Barton Marine Rising Star Competes at the Topper Worlds 2024
by Barton Marine 1 Aug 11:15 UTC
20-26 July 2024
2024 Barton Rising Star Ralph Hadley travelled to Mar Menor, Spain on the 18th July to compete at the ITCA Topper World Championship 2024 in the 4.2 class.
A blisteringly hot week in the sun with changeable winds saw Ralph competing against 39 sailors travelling from as far as China to race. The level of sailing was extremely high, but Ralph had a strong start with 5th, 6th and 5th places in the first 3 races, before the wind really kicked up and tactics needed adjustment. 15 races were run over the 5 day event and Ralph consistently maintained top 10 results throughout. He achieved 5th place overall at the event with 72 points. To highlight the close competition in the Topper 4.2 competition, 3rd placed Irish sailor, Tomás A'Coistealbha finished with 68 points!
"For Ralph's first ever World Championship, 5th place from a field of 39 sailors is a fantastic achievement and the whole event was a great learning experience. Racing against sailors from around the world, in a completely new environment, having travelled for many hours is no easy task and at Barton we are hugely proud to have him as our Rising Star." Suzanne Blaustone, Barton Marine CEO.
There is no time for rest though! This weekend sees the ITCA GBR Nationals starting with racing from the 3rd to the 8th August at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy. Since becoming the Barton Rising Star at the 2024 RYA dinghy show earlier in the year, Ralph has shown real dedication to his sailing career. He has raced at all the NS events around the UK, as well as many local race event in Whitstable. He has spent many hours on and off the water training and all his hard work is paying off. To see Ralph's progress on a regular basis, follow Barton Marine on Facebook and Instagram.