Simon Kearns 2002 Topper National Champion
Entries for Topper nationals have been on the increase for a few years now. A record 218 boats entered the 2002 Nationals at Downs Sailing Club on the 4-9th August. The event was generously supported by Lipscomb Volvo Centre and Crewsaver.
Entries for Topper nationals have been on the increase for a few years now. A record 218 boats entered the 2002 Nationals at Downs Sailing Club, supported by Lipscomb Volvo Centres.
Each days racing was proceeded by a briefing from Topper National coach Dave Cockerill and Downs Commodore Dave Webb. The briefing was open to all sailors and helped establish a real community to the week.
With increasing numbers the Topper Class Association has had to find a format which reduced the size of individual starts. The format also has to serve the needs of the less experienced sailors as well as the championship contenders. The result was an 8 race qualification series, followed by a 8 race final series in split into Gold, Silver and Bronze fleets.
Sunday proved to be a light wind day, the first race getting underway in a southerly force 2 and sunshine. The first fleet away were lead by world champion Mark Heather with Steve Jackson and Roger Phillips winning the other 2 flights.
A dying breeze and increasing tide resulted in principal race officer Martyn Styles sending the fleet ashore to allow the breeze to settle. Late afternoon brought a light wind from east. Campbell Davidson won the first flight with local sailors Mark Styles and Chris Catt taking the other two wins.
Mondays racing started in a 10 mph north-westerly breeze but with light rain. The first fleet was lead away by Chris Catt who had a close race with Mark Styles who eventually reached the finish first. Harriette Trumble dominated the second fleet winning from Roger Phillips. Campbell Davidson took no prisoners on the third flight, crossing the fleet from the port end of the line and leading to the finish.
By now it was turning into a nice sunny day, especially for the supporters on the beach but unfortunately a dying wind. The race officer had no alternative but to send the fleet in to wait for more breeze. By late afternoon race 4 was attempted, but with a 90 degree wind shift on the first leg of the course and the wind generally failing to play ball, resulted in an abandoned race. Late finishes were becoming a feature of the sailing day and several light wind specialists were well up the leader board.
Tuesday brought a break from the light winds and brought some fresh northerly breeze, with some good-sized waves to make the conditions more challenging. Whilst this forced a few of the younger and lighter sailors to sit out a race or two, it was a pleasure to watch the leaders surf down the waves. With some races to be caught up, most flights had 4 races, which resulted in a late finish for the competitors again.
The last flight of the day had their race abandoned, when an unfortunate competitor capsized at the windward mark and caused it to drag. This left some leading contenders with average points, but the mixed conditions had meant that neither the heavy wind nor light wind specialists dominated. At this point in the regatta Steve Jackson, Alain Sign, Simon Kearns, Harriette Trumble and Mark Heather filled the top 5 places. Although there was some disappointment from those just missing out on a higher flight, it was like a new competition starting. With new goals to aim for, it was possible to aim for a win in either silver or bronze fleets, with equal prizes being provided by Crewsaver for all fleets.
On Wednesday with the competitors now sailing in gold, silver and bronze fleets, sailing was delayed while the breeze settled. Racing got underway in a 8 - 12 mph wind.
Racing in all fleets was tight and provided a great spectacle in the sunshine for all the supporters. All flights had the majority of boats fishing within a boat length of the nearest competitor, providing great racing in all the fleets. No one dominated, with different winners in all the fleets. In the gold fleet Sophie Jones played the tide well scoring a win in the first race, with Simon Kearns winning the second. In Silver the races were won by Ben Creasey and Andy Fielder, while Bronze had James Bennett and Edmund Leeming posting wins.
Thursday brought a return to strong winds from the south or south east causing the competitors to spread out more. Gold and Silver managed to fit in 3 races whilst bronze fleet only managed 1 race due to the strong winds. Simon Kearns posted a 1,2,2 to top the leader board.
Friday gave light southerly winds and stronger tides which put a premium on tacking up the shore. Bronze fleet got away first so they could recover some of their races and completed 4 in all. The other fleets completed 3.
So with all 8 races completed in gold fleet, this left Simon Kearns the new national champion on a visit back to the class. Simon has been sailing a Laser Radial for the last year radial and was a good candidate to test the centre main development Topper (sailing under dispensation). The centre main Topper seems to have no appreciable speed difference (Simon finished 4th last year) and was subjected to a good test in a range of conditions.
Downs Sailing Club are to be congratulated for organising an excellent and safe championship for all competitors.
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