Topper Traveller at Crawley Mariners Yacht Club
by Diana Thomspon & Duncan Newell 28 Apr 2023 06:00 NZST
22 April 2023
Topper Traveller at Crawley Mariners © Diana Thompson
Crawley Mariners is the second event is the Spring Series in the London and South East region. We had a great turn out for a small club with 4 home sailors and 14 travelling helms signed in at Hedgecourt Lake.
Although very little wind was showing on the shoreside socks, a 2-3mph easterly wind on the lake, and a forecast of it rising to 10mph in the afternoon, reassured us that the four races for the day should go ahead as planned.
The first start got under way with the light winds resulting with a tight fleet as they rounded the windward mark. Dan Hebditch rounded first and developed a good lead, which he maintained throughout to take the win, followed by Sam Clancy and Oscar Lay.
Race 2 start was clean, and with the wind increasing, a clear leading group formed, with the following pack chasing hard throughout the race. Dan Hebditch took the win, followed by Harry Mitchell and Sam Clancy.
During lunch, the wind increased as forecast, and switched round significantly to SW. A new course was set to maintain an upwind start, and the helms headed out for our two afternoon races.
Race 3 had a clean start, with the new course providing a longer beat to the windward mark. Some very close racing lead to an incredibly tight finish with seconds separating the leading group. Dan Hebditch again took the win, followed by Leah May and Harry Mitchell.
Race 4, again saw a clean start and some keen racing with Sam Clancy finishing first followed by Oscar Lay and Harry Mitchell.
In the 4.2 fleet, we had a fleet of 4 young sailors in very light airs producing some interesting racing. Toby Lay was dominant with 4 victories, followed by Tom Brown and Harry Rahilly.
Thank you to Rooster Sailing for their support and assistance with the prizes.
5.3 Fleet Results:
First (Home Sailor): Oliver Gatton
First (Open Novice): Leo Bolton
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | GBR 47524 | Dan Hebditch | Chipstead SC | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 |
| 2 | GBR 47928 | Sam Clancy | Desborough SC | 2 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 | GBR 48320 | Harry Mitchell | Erith yacht club | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| 4 | GBR 46919 | Oscar Lay | Desborough SC
IBRSC | 3 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 9 |
| 5 | GBR 45959 | Oliver Gatton | Crawley Mariners YC | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 17 |
| 6 | GBR 46465 | Callum Harris | Shoreham SC | 4 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 18 |
| 6 | GBR 47028 | Leah May | IBRSC | 10 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 18 |
| 8 | GBR 44598 | Evan Hellyer | Evan Hellyer | 8 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 20 |
| 9 | GBR 45975 | Fraser Ferguson | Shoreham SC | 11 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 22 |
| 10 | GBR 46686 | Leo Bolton | King George SC | 6 | 9 | 13 | 9 | 24 |
| 11 | GBR 48307 | Seb Gatton | Crawley Mariners YC | 12 | 11 | 10 | 5 | 27 |
| 12 | GBR 48645 | Oliver Willett | King George SC | 9 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 32 |
| 13 | GBR 49075 | Austin Rogers | Buzz Active | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 36 |
| 14 | GBR 47707 | Thomas Irvine | Crawley Mariners YC | 14 | 12 | 15 | 13 | 41 |
| 15 | GBR 46705 | Liam Taylor | | 15 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 46 |
4.2 Fleet Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | GBR 48476 | Toby Lay | Desborough SC
IBRSC | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | GBR 45093 | Tom Brown | Papercourt SC | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| 3 | GBR 4546 | Harry Rahilly | Desborough SC & Queen Mary | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 12 |