The Wright Result For Liam And Ian In The Pursuit Race

Gunfleet Sailing Club held the TDC Pursuit Race last Sunday 26 June as part of the Clacton Sea and Beach Festival and, after an exciting battle, it was Liam and Ian Wright from Clacton Sailing Club that took the winning gun in their Dart 18.

 

Twenty craft took part in the race, made-up of entries from Clacton Sailing Club and Brightlingsea Sailing Club, as well as the host Club.  In fact all visiting helms were sailing catamarans which made for a very fast and lively race.  As usual, with the Pursuit Race, the dinghies and cats started off at staggered times, depending on their official handicap.  This meant that there was a gap of over 30 minutes between the very first and last competitor.  In fact there were 10 starts with the 405, Laser, and Solution classes having just seconds between them.

 

In a freshening westerly wind the first leg was a beat to the Pier buoy and this was followed by an inverted v course around the Pier, from east to west, then back from west to east, repeating this circuit until finishing time.  Peter Downer lead much of the way down the coast in his Comet but then Ken Potts sailed passed him to take pole position.  John Tappenden, also in a Laser, remained hot on Potts’s heels and by the time the catamarans reached the Pier several of the monohulls had concluded their first lap and were well into the second.  But the wind got stronger and the catamarans relished in the conditions, although for Jack Dempsey, sailing single handed, a capsize caught him out.  Martin and Debbie Chivers, in a Dart 18, were soon overtaking the slower dinghies, whilst Robert Mitchell, sailing his Dart 16 singlehanded, was just lapping-up the conditions.  Meanwhile the Spitfire of James Stacey and Simon Clarke was accelerating at great speed and sliced through the water.  With less than five minutes to go it was clear that Potts had his work cut-out to hold off the catamarans and as the minutes ticked by so Liam and Ian Wright, sailing a Dart 18, moved into first place and took the winning gun at precisely 12:30.