By Tayah Gilboy and Peter Solly
The second SYC Tera and Topper Open Meeting saw record-breaking attendance, with 38 boats entered from 11 different clubs. With blue sky and a lovely wind building to 8 knots, conditions were perfect.
The day started with no wind, and so PRO Dougal Scott ran a tug-of-war between the Topper and Tera fleets, which ended in a close draw(!). As the mist started to lift, the fleets were launched for a series of three races with committee-boat starts. The sea breeze filled in from the south, and Teras and Toppers raced the same course, but had different starts and each finished different sides of the committee boat.
Our thanks to Martin Laver for drone footage of the pre-event.
Visiting sailor from Paignton Tayah Gilboy describes the day:
Last Saturday at Starcross on the 7/10/23, there was an Open, racing for both Toppers and Tera Pros and Sports. At the start of the day there was under 2 knots with a very thick fog covering the river, so no one could race. 
When the fog eventually lifted, it was not too long before the wind started to pick up and we got sustained steady winds of 8 knots. We then launched and completed three races each with two laps. With the Toppers starting before the Teras.
There was a good number of sailors present. There were eight prizes up for grabs: top three 5.3s, 1st 4.2, top three Tera Sports and 1st Tera Pro.
Thank you, Starcross Yacht Club, for holding a great event and great pasta after sailing, and all the competitors for making it really enjoyable and competitive races.
Racing was close. Although the winners of all four fleets had three bullets, this was often close-fought – particularly in the Tera Sport fleet – and competition further down the fleets was significant. A huge well-done to all sailors.
The galley served up a gourmet menu after racing, with different types of pasta and bolognaise and Pork Szechuan, followed by cake.
In a reversal to the usual format, the Topper fleet had a day of racing on the Saturday, and then a day of coaching on the Sunday, organised by the Topper Class.
It was wonderful to welcome so many people to Starcross, from such a range of clubs. Many new faces, and many youngsters just starting their journey of travelling to different clubs. Thank you for coming, and we hope to see you again.
Big thank-you to Dougal Scott (PRO) for such a slick and well-run day; to Richard, Marie and Jos in the galley; the beachmaster and results volunteers; and to all other volunteers on the committee boat, safety boats and in the galley. Thanks to Starcross Yacht Club for hosting.
Images by Peter Solly
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Results
RS Tera Pro
| Pos | Helm | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phillipa Paley | Starcross YC | ‑1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Will West | Starcross YC | 2 | 2 | ‑3 | 4 |
| 3 | Monty Manning | Fowey Gallants SC | ‑3 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 4 | Henry Richards | Fowey Gallants SC | ‑4 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| 5 | Anaya Stoneman | Starcross YC | ‑5 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
RS Tera Sport
| Pos | Helm | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Solly | Starcross YC | ‑1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Barney Rhodes | Exe SC | ‑2 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 3 | Stefan Anderson | Exe SC | 3 | 3 | ‑4 | 6 |
| 4 | Emma | Starcross YC | 5 | ‑6 | 3 | 8 |
| 5 | Archie Kemmish | Starcross YC | 4 | 4 | ‑5 | 8 |
| 6 | William Parsons | Royal Dart YC | ‑8 | 5 | 6 | 11 |
| 7 | Oliver Nichols | Royal Dart YC | 6 | ‑7 | 7 | 13 |
| 8 | Aurelie Owen Martyr | Royal Dart YC | 7 | ‑9 | 8 | 15 |
| 9 | Sebastian Goodwin Hughes | Starcross YC | ‑9 | 8 | 9 | 17 |
| 10 | Minnie Rogers | Royal Dart YC | ‑10 | 10 | 10 | 20 |
Topper 5.3
| Pos | Helm | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harry Mills | Saltash SC | ‑1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Leo Griffiths | Chew Valley SC | ‑3 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 3 | Tayah Gilboy | Paignton SC | 2 | 3 | ‑8 | 5 |
| 4 | Daniel Sadler | Whitefriars SC | ‑6 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| 5 | William Lomgthorpe | Starcross YC | 4 | ‑11 | 5 | 9 |
| 6 | Indie Jones | Royal Dart YC | 5 | 4 | ‑6 | 9 |
| 7 | Fergus Stockman | Starcross YC | ‑9 | 7 | 4 | 11 |
| 8 | Toby Colls | Chew Valley SC | ‑8 | 6 | 7 | 13 |
| 9 | Amelie Ballantyne | Starcross YC | 7 | 8 | ‑9 | 15 |
| 10 | Ethan Griffiths | Chew Valley SC | ‑13 | 9 | 11 | 20 |
| 11 | Connie Laver | Starcross YC | 11 | ‑14 | 10 | 21 |
| 12 | James Colls | Chew Valley SC | 10 | ‑12 | 12 | 22 |
| 13 | Amma Gribble | Chew Valley SC | 12 | 10 | ‑13 | 22 |
| 14 | Imogen Hill | Starcross YC | 14 | 13 | ‑15 | 27 |
| 15 | Rory Dixon | Exe SC | ‑15 | 15 | 14 | 29 |
| 16 | Oliver | Exe SC | ‑16 | 16 | 16 | 32 |
Topper 4.2:
| Pos | Helm | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finley Kirkby | Bristol Corinthian YC | ‑1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Aidan Hall | Bristol Corinthian YC | ‑2 | 2 | 2 | 4 |