May Bank Holiday a Great Success Down at Gunfleet

Gunfleet Sailing Club held the fourth and final race in its Spring Series last Sunday 3 May and, as in all good finals, there were a number of contenders for the top position.  A strong westerly wind greeted the fourteen boats that took part and, with sudden gusts blowing through, capsizes were inevitable.  Even before the race got underway a number of boats went over, but undeterred the crews soon righted their craft and jockeyed for position on the line although Dave Rathbone unfortunately suffered gear failure in his Byte and was towed back to the shore by the Club Rescue Boat.  It was Andy Dunnett that got a very fine start in his Laser but the rest of the fleet were closely bunched behind him.  The first leg was a beat to the St. Michael’s buoy and a number of the helms managed to point up hard as the wind shifts came through, so making the mark in one tack.  Others were not quite sharp enough and lost time having to put two further tacks in to get round the buoy.  There then followed a run out to the Seaward mark and during this leg a number of capsizes occurred, including Kelvin Morton in his RS600 and Eddie White in his Solution.  The beat back to the Eastcliff buoy split the fleet with some boats coming in close to the shore to try and avoid the ebbing tide, which also lost them the full wind strength; whilst others remained further out to sea, gaining the full force of the wind but fighting a stronger tide.  By the end of the first lap it looked like Ken Potts in his RS600 was in the lead but the conditions were such that it was still anyone’s race.  However, one or two found the wind just too overpowering and retired, leaving the rest of the craft to fight it out.  Further capsizes occurred, and positions changed on a number of occasions, but it was Simon Clarke who eventually took first place in his Solution.  This was unfortunately not sufficient to give him overall victory in the Series, with the Spring Series Trophy going to Potts.

Results – Spring Series 4:
1.    Solution – Simon Clarke
2.    Laser – John Heath
3.    Laser – Andy Dunnett

Spring Series Overall:
1.    RS600 – Ken Potts
2.    Laser – Paul Stanton
3.    Solution – Simon Clarke

On the Bank Holiday Monday the Gunfleet held its race for the Wallet Trophy under similar conditions to the day before.  Earlier there had been a fresh south-westerly breeze but shortly before the start of the race it veered offshore and freshened.  Paul and Katie Davis got off to a flying start in their Xenon with Clarke close on their heels in his Solution.  Clarke seemed to revel in the conditions and pulled away from Mark Venables and Sonny Hart, who were both also sailing Solutions.  The sudden gusts, and equally sudden lulls, kept all the helms on their toes as they headed for the St. Michael’s buoy.  In the Laser fleet Dunnett took command from the word go, although he was constantly being pushed by Paul Stanton.  The boats then careered out to the Seaward mark before heading in to the AWS buoy and back out to sea once more.  Capsizes occurred as the race went on, particularly at the gybe mark but whilst maintaining a close distance, the Club Rescue Boat was not needed.

By the end of the first lap Clarke had gained a confident lead and he maintained his position throughout the second lap to take the winning gun in fine style.

Results – Wallet Trophy
1.    Solution – Simon Clarke
2.    RS600 – Ken Potts
3.    Laser – Andy Dunnett