Racing Report
Great sailing on Day 2 follows windless day 1
Day 2 Report
159 International Topper sailors from many countries came together on Saturday night when President of the Class invited dignitaries from Friesland and Zeilvereniging Workum (ZVW - Sailing Club Workum) to open the Harken International Topper World Championships.
Vice President of Zeilvereniging Workum, Klass de Bok welcomed the sailors to the club which was lasted visited by the International Topper 10 years ago. Leo-Pieter Stoel, an Alderman of the local area also welcomed the sailors and their families to Friesland explaining the history and importance of the area before officially opening the Championships.
Day 1 dawned with light winds forecast and the sailors were held ashore whilst the Race Officer searched for steady wind. After a short postponement the fleets were launched and Race 1 started. Unfortunately the winds died and the Race Officer was forced to abandon the races before flying AP over “H”. By 15:30 it was apparent that the wind was not going to pick up and racing was postponed for the day.
The weather forecast for Monday indicated that the winds would again be light, but the Race Officer decided to launch the fleet immediately. Race 1 was restarted in 7 knots of wind but it grew as the race progressed. William Tarn-Chapman (GBR) and Frankie Dickens (GBR) led the yellow and blue fleets home. Race 2 the beat was increased and excellent Champaign sailing conditions prevailed for the next three races. In race 2, yellow fleet, the first three finishers were Dougie Power (GBR), Edwards Higson (GBR) and Geoff Sherwood (GBR) while in the blue fleet, Ellie Cumpsty (GBR), Dan Venables (GBR) and Gus Dixons (GBR) took the first three places.
At the end of the day, William Tarn-Chapman lead the fleet with one win and two seconds, followed by Ellie Cumpsty with two bullets and a 6th and Edward Higson with a second and two thirds.
The International Topper fleet started with Elliot Kuzak (GBR) leading the fleet home, Patrick Croghan (GBR) in second place and Ollie Dixon (GBR) in third. Race two saw Patrick Croghan finish first followed by Freya Cumpsty (GBR) and Iago Davies (GBR). The excess of smiles in the International Topper 4.2 fleet following the finish of their third race forced the Race Officer to run a fourth race for these junior sailors. At the end of the day, Patrick Croghan was in first place with two bullets and a second, Elliott Kuzak was in second place with a one, two three, Ollie Dixon in third place and the first female Freya Cumpsty in fourth place.
21/8/2012 11:07
