Topper Eastern Champs at Great Moor Sailing Club

A fresh south-westerly brought superb sailing conditions to Great Moor SC for the 27 Toppers who entered the ITCA Eastern Region Championships on Saturday 27th April.

Race officer Marc Savitsky made the most of the lake’s 65 acres in setting a varied course with 2 beats, 3 reaches and a downwind leg.

Race 1 started on schedule and after the first lap Richard Valentine (Great Moor) led convincingly from Kyle Paternoster (Grafham Water) and Alec Savitsky (Great Moor). Martyn Borley (Brightlingsea) and Justin Martin (Grafham Water) made up the top five at this point. However National Squad pride asserted itself and after 4 laps and nearly an hour of hard racing, Valentine led Paternoster home to win, followed by Nathan Batchelor (Clevedon), Roger Phillips (Great Moor) and Jonathan White (Pevensey Bay).

Race 2 saw some new faces in the lead at the top mark as Will Espiner (Great Moor) led from Savitsky, followed by Evan Scott (Grafham Water). In the second lap Valentine fought through to take the lead with Tom Winskell (Stewartby Water Sports) also moving up the field, but after 3 laps the winner was Espiner, followed by Valentine and Winskell. Savitsky was 4th, and Paternoster 5th.

After a welcome chance to warm up over the lunch break, the fleet took to the water for the third race in even stronger winds with some rain in the air. This was the chance for local club Laser champion Rich Patrick (Great Moor) in a borrowed boat to lead the way for the first lap in the heavy conditions. However the wind eased considerably in the later stages and he was overhauled by Valentine and Paternoster, with Batchelor and White following.

In the final race Paternoster took an early lead and was never challenged, but there was close racing in the pack behind with Valentine pulling through for 2nd, and Winskell in 3rd place.

As always there was good competition throughout the fleet, though the conditions were too strong for the younger sailors to make their mark. Emma Hardcastle won the Junior Female trophy, Evan Scott was awarded the under-14 prize, and Grace Tweddell (Royal Hospital School) the Under-12 prize.

Event Photos: (© Paul Fox, click thumbnail for full picture)

Overall Results: