Sailing club plays host to Topper Championships

Snettisham Beach Sailing Club hosted the International Topper Class (ITCA) Topper Class Eastern Area Championships 2023.

Fifteen local sailors, 14 from Snettisham Beach and another from Brancaster Staithe, were among the 33 strong fleet, sailing either 4.2m2 sails or 5.3m2 depending on their weight.

The club also held a coached intro-to-racing weekend alongside the Championship event where a further eight sailors were coached by home-grown race coach Eva Miller and her her instructor brother, Joseph Miller.

Race officer John Eaton set a full trapezoid course designed to give the mixed fleet of the experienced and less experienced racers opportunity to race an international standard course on the sea.

As the championship race series unfolded, the racing introductory group took part in a two-day training course designed to develop their new race skills in the sheltered waters of the lake located next to the sailing club.

The opening 30-minute race demonstrated the quality of the field before podium contender Harry Mitchell earned an instant race disqualification in race two for being inches over the start line.

Mitchell knew he had nothing left to spare if he was to take the championship trophy back to London.

Race three saw contender Jensen Jacob saved by the ebbing tide after an early disqualification as the race was recalled.

Overnight standings saw Jacob top the leaderboard with Abbey Penny second and Magnus Medcalf (Brancaster Staite) third overall in the 5.3 sail size fleet, while Toby Turner (SBSC) headed up the 4.2 fleet.

Sunday morning saw a light Easterly and wall-to-wall blue sunshine for the final three races.

Race four saw Tom Lloyd, initially judged to be inches over the line at the start, allowed to continue after the decision was overturned by VAR as the judges considered the film evidence.

Races four and five resulted in straight wins for Mitchell, with Jacob and Penny claiming second and third places for each race respectively.

The course was set even longer for the final race and with a 70 degree windshift and falling speeds, the stakes were high.

Mitchell took the finish gun, with Keah Edwards and Nathan Clarke in second and third spots.

Snettisham Beach representative Lorien Howard Mcdonald finished a creditable fourth place in the challenging final race.

The 4.2m2 race results were dominated by Snettisham Beach Sailors with club sailors Turner taking top spot, closely followed by Faith Turner, in second, and William Mott in third.

The club will be sending teams to both the National Championships, taking place at the Welsh National Sailing Academy, Pwhelli and the ITCA World Championships taking place at Cork Yacht club, Ireland.

Snettisham Beach SC is an RYA Recognised Training Centre and Recognised Club.

They actively promote junior sailing development from complete beginner through sailing Instructor level and/or participation in regional/national race training and regional, national and international competition.

For more information or for anyone wanting to give the sport a go, should visit: www.snetbeach.co.uk

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