GP Watercraft Southwest Topper Open Training and Traveller 7 at Swanage Sailing Club

GP Watercraft Southwest Topper Traveller 7 at Swanage © SSC

On the 19th and 20th of September, I was one of over 25 Topper sailors who took part in the GP Watercraft Southwest Topper Open Training and Traveller 7 at Swanage Sailing Club. I was really excited to take part in this event as Swanage is my home club, so it was brilliant to see the Topper class come to Swanage for the first time. There was a great atmosphere, and the club was extremely friendly and welcoming.

On Saturday we had some great coaching with Mark Ripley, Imogen Kemp and Flo Tovey. The conditions were very windy, with gusts reaching nearly 30 knots, so we enjoyed some great heavy wind practice! The training was also a great time to socialise with friends from all over the south-west, making for a great atmosphere.

GP Watercraft Southwest Topper Traveller 7 at Swanage - photo © SSC

On Sunday the conditions were extremely different; we had a light, fluky, northerly wind, which was constantly doing huge shifts, making the racing really challenging and exciting because it was so unpredictable.

In the first race, Brooke Browning had a great start and took an early lead to the windward mark, with Harry MacLeod in close second and me third, but a patch of very light wind grouped the fleet back together slightly. On the second beat we had lots of big shifts, which Brooke and Harry took advantage of. Meanwhile, on the last reach, Brooke sailed to a fishing boat thinking it was the finish boat (!), allowing Harry to cross the line first with Brooke in second. Alex P finished third, me fourth, and Xander Collins-Black fifth.

In race two, Brooke and I had great starts towards the middle of the line, but most of the fleet, being nearer the committee end, capitalised on a big right shift off the start line. Harry, Leo Kaneko and Alex P were first, second and third to the windward mark, while Brooke and I caught up to fourth and fifth by the finish, with Harry in first, Leo second, and Alex P third.

In race three, the wind was still very light and shifty, and we all struggled slightly in the challenging conditions. The pin was slightly biased, and Sacha Gerra led to the windward mark after a great start. Despite getting caught up at the committee boat, Harry sailed a great first beat and caught all the way back to the top three, while I was third. However, because of a left shift Sacha and I both lost places. On the last reach, Josh Hocken managed to overtake me and Brooke, who had both been fighting high on the reach. In the end, Harry won, Alex P crossed second with Sacha in close third.

GP Watercraft Southwest Topper Traveller 7 at Swanage - photo © SSC

In race four, the race officer pulled the black flag out after a couple of general recalls, which made the start even more exciting, with a couple of disqualifications under black flag. Harry pulled off a fantastic port flier and reached the windward mark with a comfortable lead. I had good boatspeed on the lay line, meaning that after a bad start I still managed to reach the windward mark second, with Xander and Alex P not far behind. Although I did my best to overtake Harry on the second beat, he played the shifts well and had great boatspeed, meaning he went on to win his fourth race of the day after an incredible performance through the event. I came in second, Alex P third and Xander fourth.

In the end, Harry deservedly won with a clean sweep of bullets, Alex P came second with a set of very consistent results, I came third and Brooke fourth.

Jonathan Pendle, first 4.2 overall - GP Watercraft Southwest Topper Traveller 7 at Swanage - photo © SSC

I would like to thank the club for hosting this event with such enthusiasm, all the volunteers for making the event possible and for being so welcoming to the visiting sailord and their families, and to Doug the race officer for some great racing in challenging conditions.

Thanks also to Casca Sails and Chococo for sponsoring the event and providing some great prizes. I hope that the Topper class will visit Swanage again soon!

Harry Macloud, first 5.3 overall - GP Watercraft Southwest Topper Traveller 7 at Swanage - photo © SSC

4.2 Results:

5.3 Results:

Alex Murray, third overall - GP Watercraft Southwest Topper Traveller 7 at Swanage - photo © SSC

Brooke Browning, first female sailor - GP Watercraft Southwest Topper Traveller 7 at Swanage - photo © SSC