Kit Guide

South/South-West Zone Championships

I have recently got back from the combined South and South-West Zone championships in Weymouth. With 66 Toppers registered and a decent looking forecast it was set to be a great weekend. My goal for the event was to get on the podium as I really wanted to finish my season on a high. Saturday dawned and it was a beautiful day although slightly less windy than I would have liked with around 6/7 knots in the morning building to around 10 for the afternoon. After a short briefing we sailed out to the course. The first two races I finished disappointingly despite following my pre-race plan. So I changed my strategy and headed out to the right as it looked like there was slightly more breeze. This paid off and my results improved. I finished the day in 10^th place so I knew I had a lot of work to do to get on to the podium. Day one was dominated by Hugo Burrows who took a very impressive 4 race wins. Day 2 arrived and much more wind at last! Race five went well with a 4^th. In race 6 I headed left up the first beat and that paid off well as I rounded the windward mark in 2^nd behind Team Rooster’s Charlie South. After a tough battle downwind we split at the gate. I decided to head left again and this paid off as I managed to win the race. Race 7 I decided to stick to the same side of the course as before. This worked well and I finished 2^nd. Overall I finished 3^rd and 2^nd South with Hugo winning the overall event. Next event on the calendar is the final event in the Southern Area Topper Traveller series in which I’m currently second . Jake Bowhay Topper 44813 (145)