Event Report - Scottish Topper traveller at the RYA Scotland late summer Championships at Loch Tummel SC

Saturday 8 October, 2022

 

34 toppers split evenly between the regatta and main fleets turned up the final Scottish Topper traveller of 2022. The event was round 3 of the 22/23 travellers but due to the postponement of round 2 at Stonehaven it had been a month since the fleet had managed to race against each other.

Some of the fleet decided to  head up on Friday night to get a good camping slot as the event was a multi class regatta, the optimist , feva, ILCA 6 , techno’s and Q foilers also competing. Saturday morning and competitors woke or arrived to find it was definitely not late summer but Autumnal as the first frost of the year had arrived .Some  wit had even posted it was the late winters on his FB post.

Following the usual excellent Tummel bacon rolls the race committee headed out to see what the wind was like. With a northerly forecasted and light wind, it was always going to be tricky. The regatta fleet managed to launch first and they got some good training in before they headed in for lunch.

Just as the regatta fleet headed in the breeze filled to about 10 knots at the club from the north and breeze was present on the racecourse so the main fleet headed out. Your correspondent was happy that he had stayed on shore rather than helping with mark laying as at one point the windsurfer’s course had an easterly, the topper course was a westerly and the club still had a northerly.

The breeze did settle down enough with a mean direction of NW but with large shifts, gust and lulls to keep sailors on their toes especially as some puffs were much localised. Thomas Loosely managed the snakes and ladders best to win the race followed by Henry Agius and Finlay Briggs.

Finlay Briggs, 2nd - Scottish Topper Traveller at the RYA Scotland Late Summer Championships at Loch Tummel © Marc Turner / RYA Scotland

Race 2 got underway but was abandoned due to the wind dying but not before sailors saw the optimists running towards them as they were also heading downwind. With N over H raised as the wind died, the fleet paddled /rocked or were towed ashore.

Meanwhile post lunch the regatta fleet headed out for some racing in a bit more consistent breeze. They managed to get 2 races in before they the wind totally disappeared.

Following an excellent evening meal by the club the parents that stayed on site were able to relax, enjoy a glass of wine, catch with fleet members, meet other parents within the RYA system, and share their experiences.

Scottish Topper Traveller at the RYA Scotland Late Summer Championships at Loch Tummel - photo © Marc Turner / RYA Scotland

Sunday , as per forecast the wind had shifted round to the west so first positive point was it wasn’t as cold overnight , next was with the breeze heading more down the  loch meant the breeze was going to be more consistent,  but with the breeze forecasted to rise to 30 plus knots the race committee were keen to start  sharply.

Race 2 started on time with the breeze at about 10 knots and Ben Homer led the way round the course to win the race by a clear margin followed by Emily Shearer and Finlay Briggs

Race 3 your correspondent was on the water but was assigned to the outer loop so could do a great write up on the Scottish optimist fleet. He did not have the opportunity to follow the topper fleet up the first beat but by the time they reached the mark to head down the last run Ben Homer had pulled through the fleet to lead followed by Cameron McDaid and Henry

Race 4 started the fleet was still on P flag and X flag went up  at the start , most of the top sailor’s wanted to be at the committee boat pushed themselves over the line but knew they had misbehaved and all restarted correctly but the fun then started as the first puff  as per forecast came in. As the top end sailors were revelling in the conditions they had experienced Rutland at the end of June, the lighter or less experienced sailors were trying to manage the conditions that they would usually be reefed in or had never raced in. Following the gust the wind did it’s usual at Tummel and died back to 10 knots for the fleet to enjoy a competitive 2nd beat and run to the finish .Ben continued his winning streak followed by Finlay Briggs  and  Cameron McDaid.

With judicious use of the U flag in various fleets, the committee was on plan with approx. 40 minutes race time for the leaders and a turnaround time for a race of an hour.

The opis started race 5 and your correspondent had thought the wind had lightened but there were a few large shifts towards the right but the top sailor seemed to be in the right place at the right time. As they neared the windward mark, the breeze slightly increased and off I went to the outer loop. The breeze continued to increase so the run on the outer loop was always going to be interesting place be as several boats were death rolling down the run.

Ben Homer continued to lead the way followed by Henry Aguis and Finlay Briggs The finishers headed back to the start area for  race 6 (5 on the day), the breeze increased again, the race officer decided  with it gusting over 25 knots there should be no more racing for the day and the fleet headed home.

 

Ben Homer wins the Scottish Topper Traveller at the RYA Scotland Late Summer Championships at Loch Tummel - photo © Marc Turner / RYA Scotland

 

Regatta Fleet day 2 by Kian Sterritt lead coach

We headed out straight after the main fleet on Sunday to try to get some races in before the forecasted increase in wind. We managed 2 competitive standard format races with everyone putting in their best efforts to get around a triangle course with no problems! Just as we looked set to start a 3rd race the forecasted breeze did indeed kick in meaning we were forced to retreat and regather on shore. After a short break to catch, our breath lots of the sailors were still keen to get out on the water and have some fun. So after a wee discussion and practical shore session on how to reef and depower our sails we split into 2 groups; one group taking part in team relay race reaching out to a buoy and back and the other completing an obstacle course ashore (with added knot-tying challenges!) before swapping over. By the close of the weekend, we had completed 4 standard - format races as well as plenty of extra fun, games and learning along the way. All thanks to both the individual and team efforts of all the regatta sailors, volunteers and coaches. The coaches indeed found it quite a challenge to narrow it down to 5 additional Prizes awarded to sailors for exemplifying the British Youth Sailing Values and Behaviours! A fun weekend for all and hopefully good motivation heading into the winter training period.



With all sailors ashore and enjoying the tray bakes the overall results came out.

In the regatta fleet Sandy Reid won from Jonah Bell followed by Lottie Kohn

Meanwhile in the main fleet Ben Homer won following by Finlay Briggs with Henry Agius in 3rd.

Going forward with the 2022 season the Scottish topper fleet still a busy winter with the RYA Scotland Academy program and also the opportunity to head down to NS 1 North at Leigh  and Lowton SC in early November.

Emily Shearer, first girl - Scottish Topper Traveller at the RYA Scotland Late Summer Championships at Loch Tummel - photo © Marc Turner / RYA Scotland

 

Regatta Fleet Results:

Pos Sail No Helm R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 Pts
1st 47952 Sandy Reid ?4 3 3 1 4 11
2nd R3 Jonah Bell 1 ?5 4 4 3 12
3rd 48665 Lotte Kohn 5 ?7 2 6 7 20
4th 8 Rowan Munro 7 6 7 ?10 1 21
5th 48590 Catherine Serrano ?13 11 8 2 2 23
6th 45407 Max Young 2 4 (DNC) 7 10 23
7th 48350 Duncan MacKinnon 9 ?12 1 3 11 24
8th 45267 Lily Rodgers ?11 8 5 9 5 27
9th 45189 Jess Barron ?14 1 9 12 6 28
10th 37564 Laura Eleanor Leona Greig 8 9 (DNC) 8 9 34
11th R8 Hordiy Balfour 3 10 13 ?16 13 39
12th 46353 Henry Macintyre 10 13 6 ?15 14 43
13th R5 Christian Armas 12 ?14 10 13 8 43
14th 60504 Cicely Blair ?17 2 12 14 17 45
15th 45737 Orlagh Macdonald ?16 15 11 5 15 46
16th 21694 Emilia EWER 15 ?17 14 11 12 52
17th 6 Finlay NUTT 6 16 (DNC) 17 16 55

Main Fleet Results

Pos Sail No Helm R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 Pts
1st 48096 Ben Homer ?4 1 1 1 1 4
2nd 48582 Finley Briggs 3 3 ?4 2 3 11
3rd 48661 Henry Agius 2 ?5 3 5 2 12
4th 48716 Thomas Looseley 1 4 5 ?7 4 14
5th 47303 Cameron McDaid 5 6 2 3 ?7 16
6th 48264 Emily Shearer ?7 2 6 4 5 17
7th 21545 Harry Rooksby 6 7 ?10 6 6 25
8th 48100 Josh Milroy 8 8 7 8 (DNC) 31
9th 48211 Rohan O'Kane ?15 11 12 9 8 40
10th 413 Sam Milroy 9 10 11 ?14 10 40
11th 48050 Eva Farnell ?12 9 9 12 12 42
12th 48818 Tristan Somerville 11 14 8 10 (DNC) 43
13th 46128 James McPherson 13 ?15 14 11 9 47
14th 46940 Freya Millar (DNC) 12 13 13 11 49
15th 45962 Marcel Nalewajko 10 16 15 15 (DNC) 56
16th 48059 Lucy Leyshon 14 17 16 (DNC) 13 60
17th 48585 Edward Wrigley 16 13 17 (OCS) DNC 64

 

Ben Homer wins the Scottish Topper Traveller at the RYA Scotland Late Summer Championships at Loch Tummel - photo © Marc Turner / RYA Scotland

By Gavin Homer and Kian Sterritt

All photo Credits © Marc Turner / RYA Scotland

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