Lucy Yeates regains Topper 4.2 National Championship

Lucy Yeates of the GBR Topper National Junior Squad has regained the 4.2 National Championship title she first won two years ago. Lucy (15) of Leigh and Lowton Sailing Club sailing on her home waters led the 45 boat fleet round in races 1 and 2 held in a brisk 20 knot breeze. For Races 3-5 the wind kicked in with a vengance topping 37 knots at one point and giving these young sailors the chance to show the true quality of the Topper 4.2 fleet. This time it was Curtis Mearns (14), also of the home club who showed the way in a hotly contested top ten giving him the overnight lead. Third place was Northern Ireland's top 4.2 sailor, Laura Gilmore(13) of Strangford Lough Yacht Club with 2009 4.2 National Champion Dan Vennables(13) just behind.

These four were given a hard battle by Matt Vennables (14) also visting from the GBR Topper Junior Squad, Arran Holman (13), Optimist Inland Champion 2010, GBR Topper Intermediate squaddie Jamie Purcell (14) from Redesmere and Scotland's Joanne Foster the recently crowned Topper 4.2 Nationwide Champion so no shortage of talent on show and the racing was incredibly impressive with Toppers flying down the lake in balls of spray.

As the wind again topped 35 knots at the race officer decided he had seen enough (and run out of memory on his camera) and sent the fleet ashore after 4 races.

Saturday night was memorable for the world famous (so the locals told us) Leigh and Lowton bottle boat race (plastic bottles, plastic bags and gaffer tape a plenty) followed by a fab meal from the club galley and a quiz night with picture quiz and music clips! Well done the social committee.

Sunday dawned with the same brisk breeze blowing at the Premier Inn and seemingly everywhere else but Pennington Flash (the lake) where there was barely enough wind to set a course. With no tide to worry about the fleet duly set off for five more races.

Race five looked like normal service being resumed with the same top ten again leading the way although Lucy was clearly going to be hard to beat in the lighter breeze and Dan also loving the light stuff. Joanne slipped slighly to 9th.

Race six, seven and eight were much the same although Scotland's challenge was dented with Jo trapped on the wrong side of a 90 degree wind shift in race six and then tipping it in on the run in race 7 whilst trying some extreme kiting downwind to hold off the flying super lightweights.

As the fleet came ashore for lunch the wind returned and then vanished again just as the fleet launched for race 8. (sound familiar?) In a swinging wind the first start was a general recall as the fleet correctly identified the huge starboard bias and the black flag returned, not for the first time of the weekend. The restart was then postponed mid sequence as another huge windshift brought back some real breeze with Toppers seen briefly surfing between capsizes.

On a completely re-set course race 8 finally got away and despite a rapidly dying wind race 9 was also started with just eight minutes to spare from the absolute time limit.

In the final analysis it was Lucy who became the very deserving 2010 Topper 4.2 National Champion in an extremely close fought and high quality event with no less then three National Champions and six National Junior Squad sailors in the top 10. With competition of this calibre and 45 smiling faces returning to the launching area each day (thats the sailors - the parents were grim as ever!) this event and the 4.2 class looks set for a bright future.

In the battle of the Scots Joanne did not enjoy the very light wind races in what will probably be her last ever 4.2 event but managed to hang on to 11th overall just ahead of Lewis Marr who came through very well on the Sunday to pull up to 16th overall.

Next up the Topper 5.3 National Championships at Pwllheli. See you there.