Spring Series Sees Some Superb Sailing

The Gunfleet Sailing Club’s racing continued last Sunday 5 April when twelve boats took part in the first of the Spring Series.  Unbroken sunshine and a light easterly breeze made for pleasant conditions and attracted a large number of onlookers to witness the event.  Eddie White got an excellent start in his Solution and headed towards the shore as he sailed for the Kingscliff buoy.  Several of the other competitors however, tacked out to sea and used the ebb tide to help them on their way, gaining considerable ground.  One of the first craft around the mark was the Xenon, sailed by Paul and Katie Davis, and on the broad reach around the AWS buoy and on to the Eastcliff mark they maximised their speed by hoisting the asymmetric spinnaker.  This paid dividends and put them into an early lead.  Further back Yvonne Gough led in the Laser class followed closely by Matt Murray-Downing, whilst in the Comets Keith Lamdin pulled away from Peter Downer.  Once round the Eastcliff buoy the boats tacked out to the Seaward mark before a long run down to St. Michael’s buoy and then a beat back through the line.  As the fleet completed the first lap Simon Clarke was leading the Solution class and Sonny Hart had got passed White to be in second place, but overall on handicap it was the Davis’s that had a comfortable lead over the rest of the competitors.  

First to retire were Lydia Ward and Tilly Thomas in their Topaz, but at the end of the first lap Lamdin also retired, missing out on a likely top position.  Continuing to complete the course was Bethany Ford, also in a Topaz and very efficiently sailing single-handed.  As time went on so the breeze seemed to drop and the Officer of the Day wisely hoisted the shorten course flag, and as the boats crossed the finishing line it became evident that the Xenon had taken a comfortable win.

Results:

Spring Series – 1
1.    Xenon – Paul and Katie Davis
2.    RS600 – Ken Potts
3.    Solution – Simon Clarke