Midlands Topper Traveller Series 2021/22

Thursday 31 March, 2022

         

For the 2021/2022 Midlands Traveller Series were we able to schedule in 8 Events taking the Topper sailors to 8 different venues across the whole Midlands region. This series would see the traveller series returning to clubs such as Northampton and Notts County for the first time in a number of years making the series very exciting and would deliver some amazingly close racing throughout the fleet.

For the Midlands Traveller Series the sailor is able to choose between the 5.3 or 4.2 size sail, these would be scored as a single fleet and then results broken out to award their respective positions, dependant on their sail size. Racing from September 2021 through to March 2022 gave all of the sailors the opportunity to sail in a wide variety of wind conditions.

Round 1 kicked off at Staunton Harold SC where we had a very strong attendance which was helped with this being a RYA Regional Training Group Indicator event. The weather was that traditional September sun; however winds were quite light and would drop throughout the event. The first-round win would go to Draycote Sailor Jessica Powell, winning her first ever Midlands Traveller taking 2 race wins, followed by Katherine Gunn (Notts County SC), then Joe Rowe (Draycote Water SC). Topper Traveller newcomer William Mawby-Groom (Banbury SC) started his campaign off very well, winning the 4.2 classification.

Onto round 2, the Midlands Toppers travelled to South Staffs SC in early October. Initial weather forecasts predicted strong winds that would reduce during the day. At the lunch break Caitlin Thomas (Notts County SC) and Staunton Harold Winner, Jessica Powell were tied on equal points for the lead so race 3 was going to be decisive and this was won by Jessica, putting her in a strong position going into the final race. The race officer quickly put the sailors into sequence as winds were dropping quicker than forecasted, so shortened course was deployed with Jessica winning the final race and the event, from Caitlin. For the 4.2’s it would be the turn of Isabel Ritchie (Notts County SC) to take these honours, sailing very well in the early event strong winds.

For round 3, the Midlands Sailors next port of call was Bartley Sailing Club, on the outskirts of Birmingham. Wind forecast was very fluctuating with a 8 knots, gusting to 18-20 knots for short periods of time. The first 3 races were won by 3 different sailors and the scene was set for a 3 way duel between Caitlin Thomas, Jessica Powell and Joe Rowe for the event win. Disaster would strike for the 2nd event running for Joe Rowe, having boat failure, this time in the form of a traveller breakage. This left Caitlin and Jessica racing for the win, which was eventually taken by Jessica, making this 3 event wins in a row for her. Oscar Rowe was having a great event, in the very tricky conditions, winning the 4.2 Classification making it 3 different winners in this category from 3 different events.

With the nights starting to draw in as we entered into the winter months, round 4 was held at Hollowell Sailing Club, in Northamptonshire where the sailors were greeted with a consistent 10-12 knot wind. Joe Rowe made amends for the previous 2 events, breaking Jessica’s winning streak to win the Hollowell Traveller. Jessica would take 2nd place and the constantly strong Caitlin Thomas finished 3rd. Not to be outdone by his older brother, Oscar Rowe took the 4.2 honours making this 2 wins in a row for Oscar, who was starting to mount a real challenge for the overall 4.2 Midlands Traveller title.

At the halfway point, with only 1 discard at this point in the series, it was Jessica Powell leading from Joe Rowe and Cailin Thomas on equal points. For the 4.2’s it was Oscar Rowe just ahead of William Mawby-Groom.

Round 5 would see the sailors travel to Northampton Sailing Club. This was a new venue on the Midlands Traveller calendar where the Toppers had not been to for a number of years. Winds were surprisingly light at the start of the day but would build slightly as the day progressed. Katherine Gunn took take 2 race wins and Jasper Focardi-Doling (Shropshire SC) would win his first Traveller race; however it was Caitlin Thomas with her excellent consistency, coupled with a race win, who would take the overall event win. This would mean we now had 3 different event winners from 5 events which would close the series up considerably. The 4.2 was won by Draycote Sailor Ben Angell, narrowly beating William Mawby-Groom who was just 1 place behind. Caitlin had now moved up to 2nd in the Series and set her sights and trying to catch Jessica who was now only 3 points ahead in the series.

Banbury Sailing Club were the hosts of the next round (R6) and with windy conditions forecast, this was going to test the sailors to the limit. We had a number of visiting sailors from other regions such as the returning Graydon McLeod Fleming (East), Matthew Emerson (South) and Leo Yates (London and South-East) which was great to see. Whilst our Traveller Series is located in the Midlands, it is open to all ITCA Topper Sailors from all regions and we welcome as many to attend our events as possible. Leo Yates would come and dominate the event taking 4 straight wins in the heavy conditions. His closest challenge on the day was Jessica Powell finishing an excellent 2nd overall, followed by Joe Rowe in 3rd. William Mawby-Groom would use his local club knowledge to great effect, taking the 4.2 classification win.

As we moved into the final 2 events of the Series and with a 2nd place from Banbury, Jessica had put herself into a commanding position in the series with 6 rounds completed and with 2 discards being permitted if all 8 events were run, the only person who could mathematically catch her was Caitlin Thomas.

Round 7 was another new venue on the Traveller Series, this being Notts County Sailing Club, which has always been a strong place for new Topper sailors to come through the ranks. Winds were again high, however in a better direction than Banbury, enabling the race officer to set an upwind beat along the length of the water. Jessica, knowing that one more good result would seal the Series title was straight out of the blocks with a race win. Joe Rowe would take the next race so at the break it was all square between regular sparring partners Jessica and Joe with local sailor Sammy Mason, who wisely opted to use the 4.2 sail, put her boat in an strong 3rd place overall. With 2 races in the afternoon and the winds just dropping slightly it, race honours were shared between Joe (Race 3) and Jessica (Race 4), and with both finishing on equal points it would be Jessica winning the event on count back with Sammy finishing 3rd.

This result gave Jessica the Topper Midlands Series win with one event to spare, however 2nd place in the series was still up for grabs. With Joe’s 2nd place at Notts County, this had brought him level with Caitlin Thomas going into the final round. William Mawby-Groom had leapfrogged Oscar Rowe to take the lead in the 4.2 Series, so it was still all to play for.

The final round of the series would be held at Draycote Water Sailing Club which is the largest expanse of water on the Midlands Traveller Series calendar. This would also be the venue for the Midlands Series prize giving which would take place at the end of the day and the Midlands Topper Sailors were also joined by Russ Dent (of Topper Sailboats) who would be on hand to give technical support and boat repairs.

The forecast looked perfect all week, with good sailing winds, but not too strong. However, on the day of the event winds had picked up a little and with the open expanse of Draycote; the water was quite choppy in places. The course was set and local sailor, Joe Rowe set about winning the first 2 races of the day followed by Jessica Powell with two 2nd places and Clem Middle (Draycote) in 3rd place overall. Joe would continue to dominate the event winning the next 2 races which would move him up to 2nd in the Series, ahead of Caitlin Thomas. Jessica continued the trend from the morning with a further two 2nd places in the afternoon, finishing 2nd overall and regular Midlands visiting sailor Graydon McLeod Fleming edging out Clem for 3rd place.

With the 2021/2022 Midlands Traveller series now complete, it would be overall Series winner: Jessica Powell claiming the coveted ITCA Midlands Series Jacket and perpetual Topper Series Trophy, taking 4 event wins and finishing in the top 3 at every event. Joe Rowe would finish the series strongly in 2nd place just ahead of Cailin Thomas in 3rd.

William Mawby-Groom who by winning the 4.2 sail classification at Draycote and his excellent recent run of form, had cemented his position as 4.2 Winner for the Series, followed by Oscar Rowe in 2nd.

Under 13 honours went to Jasper Focardi Doling who had sailed amazingly well throughout the series, finishing 8th overall, including taking his first Midlands Traveller race victory at Northampton.

Oli Rogers won “Endeavour Award” which is given for his fabulous effort and determination throughout all of the Midlands Topper Traveller Events.

Well done to every Sailor who took part in the series, it was really great that we managed to run all 8 events and there were over 60 sailors entered from 5 different regions.

We are looking forward to our 2022/2023 Traveller Series starting in September 2022. Dates for this are available in the ITCA Website https://www.itca-gbr.co.uk/area-pages/midlands/racing/

Thanks to all the hosting clubs for all the support given during the series to the Topper Sailors. Also a huge thank you to Topper Sailboats, Rooster and GJW Direct for their continued support of the Midlands Topper Travellers.

If any Junior Midland Topper sailors are interested in participating at the ITCA Midlands Traveller events, it is a great opportunity to enter a friendly and local race series. Please contact us on the email address [email protected] if you would like any more information.

Report by:

Mike Powell (ITCA Midlands Area Rep)

Recent news

See all news »

Title Sponsors

Partner Sponsors