A Fun-packed Bank Holiday down the Gunfleet

Last Sunday afternoon 4 May 2008 the Gunfleet Sailing Club held the third race in their Spring Series with fourteen boats taking part. A light east/north easterly wind and strong ebbing tide greeted the competitors as they hovered around the line waiting for the start. Thirteen of the boats bunched up at the Outer Distance Mark intent on starting on a starboard tack whilst Commodore Richard Walker in his Sea Ranger chose to defy the norm and headed out to sea on port tack, having to dodge between his competitors, but gaining the strength of the tide to take the boat towards the Kingscliff buoy. It wasn’t long before the rest of the fleet had tacked and they too headed out to take full advantage of the tide. The second leg was a reach out to the Seaward mark and the RS 700, Xenon and 405 all hoisted their asymmetric spinnakers in order to boost their speed. At this point the boats were now all fighting the tide and even the fastest craft were finding it slow going, but once round the Seaward buoy the course provided a very long run to the St. Michael’s buoy heading straight into the strengthening tide. At this point the wind seemed to drop and it was a slow and painful crawl to try and reach the mark. In frustration Kelvin Morton retired in his RS 600 but the rest of the competitors persevered. Making the most of these conditions was Peter Downer in his Comet and he stayed in amongst the Laser fleet despite his boat being slower in speed on handicap. The boats then tacked back out to the Seaward buoy with the tide this time assisting them. With some fine sailing Matthew Gough in his Laser slipped past many of his more experienced colleagues and kept them at bay throughout the rest of the race. With the wind continuing to fall away the Officer of the Day wisely hoisted the shorten course flag.

Results:
Spring Series 3:
1. RS 700 – Ken Potts
2. Xenon – Paul and Katie Davis
3. Laser – John Tappenden

On Bank Holiday Monday 5 May the weather proved just perfect for the Club’s planned “bring a friend” day for all the Gunfleet Cadets and Otters. Cadet Officer Andy Ford had worked hard to arrange a full and exciting day and over 30 young people took part with many getting their very first taste of sailing on the high seas. The more experienced Cadets took the novices out and it wasn’t long before the new sailors were having the chance to helm a boat for themselves. After lunch there was capsize practice and then once more a mass of boats took to the water to sail up and down in front of the Club. Throughout the day the Club’s Rescue Boat watched over the activities and by late afternoon a lot of tired but very happy youngsters went home having discovered the fun there is to be had in the sport of sailing.