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Rooster Topper North Travellers event at Scaling Dam Sailing Club

by George Spence 15 Sep 2022 14:04 UTC 10 September 2022
Rooster Topper North Travellers event at Scaling Dam © Aaron Tullock

The first round of the 2022/23 Topper North Traveller Series was held on Saturday 10th September at Scaling Dam SC. 30 Topper sailors and their supporters held a minutes silence for Her Majesty before launching with black masthead ribbons for race 1 in breezy and overcast conditions.

Race officer Andy Young set a starboard biased line and after a general recall the fleet finally got away with Ava Harris-Scott from Elton rounding the windward mark first with Hollingworth Lake's Jasper Bramwell in close pursuit only to sail into a wind hole allowing the chasing bunch to catch up. By the first leeward mark Bramwell had got ahead followed by Fin Waterhouse (Budworth), Charlotte Cooper (West Lancs YC) and Kyla Baxter (Covenham) joined by George Spence (Ripon) and Harris-Scott.

Spence hit the leeward after a Rule 18 discussion allowing multiple boats through including Tristan Shaw (Budworth) & Rosanna Joyce (Budworth). The rest of the race saw these eight boats steadily work their way to the front with Bramwell putting a healthy gap between himself and the rest of the chasing pack. Cooper and Harris-Scott finished second and third.

Race 2 was abandoned after heavy fog rolled in which meant the fleet couldn't see any of the marks and they were sent ashore for safety reasons (not that they could see the shore!).

After a break for lunch the fleet went out for a re-started race 2 in light winds and rain which saw Bramwell and Fred Buckley (Yorkshire Dales) get UFD to allow Spence to take the win closely followed by Joyce and Harris-Scott.

The wind picked up for Race 3 and the rain continued to fall, Bramwell and Spence lined up early at the port end with Waterhouse in hot pursuit. This three boat dog-fight continued up the first beat and at the windward mark Frankland and Ruby Tildesley (Covenham SC) arrived at the same time as the leading pack having stayed out of trouble on the other side of the beat.

The first downwind leg saw upset when local Patrick Tulloch (SDSC) death-rolled causing several boats to take avoiding action. Waterhouse pipped Bramwell after pulling away on the final upwind leg with newcomer Tildesley finishing third.

The wind settled in race 4 to a steady breeze, Bramwell and Waterhouse spent the race playing nip and tuck with Bramwell crossing the windward mark finish line first to take the overall win with Waterhouse second and Harriet Wood (Elton) putting in her best result of the day to finish third. Spence & Cooper battled it out on the last upwind leg with Spence claiming fourth after tacking early to beat Cooper with Buckley close behind.

There were several notable performances by sailors further down the fleet during the day, including Lucy Lewis' (Elton) 19th place in race 2 having only learned to sail this summer.

Emre Frankland (YDSC) also continued to show promise in his first competitive season with solid results in all the races finishing ninth overall. Another newcomer to Topper North, Tristan Shaw showed the old guard they need to watch out with a tenth overall, with another new name to the fleet, Reuben Lawrence (Errwood) in thirteenth overall.

The three 4.2 rigs also had good racing all day between themselves with Charlie Cowell (SDSC) taking first overall from Hugo Calvey-Sutcliffe (Burwain) and Poppy Moss (SDSC/Ripon).

Thanks to everyone at SDSC who helped make the day so successful, the next round of the Topper North Traveller is at Hollingworth Lake SC on 24th September.

Overall Results:

PosRigHelmClubR1R2R3R4Pts
1stTopper 5.3Jasper BramwellHollingworth Lake SC1(UFD)214
2ndTopper 5.3Fin WaterhouseBudworth SC5‑8128
3rdTopper 5.3George SpenceRipon SC‑837411
4thTopper 5.3Charlotte CooperWest Lancashire YC2‑76512
5thTopper 5.3Ava Harris‑ScottElton SC35‑9814
6thTopper 5.3Kyla BaxterCovenham SC46(UFD)715
7thTopper 5.3Rosanna JoyceBudworth SC6412‑1118
8thTopper 5.3Harriet WoodElton SC‑101111321
9thTopper 5.3Emre FranklandYorkshire Dales SC11105‑1723
10thTopper 5.3Tristan ShawBudworth SC79‑14923
11thTopper 5.3Fred BuckleyYorkshire Dales SC13(UFD)13630
12thTopper 5.3Luke RobinsonScaling Dam SC‑161581030
13thTopper 5.3Reuben LawranceErrwood SC1212‑181234
14thTopper 5.3Ruby TildesleyN/A18‑2531536
15thTopper 5.3Eva MurphyBudworth SC9‑19161336
16thTopper 5.3Sasha LeachBudworth SC1414‑171440
17thTopper 5.3Lara EagletonSDSC1513(UFD)1945
18thTopper 5.3Xavier BramwellHollingworth Lake SC‑2116151845
19thTopper 5.3Grace GordonScaling Dam SC171720‑2050
20thTopper 5.3Connie MurphyBudworth SC191819‑2152
21stTopper 5.3Patrick TullochScaling Dam SC‑2020221654
22ndTopper 5.3Annabelle HowardScaling Dam SC‑2223212262
23rdTopper 5.3Lucy LewisElton SC2321‑262365
24thTopper 5.3Hayden GridleyScaling Dam SC262223‑2767
25th4.2Charlie CowellScaling Dam SC‑2724252570
26thTopper 5.3Leah CowellScaling Dam SC‑3028242674
27thTopper 5.3Dan BotzenScaling Dam SC‑2527272474
28th4.2Hugo Calvey‑SutcliffeBurwain SC242929‑2878
29thTopper 5.3Cody BraithwaiteScaling Dam SC‑2926282979
30th4.2Poppy MossRipon SC/Scaling Dam SC283030‑3084

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