Topper National Series 5 at Derwent Reservoir Sailing Club
by Holly Norton 4 Jul 2024 06:37 BST
29-30 June 2024
Topper National Series 5 at Derwent Reservoir: Holly Norton leading the race © Rob Broad
It is 8:40 on Monday morning and we are still at Derwent Reservoir. This has unfortunately happened because Tom Semmens forgot his sailing kit in the back left corner of the changing rooms.
After an eventful weekend Harry Mills ended up in first place with Tom Semmens and Holly Norton close behind in second and third. With the last race all to fight for, Holly was determined to come first with Harry M coming five places behind her. This would have made her come first overall but whilst speeding ahead up towards the top mark the race was abandoned and we were told to head in.
The weekend started off with the first race abandoned. We managed to get up to the last gate rounding before we were told to go back to the start line. A good decision from the race committee because the wind had drastically shifted, making the left side of the course pay.
The first race was won by Holly. A great start to the weekend, followed by Harry M and then Kat Gunn. After this Harry M won the second race closely followed by Tom and then Felix Harle. The racecourse was then moved further upwind to get a more stable breeze and Tom managed to win this race followed by Kat and Harry M in the final race of the day. This placed Harry in the lead with Holly and Kat in 2nd and 3rd overnight.
The second day started off with a light breeze over the race area, just enough to get us out there. Over the breeze you could hear some far-off singing, so everyone was graced with the lovely voices of Nicola Richards and Holly, later joined by Tom. The first race of the day was won by Harry M, thereby extending his lead, Zac Chappell was second and Harry Dence third. We didn't know that the next race was going to be the last of the weekend, so whilst everyone thought there would be another race after the next one, Holly managed to gain another first place with Harry D in second and Toby Turner in third.
We were still kept out for a while after the last race though to see if a race could be squeezed into a gap in the shifty wind. The Race Officer successfully managed to get two races started, but with Harry in the lead of the first of the races and Holly the second, the races had to be abandoned. Fortunately, we were all kept entertained by Ethan Rhodes who was attempting to steer on the front of his boat up and down the start line. He managed to fall in, grabbing onto Harry M's boat. Quick reactions from Felix, who managed to catch his mast ensured that the sail did not get wet. Ethan then leaped onto his boat gracefully saving it from a disastrous wet sail. Well done Felix! A great end to the racing.
The prize-giving was split into two sections, one for NS5 and the other, the overall NS series. For NS5, Harry M won the 5.3s with Tom coming in second and Holly coming third. Zac and Felix in fourth and fifth made the top 5 all South West sailors, a great turnout after travelling almost 10 hours up there. In the 4.2s Hari Clark won, Henry Cruse was second and Sam Mason in 3rd.
Overall for the series, things were tense between Tom and Kat. I heard that Tom had to get top 3 at NS5 to get the win over Kat. So, Tom coming 2nd at NS5 meant he won the 5.3s, Kat came in second and Harry M close behind. In the 4.2s however, it was the same top three, with Sam winning from Henry on countback closely followed by Hari.
A big thank you to Derwent Reservoir Sailing Club, Charlie Stowe (Race Officer) all the volunteers and sponsors, Noble Marine, Rooster, Harken and Topper Sailboats for a fantastic weekend.
Results can be found on the ITCA Website, www.itca-gbr.co.uk/results