South West Topper Open at Paignton Sailing Club

Toppers at Paignton © Adam McElroy

Toppers at Paignton © Adam McElroy

The South West Topper fleet once again returned to Paignton to be greeted with sunshine but an apparent lack of wind. It was a warm day and Tor Bay was filled with boats of varying types from high performance racing powerboats to cruising yachts and racing dinghies.

After a short delay, the PRO got the race off cleanly and after some very close racing, the winner of race one was Paris Thomas from Paignton who had clearly lost none of his skill whilst away competing in the 29er skiff. Emily Lloyd was second with Hal Sanderson third – both members of the RYA National Topper squad.

After the course was re-layed due to a wind shift and one false start, the fleet got away for the second race of the day in a steady 6-8 knots. After a disappointing race 1, Bella Fellows won race two with Luke Robertson second and Hal again in third.

Race 3 was a similar story this time with Luke taking the victory and Ewan Gribbin from Paignton in second. Hal stayed consistent gaining a third third. The points remained close at the top with no repeat winner from the three races. A lot rested on this final race.

With the wind dying, the PRO got the fleet away quickly. 45 minutes later, Hal won the race to secure second place overall. Bella got a decent second to put her third overall and first female and Luke did enough in third to secure the overall event win.

Paris was first Paignton boat overall in fourth despite a poor last race in 9th. Emily was 5th, Ewan 6th and James Ripley from Paignton 7th. The rest of the top ten was made up of Ella Methan, Luke Gribbin and Kieran Moore.

A big thanks to the race committee, safety crews and galley staff. A great day thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Overall Results: