VR Gul Race Team Report - Topper Nationwide Series 1

VR Gul Race Team Report - Topper Nationwide Series 1

Location: Datchet Water Sailing Club

14th-15th April

Report by: Harry Janes Saturday

When we arrived at eight o clock to Datchet Water, it was already looking like being a light wind day, just as the forecasts suggested, with 8 -10 knots. As the fleet rigged the wind showed little signs of changes to the forecast. We went in to the briefing with hope - it was looking like the first event in the last year in Toppers where every race has been completed. As we launched it was looking as if the day was going to be all about picking the shifts and finding the pressure as we had the long sail across Datchet to the start area with the wind blowing away from the clubhouse. When the fleet arrived, the PRO started to try and get racing underway.

I say started, as it began with the first attempt being postponed with3 seconds to go due to a 90 degree shift, meaning we couldn’t cross the line on starboard. The start was then quickly retried and the same thing happened on the second attempt, so this led to a longer postponement to try and get the wind to decide where it wanted to blow from. Once we had waited long enough for the wind to settle, the fleet decided to begin the first race of the nationwide series in true Topper style, with a general recall, with a generous PRO we had one more start under ‘P’ flag that also was a general recall, and we moved onto the black flag that is a common occurrence at Topper events. After this we had clean starts for the rest of the day with all 3 races for both starts being able to be raced.

Sunday

On arrival on Sunday it was looking an altogether different day with 15-18 knots gusting more and a lot colder. As masts slowly made their way up around the boat park, many people were looking forward to a new day to try and improve their results. As we launched a number of the smaller sailors made the decision to sail with a reefed sail, in the hope that this would allow less capsizing and therefore better racing.

On the slipway Mr VR made a surprise appearance to wish me luck. Once again the PRO did a good job in trying to get us away on the ‘P’ flag once again but the fleet was having none of it so he was not as lenient the second day and after the first general recall, went straight to the black flag. This then allowed us to have clean starts for the rest of the day with very few people suffering from BFD on the score sheet. The wind stayed relatively strong throughout the day with the temperature not increasing allowing the bigger sailors a chance. The temperature though was shown with 57 retirees after race 5 showing that at least some of them might need to speak to Mr VR about some warmer kit.

All in all a great weekend had by most and a special thanks to Datchet Water Sailing Club for hosting the event, Andy Millington for being in charge of the safety fleet on the water and Peter Baldwin for running some excellent races at his first ever Topper National event.