The Tip Top T Trophy was closely fought by 4 sailors in a Topper, a Taz and 2 Topazs. After one lap Sam in the Topper was well in the lead only to sail the wrong course. Trev in the Taz would have taken the win only to think he had finished after one lap. This left Chris H and Danny C in the Topazs fighting for the lead with Danny winning out and lifting the trophy as Tip Top T Champion.

Danny, on a roll, then made the perfect start in race 2 ahead of Steve before fading to 4th as Trev sailed a blistering race to lead the slow boats home by over 4 minutes on handicap.

Steve leads the series from Danny C in second and Neil 3rd.

Results

Four lasers and one Topaz took to the water in a force four gusting to five south westerly breeze.

Race officer set a figure eight course with a dropped pin start to provide a beat, a broad reach, a beam reach and a run for each lap.
Race one saw the lasers split left and right off the start line with Andrew leading Steve, Danny and Neil at the Barry Pin. Lap two saw Steve and Andrew swapping places and duelling at the front of the pack, until on the flying downwind leg Andrew capsized and snapped his mast. Bob, who was spectating from the race control area, spotted his opportunity immediately and legged it home to get a spare mast top section from his loft. Before Andrew had even got his broken boat to the top of the ramp the deal was done and Bob made his sale!

Race two : Danny C drifted off downwind and couldn’t quite get back intime for the start, but the others split left and right again off the line. The wind and waves had picked up by now and the beat to Barry pin looked painful. This time it was Neil and Steve duelling with several lead changes. On the downwind leg of lap one it was neck and neck until Neil had his first capsize – to windward- the slap on the water could be heard from the tower as his laser inverted. Several capsizes and inversions later Neil came in across the line second to Steve followed by Danny P. Adding to the capsize tally was Dan C and credit to him for persevering and finishing the race.

Back on shore there were mutterings about the Race officer being a sadist for setting a challenging course, especially the second race, and Neil looked shattered after his capsizes. At least four windward capsizes, with added flip overs, which makes eight times at least ! Well done everyone, thanks to the depleted duty team and especially to Key for stepping in at the last minute.

Results

The day dawned bright and clear and with no sign of the usual Miracle visitors, 12 boats lined up to the start of the first race, including newcomer from CBYC, Charlie with a Supernova and Roy also from CBYC joining Jean in his West 11.
A medium sized Trapezoid course was set by race officers Bob and Rex, who placed the windward mark a good way inside the Barry Pin.

1st Race
The first start was a general recall, as several boats were over, with some confusion as to who this was. A second start saw the Supernova leading the charge upwind and then for the majority of race one, with laser sailors Danny and Jason in hot pursuit.
Danny C. in the Topaz Uno+ had a fantastic start and was looking very competitive throughout, keeping Carmel in the Radial behind him for the first upwind leg. Carmel had a troublesome start being too early to the line but struggled to back away through the fleet of boats at the start.

Danny C lost a bit of momentum towards the end as the fast fleet started catching up with him but finished in a respectable 6th on corrected time and Jean with new crew Roy who were sailing the Mirror would have been 11th but were called DNF in order to start race two.

Charlie in the Supernova managed to hold everyone off until the lasers caught up as the wind dropped off towards the last mark rounding, and everyone grappled for a finish against a tidal eddy, with El Commodore Danny taking the ribbon, followed by Jason and Charlie third. Robin kept ahead of Carmel to take 4th place in race one, Danny C 6th, Pietro in the Topper 7th, Steve 8th in the 29er lapping Trevor who was 9th in his Vago, but pleased to have flown his spinnaker for the first time and kept the boat upright!

2nd Race
Second race Neil and Corrado joined in the fun. Neil was not quite warmed up as he was second tier at the start along with Steve. Carmel just behind touched the pin end and took a penalty turn. It wasn’t Carmel’s race, as during lap 2 a role tack near the top mark went a bit awry, allowing Chris Bartho through whose steady racing and keeping the pointy end upright paid off.

3rd Race
The 3rd race saw some… interesting starts, with a Port hand for most boats in the fleet. Neil and Robin got away cleanly with Charlie. Danny was away clear at the pin end of the line, just above and ahead of both Steve and Jason who was just behind. Carmel followed tacking onto starboard narrowly making it through the line before rolling back onto port to follow the shoreline with Steve and Jason.

Jason blitzed Charlie and Danny on the second beat, by staying inshore with Steve. Both gained some good wind and used shifts in their favour to leap past the other lasers.

Jason finished in first place, well ahead of Charlie who finished fourth. Carmel from the slow fleet third and Danny who this time came in second.

In the slow fleet Pietro’s Topper sailing saw him come in second, beating dad Corrado by just two minutes! Two minutes later the second Radial came through sailed by Chris.
The next three places were hotly contested on the water by Trevor (11th), Danny C. (12th) and Roy (13th) sailing with Jean in the West 11, but all three managed to hold their positions for a near photo-finish finale to the final race of the day.

Congratulations to Danny Powell who wins the Regatta Trophy for the second year running (and for the 5th year overall).

Results

Thrilling Conclusion to the Summer Series

Conditions:
The summer series concluded yesterday under challenging conditions, with a force 2-3 north-westerly breeze that veered to the west. The wind, both shifty and gusty as it swept over the land at Sully, created a demanding environment for the sailors. The competition was fierce, particularly in the Laser fleet, where every shift and gust played a pivotal role in the race outcomes.

Race 1: Drama at the Gybe Mark
The first race of the day featured an upwind start, taking the fleet out to Mark 1 before a gybe across to Barry Pin at Mark 2. From there, it was a tense leg back inshore to Mark 3, followed by a final stretch across to the yellow mark to complete the course.

The Lasers delivered the tightest racing of the day. Neil established an early lead, with Jason closely on his tail. The battle between them was intense until a mark room incident at the gybe mark forced Jason into penalty turns. This costly mistake allowed Danny and Robin to slip through. Seizing his chance, Danny caught up with Neil, eventually overtaking him and holding on to his lead to take the first win of the series.

Race 2: A Tactical Masterclass
For the second race, Race Officer Carmel adjusted the course, removing Mark 3, which resulted in a more tactical and challenging upwind leg from Barry Pin to the finish.

Once again, Neil and Jason were at the forefront of the Laser fleet, with Danny not far behind. As they raced across the reach to Barry Pin, the lead changed several times. Danny briefly took the lead but misjudged the tide, striking the mark at Barry Pin. The penalty turns that followed allowed Neil and Jason to pass, with Neil holding on to take the win as the race finished at the end of that leg.

Steve, sailing his RS 700, came close to securing the win on handicap, but Neil’s consistency throughout the day saw him edge out Steve and claim victory.

Conclusion:
It was a thrilling end to the summer series, with the competition setting a high standard for races to come. Neil’s consistent performances across both races earned him the overall win for the series, placing him at the top of the leaderboard. Nigel and Jason also sailed strongly, rounding out the top three.

Results