RYA National Junior Squad
Congratulations to Julia Beck, Jonathan Hewat, George Spedding and Steph Wicken for being selected for the RYA National Junior Squad.
RYA National Intermediate Squad
Congratulations to Charlotte Bonella, Josh McLynn, Hannah Thomas and Matt Thomas for being selected for the RYA National Intermediate Squad.
ITCA Junior Development Programme
Congratulations to Helen Baldwin, Jonty Freeman, Tom Richardson, Charlie Runcorn and Thomas Weekes for being selected for the ITCA Junior Development Programme.
RYA South East Zone Squad
Congratulations to Daniel Adeline, Adam Bermingham, Harry Bradley, Benedict Cooper, Felix Crowther, Charlotte Fenn, Daniel Fenn, Olivier Greber, Thomas Howard, Louis Knevett, Oliver Machell, Joseph Simmons and Jack Spence for being selected for the RYA South East Zone Squad.
ITCA SE Open Training Winter 07 
Dates Winter 2007 - 2008:
- Saturday 8th December 2007 - Wilsonian SC
- Saturday 19th January 2008 - Papercourt SC
- Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd February 2008 - Island Barn RSC - with RYA National Squad Coach, Dave Cockerill - ONLY 5 PLACES REMAIN
- Saturday 10th May - Downs SC
Bewl Valley SC Spring Thaw Open Series
All Topper sailors are invited to this race series which takes place in March. Please see attached items for more information.
Nationwide 6 - Carsington SC
South East Sailor Results - 21st Joseph Wellerd, 34th George Spedding, 40th Charlotte Bonella, 59th William Bovington, 76th Matt Thomas, 91st Helen Baldwin, 92nd Hannah Thomas, 94th Peter Grassick and 102nd Tom Richardson.
South East Zone and Area Championships
Top Five - 1st Julia Beck, 2nd Jonathan Hewat, 3rd Will Street, 4th George Spedding and 5th Charlotte Bonella.
Photographs can be found on the South East Topper Photo Album (Taken by Mike Bovington)
South East Traveller Series Overall
Top Five - 1st Jonathan Hewat, 2nd Stephanie Wicken, 3rd George Spedding, 4th Alexander Le Gassick and 5th Matt Thomas.
Overall South East Traveller Series Results
Report - The 2007 South East Traveller Series was concluded on 22nd September with the Island Barn RSC Traveller. Whilst the overall Series winner, Jonathan Hewat (Medway YC) had already secured victory back in July, everything hinged on this final event to determine the other prize-winning places.
Special mention must go to Alexander Le Gassick (Wilsonian SC) for competing in all 12 of the 13 scheduled events that were raced – the only Topper sailor in an entry of 142 to do so.
Prize winners:
1st Jonathan Hewat (Medway YC) (8 pts)
2nd Stephanie Wicken (Wilsonian SC) (25 pts)
3rd George Spedding (Queen Mary SC) (26 pts)
4th Alexander Le Gassick (Wilsonian SC) (37 pts)
5th Matt Thomas (
Highest placed sailor completing the greatest number of events (outside the top 5)
Josh McLynn (
Highest placed sailor who has not trained with a squad
Martin Lown (Wilsonian SC) 10th overall (76 pts)
Traveller 13 - Island Barn 
Top Five - 1st Jonathan Hewat, 2nd Clive Jackson, 3rd Julia Beck, 4th Stephanie Wicken and 5th George Spedding.
Overall South East Traveller Series Results
Photographs can be found on the South East Topper Photo Album (Taken by Mike Bovington)
Report - 43 boats arrived for the final Topper Traveller. Well done hardworking Area rep Jo Wicken for generating such enthusiasm so late in the season. Unfortunately, the morning weather, though sunny, was testing in both its lightness and variable direction.
Race 1 – Bad news for Topper Sailboats. You don’t need a new boat to win. Good news for oldies. You don’t need to be just a few years past weaning to excel. Clive Jackson from Papercourt, age unknown, but probably the writer’s side of thirty, and sailing Topper 16516 (30,000 Toppers have been made since this one!)) overtook Jonathan Hewat (the series leader) on the final run to take first place. Oldies rejoice.
Race 2 – A big shift left as the gun went meant those at the pin end were laughing and the committee boat starters were cursing the race officer. Hewat got it right and led from start to finish, with Stephanie Wicken a close second. Jackson did well to salvage a 5th from a poor start.
At lunch, Hewat had a 3 point lead over Jackson and Wicken.
Race 3 - Prayers answered. A steady, if light, south westerly had established itself. The lunch had contained too many calories leading to an over-enthusiastic line charge and general recall. Energy was better managed for the I-flagged second start. Juliet Beck led all the way round lap 1, with Hewat nibbling at her transom, as they started Lap 2. As these two match-raced up the second beat, Jackson caught them in clear air. By the finish, Hewat had hunted down Beck for first, Jackson took second and a weary Beck took third.
Race 4 - Beck, resolve undiminished, was a life jacket thickness over at the pin and was called back. Hewat had an easy win and held off Will Street from Pevensay Bay. This gave Hewat the event and he sailed home.
Race 5 - This race had one of the strangest racing incidents the writer has come across and is a lesson to all race officers and sailors. The first lap went beautifully, with Julia Beck leading. As the committee boat crew were writing down Lap 1 positions, a committee crew member did so by resting his recording sheet on a board with a large ‘1/2’ on the back. This was facing the sailors. Boats 1 & 2 ignored it. However boats 3,4,5,6,7,8,9, all took this to mean ½ a lap remaining and returned to the finish after completing the first beat. On receiving no ‘gun’, they retraced their paths, to rejoin near the back, making their displeasure known to the committee boat as they eventually finished. Having established what had happened, the Race Officer’s (writer’s) first instinct was to Abandon, second instinct was to award points based on first lap positions, which seemed to him the fairest option for everyone. However, Abandoning would have been unfair to the leading boats, and the Sailing Instructions / RRS did not allow the second option. So the results were posted as recorded and the inevitable redress against the Race Committee was lodged with about a dozen boats signing the form.
The Protest Committee dismissed the redress and the results stood. This was tough on boats who were misled, but the writer agrees was the correct outcome. The lessons for the Race Officer are clear. Keep an eagle eye on less experienced assistants and do not allow anything to take place on the Committee boat that might cause confusion. Secondly, do not consider trying to manufacture what might appear to be a fair resolution if the S.I.s do not allow it.
The lessons for the sailors are clear. Read the S.I.s,, stick to them and do not be led astray by extraneous signs, however tempting they might be.
Julia Beck rightfully kept her first place, with Clive Jackson second.
Congratulations to Clive Jackson for giving a lesson to all the Squaddies (except one), to Julia Beck for being single-mindedly competitive in every race, and to Jonathan Hewat who deservedly won the event and the Traveller Series. He looks to have a successful sailing career ahead of him.
Nationwide 5 - Sunderland YC
South East Sailor Results: 2nd Freddie Connor, 5th Joseph Wellerd, 26th George Spedding, 34th Julia Beck, 38th Josh Mclwnn, 44th Stephanie Wicken, 46th Peter Grassick, 60th Finn Caiger-Smith, 65th Hannah Thomas, 72nd Matt Thomas, 77th Charlie Runcorn, 82nd William Barnes and 89th Charlotte Bonella.
Overall Nationwide Series Results Report - Autumn sunshine and a steady southwest breeze welcomed the 118 competitors to the Craftinsure Topper Nationwide 5 event hosted by Sunderland Yacht Club.
Day 1 – (15/09/07). Racing started on time using the ‘traditional’ topper trapezoidal course, with two separate starts associated with the flight system.
Race 1; was held in a force 2-3 southwest breeze, with the ebb tide running north, which helped hold the competitors behind the start line. Reacting to the shifts while simultaneously considering the strength of the tidal flow paid dividends for the race leaders with Honor Fell (Beadnell) winning the 1st start race and Anna Ackroyd (Norfolk Broads YC) winning the 2nd start race.
Race 2; was started in a strengthening force 3-4 southwest breeze which backed by 10 – 15 degrees during the first beat. The competitors who reacted to this change in wind direction soonest lead the fleet home with Sam Knight (Sutton Coldfield) winning the 1st start race and Matt Johnson (Grafham Water SC) winning the 2nd start race.
Race 3; the final race of the day was started in a steady force 3-4 southwest breeze. The flood tide was now running south which resulted in the only general recall of the event. Once the competitors had adjusted their starting plan to include for the change in tidal flow a clean start was made. The increasing wind against tide situation produced choppy conditions across the race course. Finding the most efficient path through the waves was now also required by the competitors with Richard Cumpsty (Chew Valley Lake) winning the 1st start race and Freddie Connor (Bexhill) winning the 2nd start race.
Day 2 – (16/09/07). Day 2 promised to be breezy, following discussions with the local coastguard it was decided to run race 4 before the forecast force 6 – 7 south-westerly breeze arrived.
Race 4 started on time in a steady force 4 southwest wind using the ‘alternative’ P course. The increasing wind strength resulted in some exhilarating sailing for the competitors especially on the reaching legs of the course. The skill and determination of all the competitors who completed the course was impressive, with Matt Johnson (Grafham Water SC) winning the 1st start race and local hero Tom Steavenson (Tynemouth SC) winning the 2nd start race. Famous Topper mum, Jackie Gebhard, finished in 5th place of the 1st start race, proving girl power still applies for the over 21’s.
Inevitably, some competitors retired and requested assistance from the assembled safety fleet which responded to competitors needs efficiently and effectively.
The pizegiving was held promptly to allow the travelling competitors to get away early afternoon. The overall event winner Matt Johnson (Grafham Water SC) thanked Sunderland Yacht Club for the warmth of their hospitality, the quality of their race management, the high standard of the clubs facilities, and for a ‘smashing’ event all-round.
ITCA South East Open Area Training - Venue Change
The ITCA Open Area Training on the 13th of October will now take place at Bough Beech SC.
This event is part of the RYA SE Zone Squad selection process, so it is essential to attend if you wish to be considered for a place.
Please register by 1st October 2007.
Please visit www.setoppers.co.uk/itcaopentraining.htm for more information.
Sailing Solutions Trophy 
The Sailing Solutions Trophy is presented to the sailor who has the lowest combined points from the Newhaven SC and Crawley Mariners YC South East Traveller Series events.
Top Three - 1st George Spedding, 2nd Stephanie Wicken and 3rd Helen Baldwin.
Overall Sailing Solutions Trophy Results
Traveller 12 - Crawley Mariners YC 
Top Five - 1st Clive Jackson, 2nd Joe Wellerd, 3rd Helen Baldwin, 4th George Spedding and 5th Stephanie Wicken.
Overall South East Traveller Series Results
Photographs can be found on the South East Topper Photo Album (Taken by Mike Bovington)
Report - Just a few ripples on the morning lake confirmed that yes, there was indeed a slight breeze. Thirty eight Topper helms attended Hedgecourt lake for the CMYC Topper open on 8th September. The format was for two short races back to back both in the morning and afternoon.
Due to the light and variable wind the lake was full of wind holes which resulted in much place changing throughout the racing. Rule 42 was strictly enforced with the support boats doubling as on the water umpires. In race one Clive Jackson managed to hold off Joe Wellerd but then Joe using his local knowledge quickly reversed those positions in race two. The pair recommenced battle in the afternoon with race three down to Joe. In the final race there was one general recall and a subsequent black flag start. The wind was barely there but this time Clive manage to keep his boat moving and gradually built up momentum and an unassailable lead to take first place overall.
Gul World Championships - Lake Garda, Italy
South East Sailor Results Gold Fleet - 3rd Freddie Connor, 4th Max Richardson, 6th Ben Palmer, 17th Ben Slater, 31st George Spedding, 32nd Joe Wellerd, 39th Jordan Taylor, 46th Julia Beck, 61st Josh Cripps, 63rd Peter Grassick and㻆th Suzie Bell. Silver Fleet - 19th Matt Thomas, 21st Frazer Clarke, 23rd Hannah Thomas, 46th Olivia Bell and 77th Duncan Bell. Photographs can be found on the South East Topper Photo Album (Taken by Alex Grassick) Report - The Topper Class returned to Lake Garda and our host Fraglia Vela Malcesine for a second year for the Gul Topper World Championship 2007.
Sunday 26th August - The opening ceremony for the World Championship was held in the historic setting of Malcesine. The 173 competitors paraded through the streets to the habour where they were welcomed by Gianni Testa the President of Fraglia Vela Malcesine. The Championship was formally opened by the President of ITCA, George Clark. Monday 27th August - No racing as the afternoon breeze that was so reliable last year (except for the final race!) failed to develop. Tuesday 28th August - An early start for the Topper fleet with the boats launching after 7am to catch the morning catabatic breeze coming down from the mountains. The fleet was separated into four flights and sailed a series of round-robin races to complete the qualification series from which they were separated into Gold and Silver fleets. Race 2 (Red and Yellow) was won by Ben Palmer with Mike Wood taking a second followed by Phil McCoy in third. Race 2 (Blue and Green) Andrew Brown took his second first followed by Freddie Connor and Sam Knight. As the morning breeze failed the fleet came in for lunch and to wait for the afternoon breeze. The bright sunshine started the Southerly breeze, but a thunderstorm at the northern end of Lake Garda interrupted its development and what finally arrived was another northerly breeze! Which was good for race 3 but started to fail during race 4. However, four qualification races were completed giving a discard. Race 3 (Green and Yellow) Andrew Brown made it three straight firsts with Matt Johnson and Tom Weatherhead second and third respectively. Race 3 (Blue and Red) Mike Wood went one better to take a first win followed by Sam Knight and Freddie Connor. Race 4 (Blue and Yellow) Freddie Connor, never out of the top three, took his first win followed by Phil McCoy and George Spedding. Race 4 (Green and Red) was one by Lorenzo Chiavarini followed by Philip Doran and Ngaire Strawbridge. In the Gold Fleet race 1 was won by Ben Palmer with Mike Wood and Sam Knight second and third respectively. In race 2 first place was taken by Robin Elsey followed by Andrew Salt and defending champion Andrew Brown in third place. In race 3 Mike Wood went one better taking a first with Andrew Brown improving with a second and Ben Palmer again in the top three with a third. In the Silver Fleet races 1, 2 and 3 were won respectively by Shona Ross, Carl Mitchell and Federico Angelini. Thursday 20th August - The penultimate day, and another early start with the Topper fleet launching in a light but freshening northerly breeze. During the first race (Race 4) the wind built to a good force 4 with strong gusts on top, making the conditions challenging for both fleets. Friday 31st August - Final day and two races to decide the World Championship. At 7am the wind was very strong with an average speed of 30 knots. Racing was initially postponed. By mid morning the average speed had dropped to 20 knots. Two races were completed. During the first race the breeze continued to drop. The wind then swung to a southerly breeze for the first time in the week, enabling the second race to be completed. In the Gold Fleet the first race was one by Freddie Connor with Phil McCoy second and Andrew Brown extending his lead in third. The second race (Race 6, the final of the series); Freddie Connor took a second win followed by Felicity Foulds and Andrew Brown in third. However, Mike Wood successfully protested Andrew Brown promoting Max Richardson to third. In the Silver Fleet the first and second races were won by Christopher Wheeler and James Dugdale respectively. The overall standings were 1st James Dugdale, 2nd Shona Ross and 3rd Isabel Quicke. Traveller 11 - Medway YC Top Five - 1st Stephanie Wicken, 2nd Jonathan Hewat, 3rd Alexander Le Gassick, 4th Josh McLynn and 5th Jonty Freeman. Photographs can be found on the South East Topper Photo Album (Taken by Mike Bovington and Mike Spurgin.) Overall South East Traveller Series Results Report - 35 Topper sailors, including 22 visitors, took part in the latest South East Topper Traveller at Medway Yacht Club on 1st September. Conditions were ideal with a steady westerly F2-3 and glorious sunshine.
PRO Richard Stone set a windward-leeward course for the first race which began just as the tide turned. Local sailor, Jonathan Hewat (Medway YC), led the race from the start. On the downwind leg about half the fleet sailed mid-river taking advantage of the better wind. However, by the second lap, the stronger flood tide meant this was a risky strategy that allowed those who crept along the southern bank of the river to gain about ten places. Race 1 was won by Hewat, with Alexander Le Gassick (Wilsonian SC) 2nd and Josh McLynn ( Race 2, this time a triangular course, was won by Stephanie Wicken (Wilsonian SC), with Hewat 2nd and Jonty Freeman (Newhaven & Seaford SC) 3rd. After a break for lunch, two more races were held back to back with Wicken and Hewat taking 1st and 2nd in Race 3 and Martin Lown (Crawley Mariners YC/WSC) 3rd. All hinged on the last race with the top five positions changing throughout the course. Finally, Wicken took 1st place by a boat length from Hewat, followed by Le Gassick in 3rd. Prizes were presented by Vice Commodore Brian Douglas with 1st U14, Charlotte Fenn (NSSC), 1st U12, Daniel Fenn (NSSC) 1st Medway YC boat (outside top 3) Rebecca Gore and the Sportsmanship prize to Kerry Worsfold (MYC). Thanks were expressed to the team at Medway YC for an excellent event.
Race 1 (Green and Red) was won by the defending champion Andrew Brown, followed by Mike Wood and Joe Wellerd. Race 1 (Blue and Yellow) was won by Phil McCoy with Freddie Connor second and Max Richardson third.
In the Gold Fleet the race was won by Andrew Brown with the overnight leader Mike Wood in second place and Phil McCoy third. The silver fleet race was won by Thomas Tindall.
With the weather deteriorating the fleets returned to shore to shelter from an approaching thunderstorm. After the storm had cleared the fleets launched again and were making their way to the racing area when a further thunderstorm rolled over the mountain. The fleets were promptly sent back in. After waiting to see whether the weather would clear the race officer finally decided to postpone racing for the rest of the day. Leaving two races to complete the series on the final day.
Traveller 10 - Chipstead SC
Overall South East Traveller Series Results
RYA SE Zone and Area Championships - 29th and 30th September - Bewl Valley SC
Please enter online for this event at http://www.ryaracingevents.org.uk/ - Entries must be completed by the 19th September (No late entries are accepted)
RYA SE Zone Squad
In order to be considered for the RYA SE Zone Squad you MUST attend the following three events:
- Traveller 13 - Island Barn RSC - 22nd September 2007
- RYA Zone Championships - Bewl Valley SC - 29th and 30th September 2007
- Open Training - Island Barn RSC - 13th October 2007
Magic Marine National Championships - East Lothian YC
South East Sailor Results 
Gold Fleet - 5th Freddie Connor, 14th Jonathan Hewat, 26th Jordan Taylor, 30th Julia Beck, 34th George Spedding, 54th Peter Grassick,
63rd Stephanie Wicken, 75th Alexander LeGassick and㻎th Matt Thomas.
Silver Fleet - 16th Josh McLynn, 27th Hannah Thomas, 39th Georgia Trapp, 45th Catherine Whitehill, 58th Jonty Freeman, 64th Alison Baldwin, 80th William Bovingto and 86th Finn Caiger-Smith.
Bronze Fleet - 9th Charlie Runcorn, 12th Naomi Fenton-Jones, 20th Bethany Wellerd, 26th Edward Le-Gassick, 34th Helen Baldwin, 39th Harry Bradley and㺮th Tom Richardson.
Regatta Fleet - 14th Lily Harrison, 20th Kirsty Mackey and 24th Katie Mackey.
Photographs can be found on the South East Topper Photo Album (Taken by Alex Grassick)
Report - Once again the friendly class beat all records with 289 Toppers making the journey to North Berwick for the 2007 Magic Marine Topper Nationals. East Lothian Yacht Club made the class extremely welcome with traditional Scottish hospitality.
The class had decided on a slightly different format to sailing with 3 days of qualifying in 3 fleets (yellow, Blue and Red), with the sailors changing fleets each evening. Based upon the qualifying results the 263 sailors in the main fleet would then be split into 3 fleets of Gold, Silver and Bronze for the championship series of a maximum 8 races sailed over the remaining 3 days. The Commodore of ELYC Eric Robertson, and PRO Jim Sinclair welcomed the fleet on Saturday evening and outlined some of the normal conditions, including wind and tide. With racing scheduled for the afternoon each day the mornings were a time to get established and ensure that all was ready for the sailing. The parents of many sailors appreciated the extra time to get prepared and certainly felt the benefit of a less pressured morning. Sunday dawned light and variable. Arthur Marshall PRO of the regatta fleet quickly got the 26 regatta fleet sailors out on to the water where they managed to complete 3 races on a compact course. The main fleet, however, were held ashore due to light and variable wind conditions on the main course. Just as the fleet thought all was lost for the day the wind filled in from the east at 12knots and the fleet launched. The conditions remained stable enabling 3 races to be completed by all fleets, with the sailors returning to shore by 7:30 tired but satisfied with their sail. Race winners were: Nathan Ackroyd, Emily Jackson, Phil McCoy, Andrew Brown (twice), Jordan Taylor, Freddie Connor (twice) and Lynn Billows. Monday saw a solid westerly of 17knts with the occasional gust to 24Knts, which was well managed by the fleet, in part due to a flat sea. Racing commenced on time and the three scheduled races were undertaken in quick succession. The sailors were grateful for Jim’s approach to get sailing off quickly such that they did not get cold or board whilst waiting in between races. Race winners were: Freddie Connor (twice), Phil McCoy, Andrew Brown (three times) and Stephen Becket (three times). That evening, at the AGM, the class recognised Ian Cox the Class Measurer for his RYA award for Lifetime Commitment to Sailing. The sailors also discussed the format of the National Championship scoring system, their thoughts will be taken forward to next year. Tuesday dawned brisk and built to over 30knts this meant that no sailing was undertaken in the main fleet. However, once again the regatta fleet sailed with two sailors per boat and on a short course in the bay. After racing the Regatta fleet had a chance to go out on a rib to see the waves just off North Berwick, everyone had a great time! Given the wind conditions the traditional highland games were brought forward – as much to sap the pent up energy of the fleet. The Youth Squad won a fierce competition with the National Junior Squad. This was followed by Haggis and a demonstration of Scottish dancing to pipes. Wednesday saw the main fleet was split into Gold, Silver and Bronze based on the six races sailed. This led to 89 in the Gold fleet, and 87 in both the Silver and Bronze fleets. Wednesday was a glorious clear day displaying the North Berwick scenery to its best. It took a little longer than normal for the sea breeze to establish its self, but by 2pm the wind had filled in from the east at 15Knts. The fleet launched the Gold fleet were to sail on the outer loop on the standard trapezoid course with Silver and Bronze on the inner loop with a slightly shorter second beat due to the leeward gate mark being set well to windward of the start line. The wind hardly changed all day so the balance was to weigh up the effect of the tide and the wind moving to the right. The Gold fleet results were: Race 1 third Jack Hopkins, second Andrew Brown and first Freddie Connor. Race 2 third Stephanie Wicken, second Matt Johnson and first Andrew Brown. Race 3 third Emily Jackson, second Elliot Hansen and first Marina Brassington. Race winners in the Silver fleet were: Andrew Dawson, Stu Dando, and Anna Ackroyd. Race winners in the Bronze fleet were: Kieran Travis, Michael Harris and Harry Bradley. Thursday again look set fair for a sea breeze, however, as Jim set up the race course, the cloud based moved over the race area and let the South Easterly gradient breeze dominate. As the day progressed the wind varied between 16 and 20knts with a building sea which by the end reached 4ft and allowed some great surfing. The gold fleet results were: Race 4 third Freddie Connor, Second Andrew Brown and first Stephen Becket. Race 5 third Andrew Salt, second Andrew Brown and first Stephen Becket. Race 6 third Phil McCoy, second Stephen Becket and first Andrew Brown. The Silver winners were Ian Cook twice and Matt West, the Bronze fleet winners were Jenny Saunders, Roshan Walkerley and Ben Crossdale. The Regatta fleet went for a picnic opposite the Bass Rock and had a glorious down wind return trip in the waves accompanied by the occasional seal (waves with teeth). With a great days sailing under the belt most of the fleet were seen trying on their dancing shoes at the Ceilidh, whilst parents sampled a few of the local malts. Andrew Brown had an 8 point lead over Stephen Becket going into the final day, so would there be a match racing competition. The breeze was light and off shore, a significant variation to the rest of the week. Jim Sinclair set up a course in a South Westerly direction, but the variation in cloud cover kept significantly affecting both direction and strength. An opportunity arose to set the fleet off, however, with half the race run a 90 degree wind shift came in from the right and the race was abandoned. Jim tried one last time to get the racing underway but the breeze died and the fleet were towed ashore. All of the sailors thanked Jim for his great courses over the week and his wise decision making on the last day – as Jim put it himself “better no racing than bad racing”. The Regatta Fleet managed to get 10 races in over the week, with Jonathan Verity third, Rachel Wilcock second and Lucy Yeates 2007 Regatta Fleet Champion. At the massive prize giving with many gifts from Magic Marine, the class chairman, Miles Palmer, Thanked ELYC and Eric and Jane Robertson for their support in providing a glorious Nationals. To all of the many helpers both on and off the Water and especially Jim Sinclair for his efforts in providing great racing that the sailors will remember for many years to come. The Winner of the 4.2 Topper was: Samantha Towers, from Ripon the Bronze fleet winner was: with Roshan Walkerly taking the Silver fleet crown. The overall winner of the Magic Marine Topper National Championships was Andrew Brown from Budworth.
Irish Topper National Championships - East Down Yacht Club
Report:
The Topper Irish National Championships were held 27-29 July 2007 at East Down Yacht Club, Killyleagh, Co Down.
There were 59 sailors at the event from all areas of Ireland and 15 GBR Topper Squad sailors made the journey over to the championships. A number of GBR sailors traveling as far a field as Cornwall and Oban.
There was a great buzz about the club as sailors prepared their boats and studied the prevailing weather conditions and tides. The first day there were three races in light winds and this eventually dropping. The second day there were four races held in force three with shifting winds, which abated in races three and four, sailors having to be towed back to shore. On the final day there were two races held completing the nine for the series. The race area was changed in the hope of capturing heavier winds but unfortunately this did not happen and during the last race the wind just died once again.
However, all the sailors came off the water in good spirits having enjoyed the whole of the championships, all giving good performances against tough competition. Parents and sailors alike all enjoyed the quiz night held in the club house on the Saturday night, and the hospitality shown by East Down Yacht Club to everyone attending the championships.
Overall Top Ten Positions:
1st Philip McCoy Team GBR
2nd Richard Cumpsty Team GBR
3rd Philip Doran – Courtown SC
4th Maria Dolan – Blessington SC
5th Andrew Dawson – Team GBR
6th Michael Matthews – Team GBR
7th Harriet Morris – Team GBR
8th Elliot Harrison – Team GBR
9th Sam Webb – Team GBR
10th Julia Beck – Team GBR
South East Topper Team at NSSA Annual Regatta
Ten southeast Topper sailors took part in the NSSA Annual Regatta hosted by Plymouth Youth Sailing Club. In a week that began with teams from all over the country battling through floods to reach the venue, the weather barely improved. Drizzle and 20 knots of wind on Monday, turned into torrential rain and up to 38 knots by Thursday, causing much of the racing to be abandoned. Despite the difficult conditions, the 67-strong Topper fleet managed to complete 9 of their 10 scheduled races during the week.
S.E results:
15th Richard Thomas
24th Charlotte Fenn
25th Martin Lown
27th Dan Fenn
35th Robert Thompson
42nd Louis Knevett
46th Nathan Fell
51st Hannah Fagg
55th Oliver Legg
60th Mark Thomas
Nationwide 4 - Chew Valley SC
South East Sailor Results: 2nd Freddie Connor, 10th Joseph Wellerd, 16th Jonathan Hewat, 18th Julia Beck, 19th Stephanie Wicken, 27th Jordan Taylor, 28th Matt Thomas, 52nd George Spedding, 83rd Alexander LeGassick, 90th William Barnes, 92nd Will Bovington,��rd Naomi Fenton-Jones, 110th Hannah Thomas, 113th Helen Baldwin, 122nd Finn Caiger-Smith, 123rd Suzannah Bell, 133rd Bethany Wellerd, 135th Jonty Freeman, 136th Charles Anderson, 137th Charlie Runcorn, 140th Alison Baldwin, 155th Harry Bradley, 156th John Hewat, 158th Edward LeGassick, 163rd Duncan Bell, 167th Jo Wicken and��th Caroline Baldwin.
Overall Nationwide Series Results Photographs can be found on the South East Topper Photo Album (Taken by Mike Bovington)
Report:
On the wettest weekend of the summer when insurance companies across the country were sustaining massive losses, the 4th Topper Nationwide event went ahead with generous sponsorship from CraftInsure. 181 boats made the start line with sailors coming from as far afield as Inverness. The wind over the weekend proved challenging for PRO John Smalley with everything between a zephyr and a capsize inducing 14 knots in the 5th race series. Two of the race series were completed after a late start on the Saturday.
The racecourse for the Toppers was a very unusual windward/leeward course. Only half the fleet could be on the water at any time, so parents and supporters on the shore worked miracles getting the sailors on and off the water in time for the races. An eerie silence prevailed on the shore as off duty sailors and supporters read their new Harry Potter books. It was a matter of some regret to the Committee Boat that some of the sailors were unable to take their books afloat particularly when the fleet were becalmed on the shortened course in race 3a.
As at Paignton in Nationwide No 3, fleet discipline was very impressive and the black flag remained out of sight. Shorter races meant that good starts were essential and wind shifts ensured that picking the correct side of the course was vital. Excellent and keen racing was had throughout the weekend, with places changing on every leg of the course. The lack of a predictable wind meant that neither lightweights nor heavyweights were particularly advantaged. Consistency was hard to achieve with no sailor achieving 5 top ten places in the series. Girl power struck a blow in race 4a with Marina Brassington, Anna Ackroyd and Felicity Foulds leading the fleet across the finish line.
Felicity proved to a very worthy Nationwide winner with 4 top 10 positions. Local favourite and birthday boy Richard Cumpsty was serenaded into 6th place overall by the massed ITCA(GBR) choir.
The lavish provision of prizes by Craft Insure, ITCA(GBR) and CVLSC meant that the prize giving lasted an epic 38 minutes 35.5 seconds (unofficial time) failing gallantly to beat the elusive sub 20-minute barrier for a national event. This was however a personal best for ITCA (GBR) VC Bill Brassington. Thanks to all at CVLSC for the smooth running of a potentially tricky event.
Traveller 9 - Bexhill SC
Top Five Results - 1st Jonathan Hewat, 2nd George Spedding, 3rd Jordan Taylor, 4th Julia Beck and 5th Hannah Thomas.
Overall South East Traveller Series Results
Nationwide 3 - Paignton SC
South East Sailor Results: 2nd Freddie Connor, 10th Joseph Wellerd, 20th Julia Beck,㺠nd George Spedding, 49th Alex Le Gassick , 57th Hannah Thomas, 59th Peter Grassick, 62nd Josh McLynn, 69th Finn Caiger-Smith, 78th Jonty Freeman, 84th Matt Thomas, 86th Naomi Fenton-Jones, 88th Helen Baldwin, 92nd Tom Richardson, 100th Charlie Runcorn, 106th Caroline Baldwin and��th Edward Le Gassick.
Overall Nationwide Series Results Report - Paignton Sailing Club hosted the third Craftinsure Topper Nationwide of 2007 over the weekend of 7th and 8th July. The Nationwide Series has grown significantly over the last couple of years and entries frequently exceed 175. The busy summer programme and the fact that Paignton wasn't a qualifying event for squad selection meant that the entry was down but 122 sailors traveled from all over the UK to enjoy the competition. Traveller 8 - Pevensey Bay SC
The fleet launched Saturday morning at high tide with a light South Westerly breeze blowing out across the bay, and for once there was plenty of sunshine. The varying breeze made good tactics essential.
For a Nationwide event the fleet is divided equally into four flights and round-robins are raced so that every flight races against each other. The first pair of races were won by Felicity Foulds and Anna Ackroyd, with Iain Millar and Nathan Ackroyd taking second places. In the second races Iain Millar went one better taking a first with Richard Cumpsty winnig the other race by a very comfortable margin. Seconds were taken by Felicity Foulds and Michael King. The third race was delayed as the wind had swung significantly to the South making it necessary to change the course. Once the wind had settled the third race produced a result that was the start of a sequence that would decide the event with Phil McCoy and Freddie Connor taking firsts, Felicity Foulds taking another second along with Philip Doran.
The forecast for Sunday was for light wind that delayed the start of the fourth race, whilst waiting for the breeze to build. Once away Phil McCoy and Freddie Connor wasted no time both repeating their wins from race three, with Richard Cumpsty and Matt Johnson taking seconds. Eventually the South Westerly breeze built to be fresher than the previous day. In the fifth and final race Phil McCoy took his third first along with Andy Brown, Freddie Connor and Richard Cumpsty taking second.
The Nationwide series is producing good close racing, with Phil McCoy winning at Paignton being the third winner with three Nationwides sailed. Freddie Connor equaled his second at the previous Mumbles Nationwide and will be looking to go one better. It could be a nail biting end of the series! The remaining Nationwides are Chew Valley, Sunderland and Carsington.
The Topper Class Association would like to thank everyone who contributed to a successful event, including RIBEYE of Dartmouth for providing a RIB to help with safety cover. In particular we'd like to thank our hosts Paignton Sailing Club, we look forward to returning to Paignton in 2008 for the Topper Nationals.
South East Sailor Results: 2nd Freddie Connor, 13th Joseph Wellerd, 35th Jonathan Hewat, 36th Stephanie Wicken, 50th Julia Beck, 55th Hannah Thomas, 62nd Peter Grassick, 85th Matt Thomas, 90th Josh Mclynn, 94th George Spedding, 118th Jonty Freeman, 134th Charlie Runcorn, 147th Finn Caiger-Smith, 152nd Harry Bradley, 166th Tom Richardson and��th Edward Le Gassick.
Overall Nationwide Series Results
Photographs can be found on the South East Topper Photo Album (Taken by Alex Grassick)
Report - One hundred and seventy seven Toppers assembled at Mumbles yacht Club for their 2nd Nationwide this year. Winds started light but gradually increased to a presentable 12 knots for the last race.
PRO Dave Sheppard set a trapezoil course with inner and outer loops for the first race. Winners were Freddie Conner and Maria Brassington. Racing was tricky in the shifting conditions and there was a long gap before the second pair of races, won by Anna Piggott and Freddie Conner again. An unfortunate start line incident with his mainsheet cost Freddie any kind of position in the third races which were won by Stephen Beckett and Fergus Barnham. Stephen was overnight leader after a consistent first day with world champion Andrew Brown second on the same points. Light winds delayed the start on the second day. Felicity Foulds and Elliot Hanson recorded wins in the first race, with Felicity managing another win along with Jack Hopkins in the second. As the wind died the fleet headed for home. Results at the top were very close but the winner was Andrew Brown despite being disqualified for a rule 42 infringement in the fourth race. Freddie Conner was second with Stephen Beckett third. Speaking afterwards Stephen said "we had a great weekend's sailing and have been very well looked after by everyone at Mumbles Yacht Club".
Traveller 7 - Papercourt
Top Five Results - 1st Jonathan Hewat, 2nd Clive Jackson, 3rd Julia Beck,áth Josh Cripps and 5th George Beck.
Overall South East Traveller Series Results Photographs can be found on the South East Topper Photo Album (Taken by David Grassick)
Report - On Sunday the latest fixture in the Topper South East Traveller series brought 39 hopefuls to Papercourt Lake. This included 20 visitors and 19 based at Papercourt. Despite a calm start a pleasant 8 knot breeze set in for the day. The sailors ranged from some taking part in their first competitive event to others with many seasons experience.
The first race saw Clive Jackson overhaul Julia Beck on the second lap and maintain this lead to the finish. The congested start line of the second race resulted in five of the most eager having to return and restart. Jonny Hewat from Medway, having capsized in the first race, worked his way to the front and was still there at the finish in front of Clive. After lunch two more races were contested and everyone was treated to a fly past by waves of helicopters en route to the Falklands Remembrance parade. The distraction didn't stop Jonny Hewat bagging another two victories to secure the day, while local sailors took the next 6 places. The next event in the series sees a return to the South coast at Pevensey Bay on 30th June.
Traveller 6 - Lancing
Top Five Results -Ýst Jonathan Hewat, 2nd Dan Bigsby, 3rd Matt Thomas,áth Will Bovington and 5th Steph Wicken
Overall South East Traveller Series Results
Photographs can be found on the South East Topper Photo Album
(Taken by Mike Bovington)
Report - Perfect looking summer weather and sailing conditions greeted the 29 helms competing in this year’s Lancing Topper Open & SE Traveller on Sunday 10th June; an event supported by Rooster Sailing. Immediately after the briefing a dense sea mist rolled in, causing a 90 minute postponement. Race Officer
After lunch the wind got even lighter and flukier, with two more back to back races scheduled. Race 3 started promptly with boats crowding the committee boat end of the start line; however the black flag ensured yet another clean start. Many helms struggled to make any way up the first beat, as the light wind continually shifted and at times died.
The leading pack of pulled away from the rest, with the first lap led by Hewat, Thomas and Bigsby . Soon after they started lap 2, the wind died away almost completely. The race officer decided to shorten the race to just 2 laps, but despite everyone’s valiant efforts, only 8 helms completed the race before the rest were timed out. Bigsby dropped out of the leading trio on lap 2, and the race was won by Hewat with Thomas 2nd and Hannah Thomas 3rd. Race 4 was not sailed due to the lack of wind.
Traveller 5 - Newhaven
Top Five Results - 1st Jonathan Hewat, 2nd Alex Mills-Barton, 3rd Will Street, 4th Hannah Thomas and 5th Julia Beck
Overall South East Traveller Series Results
Photographs can be found on the South East Topper Photo Album
(Taken by Mike Bovington and Chris)
Report
The popularity of “ NSSC”s Open event for sailors in the South East was confirmed with 46 boats registered, and 44 on the water - the largest number attending a South East Topper Open to date this year. Bright sunshine made for a very cheerful day, however the wind also matched the forecast with a light, indeed almost negligible, South Jonathan Hewat (Medway) led the way from the start, but was hard pressed at the finish by local sailor Alex Mills-Barton who clawed his way from 5th on the first lap to 2nd on the final lap, demonstrating that even though he now sailed a full rig Laser in the National Transitional squad, that he could still sail a Topper well despite being far from the ideal Topper weight in light winds. Dan Bigsby ( Eight sailors were at their first Open event, and many would be sailing on the sea for the first time. Sam Page (NSSC) achieved a very creditable 22nd embedded in the midst of a whole cohort of his NSSC Cadet colleagues who had their own battle at the tail end of the fleet. 2nd Race In the absence of any discernable wind, the 2nd race before lunch was cancelled and the fleet sent ashore. Race 2 finally took place after lunch on a rising tide and again with very light winds which had shifted around to the South East. Alex Mills-Barton (NSSC) led on the first lap, but Jonathan Hewat (Medway) came from 2nd to take the lead on the second and final lap. Stephanie Wicken (Wisonian) 3rd, Further back, Martin Lown (Crawley Mariners) had a good race, at 9th finishing a full ten positions above his first race. Similarly Peter Grassick (Papercourt) at 12 gained a full 14 places. 3rd Race Finally a decent wind arrived and switched back to the South West at 5 to 8 knots . The course was re-set, and the opportunity taken to pull the windward mark closer and shorten the ‘sausage’, resulting in all of the fleet managing to complete 3 full laps (the back markers had been finished on earlier races by a RIB driving past the fleet). In a much more exciting race, Jonathan Hewat confirmed his mastery of the day by again taking first with Will Street 2nd, and Matt Thomas (Papercourt) showing that he was much happier with a decent wind by taking 3rd having been 2nd on the first and second laps. First Jonathan Hewat (Medway) 3 points Second Alex Mills-Barton (NSSC) 9 points Third First Lady Hannah Thomas (Papercourt) 17 points First senior Jo Wickens (Wilsonian) 45 points First NSSC Charlotte Fenn (NSSC) 55 points Sailing Solutions ‘Progress Trophy’ – remember that the points from this event form half of the results used to calculate the winner of Dave Cockerill’s fabled Progress Trophy. The remaining races will be run and the Trophy presented at Crawley Mariner’s Open on 8th September.First Race
Overall Winners
South East Sailors at NSSA's - Farmoor Reservoir Photos - Kindly provided by http://fw49.members.freewebs.com/MembersB/www.fotoboat.com - © Mike Shaw from Fotoboat For more Photos please visit the South East Topper Photo Album
Report: Three southeast Toppers Sailors took part in the NSSA Championships at Farmoor over the Bank Holiday weekend. For starting purposes, the fleets were divided into Handicap, Lasers (all rigs) and Toppers with times corrected to give whole fleet results for the fifty-four participants. Light winds dogged the first day with an intermittent F1-2 and in the 15-strong Topper fleet, Race 1 was won by Adam Larvin (Yorkshire & Humberside YSA) with Jonathan Hewat (KSSA) a close second. In Race 2 Jonathan eased into a clear lead on the reach as the wind dropped for everyone else still trying to complete the first beat. He maintained first place for the remainder of the two-lap course. By mid afternoon, with the light and chilly conditions, the PRO abandoned further racing for the day. Sunday dawned wet and a little breezier. Two races were held back to back, the first won by Stephanie Wicken (KSSA) with Jonathan 2nd, and the next with Jonathan 1st and Stephanie 3rd. In the final race of the day, with the wind a F4-5 at the start, Alexander Le Gassick (KSSA) was first round the windward mark and fought hard to hold onto this position, eventually being overtaken by Adam at the leeward mark. Final SE Topper results: 9th overall/1st Topper Jonathan Hewat 12th overall/3rd Topper Stephanie Wicken 26th overall/7th Topper Alexander Le Gassick
South East Sailors representing RYA Team GBR at Irish Nationals 2007 Congratulations to Julia Beck and Steph Wicken for being selected to represent RYA Team GBR at the Irish Nationals this year. Good Luck!
Traveller 4 - Downs SC 
