Topper Open at Bexhill Sailing Club

by Rob Harrison 5 Jul 2005 08:35 BST 3 July 2005

The South East Topper fleet enjoyed near perfect conditions with a steady Force 4 South Westerly breeze, waves to surf down, and sunshine for the spectators to enjoy. The event was sponsored by “Source” BMX & Skate shop.

Conditions proved challenging for the less experienced of the 39 competitors causing many to drop out early on. A solid core of 30 remaining National Squad, Zone squad, Youth Squad and locals handled the conditions well.

Race Officer Richard Eagleton set a triangle / sausage course for all four races. Race one saw the first general recall and the round the ends rule come into effect. Local sailor Peter Harrison quickly took the lead closely followed by Alex Mills-Barton and Alex Groves. Mills-Barton challenged hard as the two leaders broke clear of the pack revelling in the conditions, but Harrison held on to take line honours.

Race two followed a similar pattern with Harrison dominating the fleet from the start. This time it was Ben Palmer who took up the challenge, almost getting ahead on the first reach but Harrison held on.

Whilst the boys were toughing it out, a hotly contested battle of the girls was going on between Bethany Wellard, Catherine Whitehill, Rebecca Barrie and Sophie Porteus. After frequent place changes it was Wellard who came out on top.

By race 4 Harrison was secure with three bullets so the battle was on for second place. McVeigh had to prevent Mills-Barton from winning to secure second but was late starting so left it to Harrison and Lambert to do the job for him.

Overall Results:

Pos	Sail No	Helm	Club	Pts
1st	43313	Peter Harrison	Bexhill	3
2nd	44349	Oscar McVeigh	Wimbledon Park	8
3rd	44954	Alex Mills-Barton	Newhaven	9
4th	44584	Ben Palmer	Island Barn	10
5th	44104	Alex Groves	Island Barn	14