Jubilee Cup Race Attracts Eighteen Boats

Gunfleet Sailing Club held its race for the Jubilee Cup last Sunday 8 June with eighteen boats taking part, and with another half dozen dinghies from the Club just out for a gentle sail the whole scene made quite a spectacle to the many onlookers watching from the shore. Following the recent heavy rain and grey skies it made a pleasant change for the competitors to be greeted by blue skies and sunshine, but unfortunately the wind was both offshore and somewhat light. As the start signal echoed across the water the wind fell away still further and the boats sedately reached up to the Kingscliff buoy before heading out to the Seaward mark. Several of the boats were caught out by the strong flood tide and as they headed out to sea, being dragged past the buoy, and the helms lost quite a bit of time correcting their error. It was the beat back to the AWS buoy that really began to split the fleet though, with different tactics being used to try and gain an advantage. The positions became a bit clearer on the reach down the coast to the St. Michael’s buoy and it was evident at this point that Simon Clarke had carved out a significant lead in his Solution, being the leading boat on the water despite not having the fastest handicap. Once again Peter Downer showed his tactical skill in his Comet as he was up amongst the Laser fleet and refusing to drop back. As the race went on so the wind dropped still further in strength and shifted direction a number of times. Various holes in the wind appeared and any boat stuck in these found themselves becalmed and often dragged backwards by the tide. The boats continued to limp around the course and at the end of the day it was Roy Wyatt in his Comet Zero that stole the show by claiming a very convincing victory.

Results:

Jubilee Cup:
1. Comet Zero – Roy Wyatt
2. Sea Ranger – Richard Walker
3. Solution – Simon Clarke

The previous Wednesday evening 4 June the Gunfleet Sailing Club held the first race in its Summer Series and in light airs and an onshore breeze twelve boats took part. Such was the eagerness to be off that two boats jumped the line and both lost valuable time having to return and re-cross it. Paul Stanton on the other hand timed it to perfection in his Laser and led the fleet to the Kingscliff buoy. Yvonne Gough had slightly surprisingly used the radial rig on her Laser but this appeared to be a clever move as she was in second place in the class as the craft reached back to the AWS buoy. The beat out to the Seaward mark split the fleet up and positions, particularly in the Solution class, changed and changed again. At the end of the first lap John Heath was the leading helm in his Laser but by the end of the second lap the Solutions had taken three of the top four positions.

Results:

Summer Series 1:
1. Solution – Glen Bacon
2. Laser – John Heath
3. Solution – Simon Clarke

Also proving popular on the Wednesday evening was the “After School Sailing” and a large number of the Club’s Cadets and Otters took to the water in their Toppers and Topazes in order to make the most of the fine weather.