Topper 4.2 NS1 Pwllheli, North Wales

3rd place overall in a national qualifier.

My school gave me the day off so that we could travel to Pwllheli on Friday before the racing, it was a long drive from home - after dropping off the trailer at the sailing club we got to stay in a tipi, which was cool

Racing on Saturday was hard in some heavy conditions, cold and choppy. Unlike the 5.3 fleet, we started each time without any recalls or black flags. In the first race I got a 4th , race 2 I got a 3rd and then two more 4th s to get 4th overall from Saturday.

On Sunday I went out to defend my 4th place and got a 3rd and then a 1st place in the final race, finishing 3rd overall.

Pwllheli is a really challenging venue with some strong winds & big waves and I’m looking forward to going back for the Nationals and Worlds next year.

My next national event is at Carsington Water in October.

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Topper 4.2 Summer Championships at WPNSA

10th place at my first Nationals - very happy.

I arrived in Weymouth with my mum in the motorhome on Friday but everywhere was jam packed because the Teras were still onsite from their Worlds, so mum parked the motorhome in a corner until there was a space. 

We camped next to Charlie and Shaun Tordoff all week (which the parents thought would end up badly because Charlie and I mess around a lot.) On Friday afternoon Vicky Cowan and her family came over and we ended playing with skateboards, roller-skates, bikes and rip-sticks. By the end of the afternoon Vicky could skateboard and Charlie was a Pro at roller-skating.

On Saturday, Vicky and I registered and I got my sail stamped. The Zone Squads were training for most of the day so the 4.2’s had fun by ourselves.

Sunday was our first day of racing and we only managed one complete race in heavy conditions.  This was a good race for me as I got a 7^th - this is the first Summer Champs I’ve attended so I was pretty happy with my first result.

On Monday it was a big day as we did five races. In the morning I had an accident in our practise session and missed two races, but in the afternoon I was pumped and ready to race. Unlucky Charlie twisted his ankle so badly that he had to sit out in the afternoon. My results in the afternoon were mixed, I got a 3^rd which I was amazed about, a 16^th which I wasn’t happy about but then worked my way back up to 6^th in the last race. Because I had two good results on Monday I was really keen to get back on the water on Tuesday.

We did three races on Tuesday, which was great as we got our second discard and I got bumped back up to 9^th because I wasn’t carrying my 2 D.N.Fs. All of my races were good on Tuesday with all top ten results.

On Wednesday it was our passage sail and picnic (A.K.A mess around and play pirates). We sailed out to the breakwater ruins in pairs and then went to a private beach on Castle Cove.  All the way across the bay Harken and I were capsizing other boats! On the beach we did lots of activities like tug of war and beach football but the sand sculpture activity was the best - Tom Booth and I won by making a picture of Arthur with fuzzy hair! Charlie’s group had high hopes of winning but we just beat them.

On Thursday we got in three races. In the first race I came 10^th which I was happy about, I really hurt my foot but kept sailing and in the next race I slipped to 26^th and could only manage 14^th in the last race of the day.

Finally, it was Friday - our final day, but everything could still change in the variable conditions. We got four races in and I got all top ten results, with a 4^th in the final race. 

The prize giving was delayed because something went wrong in the race office but they fixed everything and the prize giving went on for an hour and a half with lots of prizes and trophies. Then Tom wished everyone good travels and everyone said their goodbyes … until Pwllheli

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Topper 4.2 World Championships in Loctudy, France

At my first international event, I came 10^th in the 4.2 fleet and my coach was really pleased with me.

I left for Plymouth ferry port straight after school on Thursday. I arrived at the port at six o’clock and we went straight through check-in & security and boarded at six thirty + had tea before we left the port.

When we started moving I went up to the Commodores Lounge and watched Plymouth go into the distance.

We had to wake up early on Friday morning because of sailing into Roscoff at 7:00am French time.  Dad had to drive for 3 hours until we arrived at the Loctudy sailing club.  We camped behind the sailing club for the whole week so we were on time for briefing each day.

On Saturday I had training in the afternoon, after I had registered and my boat had been measured.  We trained for the whole afternoon, then I came in and went for a swim with my friends.

I had the same training on Sunday for the whole morning and then in the afternoon there was a practise race for everyone else – so I had a relaxed afternoon and went for a swim again.

Monday was our first day of racing – we only did one race, which I came 12^th in which I was happy with as it was my first race abroad.  When we came in I went into town and had fun with my friends.

On Tuesday we did 4 races, I came 13^th, 9^th, 12^th and then 10^th.  I was very pleased because I got two top 10 results.  This was a very encouraging day for me so I couldn’t wait for Wednesday.

Wednesday went okay for me as I got 11^th, 11^th and 9^th – but then I got a bad result, a 14^th but I wasn’t upset because I had all my friends and my coach to cheer me up.

On Thursday we did three races, this was a great day for me as I got 10^th and two 6^th s – I was amazed and pumped for Friday.

But unfortunately we didn’t get to race on our last day because all the wind had disappeared, so all the competitors went for a swim before prize giving.

The mayor and the regions deputy chief executive came to the prize ceremony and presented some fantastic trophies.

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