Rooster Topper North Travellers event at Scaling Dam Sailing Club

by George Spence 15 Sep 2022 15:04 BST 10 September 2022

The first round of the 2022/23 Topper North Traveller Series was held on Saturday 10th September at Scaling Dam SC. 30 Topper sailors and their supporters held a minutes silence for Her Majesty before launching with black masthead ribbons for race 1 in breezy and overcast conditions.

Race officer Andy Young set a starboard biased line and after a general recall the fleet finally got away with Ava Harris-Scott from Elton rounding the windward mark first with Hollingworth Lake's Jasper Bramwell in close pursuit only to sail into a wind hole allowing the chasing bunch to catch up. By the first leeward mark Bramwell had got ahead followed by Fin Waterhouse (Budworth), Charlotte Cooper (West Lancs YC) and Kyla Baxter (Covenham) joined by George Spence (Ripon) and Harris-Scott.

Spence hit the leeward after a Rule 18 discussion allowing multiple boats through including Tristan Shaw (Budworth) & Rosanna Joyce (Budworth). The rest of the race saw these eight boats steadily work their way to the front with Bramwell putting a healthy gap between himself and the rest of the chasing pack. Cooper and Harris-Scott finished second and third.

Race 2 was abandoned after heavy fog rolled in which meant the fleet couldn't see any of the marks and they were sent ashore for safety reasons (not that they could see the shore!).

After a break for lunch the fleet went out for a re-started race 2 in light winds and rain which saw Bramwell and Fred Buckley (Yorkshire Dales) get UFD to allow Spence to take the win closely followed by Joyce and Harris-Scott.

The wind picked up for Race 3 and the rain continued to fall, Bramwell and Spence lined up early at the port end with Waterhouse in hot pursuit. This three boat dog-fight continued up the first beat and at the windward mark Frankland and Ruby Tildesley (Covenham SC) arrived at the same time as the leading pack having stayed out of trouble on the other side of the beat.

The first downwind leg saw upset when local Patrick Tulloch (SDSC) death-rolled causing several boats to take avoiding action. Waterhouse pipped Bramwell after pulling away on the final upwind leg with newcomer Tildesley finishing third.

The wind settled in race 4 to a steady breeze, Bramwell and Waterhouse spent the race playing nip and tuck with Bramwell crossing the windward mark finish line first to take the overall win with Waterhouse second and Harriet Wood (Elton) putting in her best result of the day to finish third. Spence & Cooper battled it out on the last upwind leg with Spence claiming fourth after tacking early to beat Cooper with Buckley close behind.

There were several notable performances by sailors further down the fleet during the day, including Lucy Lewis' (Elton) 19th place in race 2 having only learned to sail this summer.

Emre Frankland (YDSC) also continued to show promise in his first competitive season with solid results in all the races finishing ninth overall. Another newcomer to Topper North, Tristan Shaw showed the old guard they need to watch out with a tenth overall, with another new name to the fleet, Reuben Lawrence (Errwood) in thirteenth overall.

The three 4.2 rigs also had good racing all day between themselves with Charlie Cowell (SDSC) taking first overall from Hugo Calvey-Sutcliffe (Burwain) and Poppy Moss (SDSC/Ripon).

Thanks to everyone at SDSC who helped make the day so successful, the next round of the Topper North Traveller is at Hollingworth Lake SC on 24th September.

Overall Results:

Pos	Rig	Helm	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	Pts
1st	Topper 5.3	Jasper Bramwell	Hollingworth Lake SC	1	(UFD)	2	1	4
2nd	Topper 5.3	Fin Waterhouse	Budworth SC	5	‑8	1	2	8
3rd	Topper 5.3	George Spence	Ripon SC	‑8	3	7	4	11
4th	Topper 5.3	Charlotte Cooper	West Lancashire YC	2	‑7	6	5	12
5th	Topper 5.3	Ava Harris‑Scott	Elton SC	3	5	‑9	8	14
6th	Topper 5.3	Kyla Baxter	Covenham SC	4	6	(UFD)	7	15
7th	Topper 5.3	Rosanna Joyce	Budworth SC	6	4	12	‑11	18
8th	Topper 5.3	Harriet Wood	Elton SC	‑10	11	11	3	21
9th	Topper 5.3	Emre Frankland	Yorkshire Dales SC	11	10	5	‑17	23
10th	Topper 5.3	Tristan Shaw	Budworth SC	7	9	‑14	9	23
11th	Topper 5.3	Fred Buckley	Yorkshire Dales SC	13	(UFD)	13	6	30
12th	Topper 5.3	Luke Robinson	Scaling Dam SC	‑16	15	8	10	30
13th	Topper 5.3	Reuben Lawrance	Errwood SC	12	12	‑18	12	34
14th	Topper 5.3	Ruby Tildesley	N/A	18	‑25	3	15	36
15th	Topper 5.3	Eva Murphy	Budworth SC	9	‑19	16	13	36
16th	Topper 5.3	Sasha Leach	Budworth SC	14	14	‑17	14	40
17th	Topper 5.3	Lara Eagleton	SDSC	15	13	(UFD)	19	45
18th	Topper 5.3	Xavier Bramwell	Hollingworth Lake SC	‑21	16	15	18	45
19th	Topper 5.3	Grace Gordon	Scaling Dam SC	17	17	20	‑20	50
20th	Topper 5.3	Connie Murphy	Budworth SC	19	18	19	‑21	52
21st	Topper 5.3	Patrick Tulloch	Scaling Dam SC	‑20	20	22	16	54
22nd	Topper 5.3	Annabelle Howard	Scaling Dam SC	‑22	23	21	22	62
23rd	Topper 5.3	Lucy Lewis	Elton SC	23	21	‑26	23	65
24th	Topper 5.3	Hayden Gridley	Scaling Dam SC	26	22	23	‑27	67
25th	4.2	Charlie Cowell	Scaling Dam SC	‑27	24	25	25	70
26th	Topper 5.3	Leah Cowell	Scaling Dam SC	‑30	28	24	26	74
27th	Topper 5.3	Dan Botzen	Scaling Dam SC	‑25	27	27	24	74
28th	4.2	Hugo Calvey‑Sutcliffe	Burwain SC	24	29	29	‑28	78
29th	Topper 5.3	Cody Braithwaite	Scaling Dam SC	‑29	26	28	29	79
30th	4.2	Poppy Moss	Ripon SC/Scaling Dam SC	28	30	30	‑30	84