A Winning Summer for Ralph Hadley – Barton Marine’s Rising Star
Whilst most school kids spent the summer break playing video games, chilling in the park or splashing around on the beach, Barton Marine’s Rising Star, Ralph Hadley, competed back-to-back at Topper sailing events around the UK. For him, it was a summer of sailing at the front of the pack, with nail biting finishes and ever improving results with each race.
Following a great result placing 5th at the Topper Worlds in Spain, Ralph spent six days in early August competing at the ITCA (GBR) Topper Nationals at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, sponsored by Noble Marine. Fresh from his international travels Ralph showed no sign of tiredness, just his trademark determination to succeed! A lot can change over a six-day regatta, and it really did. From steady winds on day one to recordings peaking at over 25 knots during the rest of the week and one day of racing called off. A breezy final day of sailing left the leaders fighting for victory with all three podium places up for grabs. As all the sailors battled with the tricky conditions Ralph remained highly competitive and his perseverance paid off. He took 3rd overall at the Nationals with 19 races run and had the accolade of holding the blue bib to mark being second place overall on day 2.
The top three were in close competition, with World Champion Hari Clark from Draycote Water Sailing Club winning with 44 points, Phileas Rouselle from Hamble River Sailing Club second with 47 points and Ralph representing Tankerton Bay Sailing Club / Whitstable Yacht Club third with 49.5 points. Right down to the last race, it was all to play for!
Jeff Webber, Barton Marine’s Chief Commercial Officer said, “As such a young sailor, only relatively recently taking up the sport of sailing Ralph is doing tremendously well, gaining a huge amount of racing experience and really learning all the time to push further for consistent results at the top of the field. Off the water, it’s great to see he is taking the time to fully understand the workings of his Topper and the mechanics behind it, which will help him to maximise every drop of speed when it counts. Ralph really is a sailor to look out for in the coming years!”
There is no rest as an aspiring Olympic Sailor and hot on the heels of the ITCA (GBR) Topper Nationals, Ralph was back racing at the Tankerton Bay Sailing Club Series in mid-August. Following the theme of the summer, 30 knot gusts didn’t stop racing and Ralph took 1st place on the water in the initial two races, with his rating handicap not required to see off two fully rigged lasers! The second event in the series, at the end of August saw similarly rough seas. Ralph skilfully held his position with two further 1st place finishes, despite badly bashing his leg coming ashore after race one in heavy surf!
Thinking about being the Barton Rising Star, Ralph said, “Barton marine are very supportive and have helped me become the sailor that I am today. Recently they have designed me a new clew strap which uses dyneema and bobbles. This reduces friction to the boom and helps with the adjustment of the outhaul. We are all very enthusiastic about introducing this design to the Topper class association once it’s gone through the testing we have planned. Barton are always encouraging me and creating useful new products to help my sailing. For example, we also recently designed a traveller set up that uses low-friction rings and a fixed becket block together.
I am proud to be an ambassador for Barton at the National events and when sailing locally.”
Being a Rising Star is not just about the sailing on the water however and a busy summer holiday of racing was rounded off with a trip to Barton Marine HQ, an educational tour round the factory to see the block and dinghy gear manufacturing processes that help him succeed out on the water and a surprise party to mark a winning month on the water!
Summing up Ralph as Barton Marine’s Rising Star, Suzanne Blaustone, Barton’s CEO said, “The pride we feel for Ralph’s sailing abilities and the scores he achieves is visceral! We love being part of his early sailing career and are keen to see his skills and talent grow as our Rising Star. He’s certainly the brightest star in our Barton Galaxy!”
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