23 Toppers contested the London & South East Topper Traveller #9 at Felpham Sailing Club on Saturday 13th July.
While boats were being prepared in the glorious sunshine, the wind was trying to match the Met Office forecast.
The 5knots of wind from the NE died to 0 as it battled with the sea breeze.
Right on schedule the SW sea breeze kicked in & the first race (of 4 scheduled) got off on time at 12:00
The first 2 Toppers around the windward mark were James Crossley (Datchet Water SC) & Henry Koe (South Bank SC) which would become a familiar pattern for the rest of the afternoon.
Chasing them down was Sam Walton (Maidenhead SC), Joanna Leake (Island Barn Reservoir SC) & Harriet Sacker (Burnham Overy Staithe SC).
However, James & Henry extended their lead over the rest of the fleet to take 1st & 2nd place respectively, with Sam Walton 3rd.
The second race once again had James Crossley & Henry Koe in a race of their own. It was clear by now that the rest of the fleet were competing for 3rd, where there were 4 competitors in contention.
Harriet Sacker, Sam Walton, Luka Franklin (Bough Beech SC) & Ollie Leeson (Silver Wing SC). All were proving to be consistently at the front.
Harriet Sacker took the 3rd spot in race 2.
Race 3 & James Crossley again had the measure of Henry Koe. This time Luka Franklin came in 3rd.
In the final race of the day, Henry Koe led James Crossley around the course for the first lap. Shenanigans ensued, and they managed to slow each other down & had the rest of the fleet bearing down on them by the leeward mark.
James & Henry continued their starboard/port dual all the way up the next beat & once again, James got the advantage to the take the win – 4 bullets, with 1 discard.
Harriet Sacker was best of the rest with 3rd in the final race & took 3rd overall.
There were two Topper 4.2s battling with the larger rigged boats all afternoon.
19th Overall & 1st Topper 4.2 was Thomas Beck (Newhaven & Seaford SC) followed by Constance Lloyd (Felpham SC) who was 21st overall & 2nd 4.2
Full results are on the website
https://felphamsailingclub.co.uk/racing/results/files/topper-traveller.htm
