Derroll Romps Home

The fourth race in the Gunfleet Sailing Club’s Winter Series took place last Sunday 9 November 2025 in almost Spring-like conditions, with Derroll Pedder taking his RS Aero into the top spot.

Blues skies, sunshine and a light force two south-westerly breeze greeted the competitors as they rigged their craft at the water’s edge.  The course was set to ensure a beat on the first leg but as the boats jostled for position, prior to the start, so the wind backed southerly which, disappointingly, meant the helms, by standing out at the Outer Distance Mark, could make the Eastcliff buoy without the need to tack.  Ken Potts in his RS Aero lead the fleet but as he reached the first mark his tiller sheared from the rudder stock; howeve,r using his ingenuity and a lot of skill, he managed to continue racing and maintained his lead out to the Seaward buoy on a reach.  There then followed a gybe before a broad reach in to the AWS buoy; Brian Allen, in his RS Aero, closing the gap all the time, and Derroll Pedder, also in an RS Aero but with a smaller rig, only just behind.  A second gybe followed before heading up the coast to the Preston Park buoy, which required a third gybe, and then in to the Kingscliff mark.  By now the wind had freshened and was touching a force four which, coupled with a flat sea, made for perfect sailing conditions.  The final leg was close-hauled back to the line and it saw Ella Langfeldt leading on handicap, in her Nimbus, by just one second.  It was as they continued onto the next lap that Potts’s tiller finally gave up the ghost and with his boat rounding-up into wind, it gave the perfect opportunity for Allen to sail past and head the rest of the fleet on the water.  But try as he must, he couldn’t shake off Pedder who was determined to give Allen a run for his money.  As the second lap concluded, Pedder’s hard work had paid off and he was now in first place, a position he went on to strengthen in the third and final lap, pushing Langfeldt into the second position.

Winter Series - 4:
1.    RS Aero – Derroll Pedder
2.    Nimbus – Ella Langfeldt
3.    RS Aero – Brian Allen