who have run some excellent racing, completing the full 15 race programme as well as keeping the parents and supporters comfortable on shore. The winds showed up in spectacular fashion, the evening entertainment was assisted by the 25+deg temperatures, the early morning walk/ride to the club was amongst the most spectacular scenery you can imagine. The other ITCA – “International Topper Camping Association” was out in force at Garda with many motorhomes & campers travelling from the UK & joining up with similar outfits from across Europe to form a mobile village just down the road from the club – all got on well with international friendships being made – who could forget that informal multicultural sing along on the beach?
Someone said to me over last winter that everyone, at sometime in their lives, must sail on Lake Garda at least once – I think that all those that were at the 2010 Gul Topper World Championships will be counting down to their next visit!
My own journey home was by plane, late on Saturday evening after a days sightseeing through Verona & Venice – very nice. As I peered out of the window from 38,000 feet at the nightlights of Northern Europe I could almost make out the trail of Motorhomes heading home & just wondered where they would be travelling to in 2011!
Full Results at www.fragliavela.org/dettagli-regata-eng/events/82.html
Check out www.itcaworld.org for details of next year's Championships.