Volvo GJW Direct Topper 5.3 and 4.2 Nationals at Pwllheli - Day 3
by Chris Woodard 9 Aug 2017 15:42 BST
5-11 August 2017
Day 3 of the Volvo GJW Direct Topper 5.3 and 4.2 National Championships dawned with very little wind, but a promising forecast for later, so, as this was always scheduled to be a short day's racing, to accommodate the inaugural Beach Olympics later, the postponement flag was hoisted and everyone relaxed for a while.
For the first time this week, the Regatta Fleet launched first, and commenced their coaching and fun races just off the beach, and then as the wind began to fill in the 5.3 and 4.2 fleets set off to their respective race areas, with the 5.3s targeting 2 races (4 flight starts) and the 4.2s aiming for 4 of their, generally shorter, races.
Out on the 5.3 course the wind was building steadily, reaching a solid 15 knots by the middle of race 1, enabling two good races to complete the Qualification Series, and determine the Gold, Silver and Bronze rankings for the rest of the week. At the front of the fleet Andrew Homer and Sam Jones both had another good day, with one win apiece, to consolidate their positions at the front, with Isabel Wallwork and Seb Gotto clinching the other victories.
In the 4.2s Giles Baker had a perfect day, winning all 4 races, and moving into a commanding overall lead, with Tim Evans hanging on in 2nd, and a steady performance from Cameron Sword putting him in 3rd.
With an early finish and all boats safely ashore, competitors returned to the beach for a couple of hours for an extremely popular Beach Olympics! The competitors assembled into their regional Zone teams, and worked their way round a variety of somewhat chaotic fun events, the lilo racing proved particularly popular and must have attracted close to 100 kids into the sea at one point, and maybe there was a winner at the end, who knows?! What's certain is that there were a lot of very happy, very sandy, kids traipsing back to the clubhouse at the end!
Wednesday is the the start of the final Championship Series for the 5.3s, with the forecast suggesting that it is going to be a very windy one!
Results can be found at www.itca-gbr.co.uk/results