Potts Takes Top Spot

Sunshine and a light breeze greeted members of the Gunfleet Sailing Club last Sunday, 14 April, as they rigged up their boats for the second race in the Spring Series.  Fifteen dinghies jostled for position on the line and at the start Martin Chivers was just over in his RS Aero but returned to correct his error in a matter of seconds.  John Heath led the fleet away, in his Laser, as they beat down the coast to the Eastcliff buoy, Simon Clarke alongside him in his Europe, whilst Tim Dye was marginally behind in his Laser.  The freshly flooding tide assisted the boats and as they rounded the first mark, Heath maintained his lead, with Ken Potts now second in his Laser, and Dave Ingle third in his RS Aero.  The second leg was a very broad reach out to the Seaward buoy, at which point Eddie White capsized in his Comet.  Once round Seaward, Potts managed to slip past Heath on the beat to Lilley Farm buoy, whilst Paul Stanton, in his Laser, was starting to close the gap on Ingle.  The course then took the competitors up the coast, hooking round the AWS mark before reaching Preston Park buoy, at which time it was Potts, Heath, Ingle, and Stanton, followed by a bunching of Dye, Clarke, and Brian Allen in his RS Aero.  Slightly further back were Paul Jackson in his GP14, Chris Maloney in his Solo, and Andy Stafford in his Laser.  Leading the slow handicap fleet was Belle Hart in her Topper but, at the beginning of the last leg, from Kingscliff to the line, fellow Topper sailor Finley Taylor slipped past her.  On completion of the first lap it was Potts in the lead, followed by Heath and then Stanton but times were all very tight and it was clearly anyone’s race.  During the second lap the wind backed south-westerly and began to freshen, and by the third lap it was just touching a force five.  It was during this that White capsized again and struggled to right his Comet, and both Jackson and Maloney retired from the race to assist their colleague; the Club’s safety boat taking him to shore whilst his boat was sailed in by a fellow member.  At the end of the race Stanton just missed being in the top three places by a couple of seconds, whilst Ingle was just a few seconds behind him.

Results – Spring Series 2:
1.    Laser – Ken Potts
2.    Laser – John Heath
3.    Europe – Simon Clarke