FOUR young members of the Guernsey Yacht Club have finished in the top 100 in the 2004 Topper National Championships. Ben Creasey, Claire Creasey, Chris Dravers and Chris Dorey were up against the best young sailors in the British Isles at the event held at the Mountbatten Centre, Plymouth.
The first three days of the week-long event comprised a qualifying series to sort the 227 entrants into gold and silver fleets.
The eight races over the final three days were the championship series.
All the Guernsey sailors did well to qualify for the gold fleet in generally light and shifty conditions.
Ben Creasey, 16, was lying 53rd; Claire Creasey, 16, 64th; Dravers, 15, 84th; and Dorey, 15, 109th.
The first day of the championship series saw windier conditions but sailing was abandoned on the second due to a complete lack of wind.
Fortunately, the wind returned for the final three races sailed on the last day, with gusty force 4-5 winds and a confused sea.
Ben Creasey and Dorey enjoyed the windier conditions, recording their best results, with the former getting a ninth in the last race and the latter a 15th and 17th in two of the races.
Ben Creasey was the most successful Guernsey sailor, finishing 30th overall.
Dorey’s brilliant final day lifted his position to a very commendable 46th.
The lighter conditions at the beginning of the week favoured Dravers and Claire Creasey, who finally finished 73rd and 98th respectively.
These events offered local sailors an opportunity to test themselves against some of the top sailors from across the country in a very competitive environment.
Sailing at any major event is more akin to a marathon.
Each day the four spent four to five hours on the water, without a break, demanding high levels of physical fitness and long periods of concentration.
The next major event for the Topper sailors is the World Championships, being held in Carnac, Brittany.
Article posted on 17th August, 2004 - 12.00am
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