Rooster South East Topper Traveller at Papercourt Sailing Club

Rooster South East Topper Travellers at Papercourt © Graham Evans

With a front coming in earlier than expected on Saturday, the forecast for the event dropped from 10 knots to 3 knots for the day from the North West, which for Papercourt is not the preferred or prevalent direction. Early inspection looked like a delay in the proceedings but once the introductions and briefings were done, there was enough wind to start.

There were two fleets, main fleet for the Traveller Series and a regatta fleet as an introduction for those new to open racing. The regatta fleet started 5 mins after the main fleet. Unsurprisingly, no one entered with a 4.2 sail.

There were 4 races with 2 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. The wind was constantly changing direction but there was enough to run the day. The course was changed for each race to take advantage of the best wind on the lake. At least this gave the safety boats something to do.

The first race got off to a clean slow start with the fleet separating into those that managed to find the gusts. Like the rest of the day, it was a lesson in sailing in light airs and constantly looking for wind. Only one lap was necessary with the top three spots being taken Leo Wilkinson, Aaron Evans & Bill Hudson.

For the second race, the marks were brought closer together as the wind was gathering at the far end of the lake. There was a general recall for the main fleet but they managed to get away at the second attempt. Throughout the races, there were some overly enthusiastic rolling manoeuvres with one or two competitors trying out the Papercourt waters. One competitor (who shall remain nameless) took exception to one of the marks and managed to move it by capsizing, getting the chain wrapped around the hull and move the buoy a metre or two. They took their penalty turn and carried on! The finish was moved closer to the club house to allow a quicker route to shore for lunch. The top three spots were taken by Bill Hudson, Aaron Evans & Leo Wilkinson.

Lunch was a BBQ affair with sausages and/or burgers (protein - veg option was available) along with pasta and potato salads for the carbs. Strawberries (for the one of the five a day) and ice cream (for energy) rounded off lunch. The organisers were nervously eating whilst watching for patches of wind on the lake.

For race three, a small diamond course was chosen and with the wind picking up, the fleets were able to complete 3 laps with Leo Wilkinson, Aaron Evans & Johnny Woolgar taking the honours.

In race four, the marks were reset as the wind direction had changed. This proved to be slightly fruitless as the fleet managed to beat on 3 out of the 4 legs during the race. Honours were taken by Bill Hudson, Aaron Evans & Leo Wilkinson.

The fleets made their way in showing their capsize, paddling and pumping skills. Thanks to everyone that helped out on the day and congratulations to all the competitors in tricky wind conditions. We would like to thank Rooster for supporting the Traveller series.

Overall Results:

Main Fleet
1. Bill Hudson (Newhaven & Seaford)
2. Leo Wilkinson (Maidenhead)
3. Aaron Evans (Silver wing)

1st First Girl Yana Skvortsova (IBRSC)
1st First Papercourt Sailor Johnny Woolgar (PSC)

Regatta Fleet
1. Rory Clow (IBRSC)
1. Megan Thomson (IBRSC)