Please select your home edition
Edition
CoastWaterSports 2014

Topper and RS Tera open meeting with Capture the Flag and Tug of War at Starcross Yacht Club

by Peter Solly 14 Oct 20:14 BST 12 October 2024

Following the tradition started last year, the day of the annual Tera and Topper Open Meeting dawned sunny and windless. Nearly 30 sailors had travelled to Starcross, from as far afield as Oxfordshire and Fowey in Cornwall, with a strong showing of thirteen from the home club. Several sailors from Exe Sailing Club had even delivered their boats by water the previous day!

As sailors rigged their boats, caught up with friends and ate their bacon butties, the estuary looked like a millpond. All eyes were on the forecast - which remained confident that the wind would come through later.

But still we waited....! Closely contested Tug of War games were played (Topper vs Tera, and parents vs sailors, and so on), before the fleets challenged each other to a game of Capture the Flag.

Around midday the wind started to fill-in, and so boats launched and sailed over to the east side of the estuary where the race committee had set the course

Race officer Paul Kelley and ARO Dave Lee had set a trapezoid course. With four fleets (Topper 5.3, Topper 4.2, RS Tera Pro and RS Tera Sport) and two starts, the wind steadily built through the three races, reaching around 15 knots at the end. There was some excellent and close racing throughout the fleet, with some hotly-contested battles going on between certain sailors.

After three successful races, the fleet came as sure for a late (gourmet) lunch. When parent volunteer Richard is in the galley, the food at Starcross junior events is renowned far and wide. Today was no exception, with four types of pasta dishes, freshly cooked to ancient Sicilian recipes by Richard and his team of helpers. This was rounded off by home-made cakes and tea, before the prize-giving.

Well done to all the sailors.

Full results (and photos) are on the event page: www.starcrossyc.org.uk/syc-events

Endeavour Prize (for valiant effort and persistence): Amy H (Whitefriars SC)

Spot Prizes for effort and excellent sailing: Aurelie, Annie, Florence.

A big thank you to all of the volunteers who made the event such a success - whether on the water, in the galley, helping ashore, doing results or on the committee boat, it couldn't have been done without so many willing helpers. Thank sto John Allen for providing his yacht Helghor as the committee boat, and to PK and Dave for running the racing.

Particular thanks are to other volunteers who didn't have children sailing in the event, but gave up their time to help anyway.

Related Articles

South West RS Tera Traveller Series 2024
Seven events held over the summer with over 40 boats competing With over 40 boats competing, the series allowed junior sailors to sail at different sailing clubs with very different sailing conditions ranging from a Cotswold Lake to the Fowey Estuary, Cornwall. Posted on 20 Oct
Starcross Topper and Tera event open for entries
October event on the beautiful river Exe Following the success of previous years, Starcross Yacht Club on the beautiful river Exe are once again running their Topper and Tera Open Meeting - 12th October 2024. Posted on 5 Sep
Starcross Yacht Club Junior Regatta
At just under 50 entries the event was close to capacity Sunshine and fair breezes on the river Exe were the order of the day every day at the fourth year of SYC's Regatta for juniors, and at just under 50 entries the event was close to capacity. Posted on 14 Aug
Starcross Phantom Open
Fourth event of the South West Series, shared with the ILCAs and Solos Starcross Yacht Club, on the Exe Estuary in Devon, hosted the 4th event of the South West Series on Saturday 27th July. The event was shared with ILCAs and Solos. Posted on 1 Aug
Starcross Solo Open
It's not only a shifty lake but it's got a fickle tide too The joy of racing at Starcross is that it's not only a shifty lake but it's got a fickle tide too. Posted on 30 Jul
River Exe Regatta at Starcross
62 entries enjoy the wind arriving on cue both days Starcross Yacht Club hosted the dinghy and Hurricane cat racing on the Exe Estuary over the weekend 13 and 14 July. The regatta also includes cruiser racing, beach rescue, fishing, and this year sea rowing from the estuary clubs. Posted on 20 Jul
Hurricane 5.9 SX TT at Starcross
Sailors from all over the country visited the River Exe Hurricane 5.9 SX sailors from all over the country visited Starcross Yacht Club on the River Exe for the second TT event of the year. Posted on 3 Jul
Starcross Junior Regatta open for entries
The legendary four days of racing and fun on the River Exe is back The legendary four days of racing and fun on the River Exe is back, and not to be missed! Saturday 10th - Tuesday 13th August 2024 at Starcross Yacht Club on the River Exe. Posted on 20 Jun
Merlin Rockets at Starcross
Summer officially starts during Craftinsure Silver Tiller Round 4 The weekend of the 1st and 2nd of June was officially the start of summer and boy was it, as the Merlin Rocket Craftinsure Silver Tiller headed to sunny Starcross Yacht Club. Posted on 4 Jun
Entries Open for 2024 River Exe Regatta
Annual event takes place on the beautiful Exe estuary on 13th & 14th July This annual event takes place on the beautiful Exe estuary and is organised by all the clubs on the river. This year the dinghy racing is having a complete refresh, to improve the quality of racing. Posted on 30 May