Spring Series For Stanton

Gunfleet Sailing Club members came out in force last Sunday 2 May 2021 to take part in the final race in the Spring Series, with an outright winner still very much in the air.

Fourteen boats took to the water in what started off as a very light northerly breeze and bright sunshine; however, as time progressed the elements threw out a number of interesting variations.  First away was John Tappenden in his RS Aero but he was immediately hit with a problem when the rubber universal joint on his tiller extension broke which restricted his movement in the boat throughout the race.  Rubbing shoulders with Tappenden was Paul Stanton’s Laser, followed very closely by Derroll Pedder in his Solo.   With a freshly flooding tide under them, the fleet reached down the coast to the Eastcliff buoy which Tappenden, despite his steering disadvantage, managed to round first, followed by Stanton and then Ken Potts in a Laser.  The next leg was a broad reach out to the Seaward mark and this gave Brian Allen and Rob Mitchell the chance to hoist the asymmetric spinnaker on their F18 catamaran and pull away, but unfortunately this lead them into a wind hole and they stopped dead.  The trailing dinghies soon caught-up, only to find themselves in the same hole and drifting down with the tide.  Sharp-eyed Peter Downer spotted the issue and took avoiding action by sailing his Comet a little higher and so sneaking past his helpless competitors.  But this was just the start of the wind shifts and soon the non-existent breeze filled in again, only by this time having backed westerly and starting to fill.  Once round Seaward it was a fetch to the AWS buoy and then back out to Seaward, providing another opportunity for some more kite work by the F18.  Slightly further back were Eddie White and Carlo Bardetti, both sailing Lasers, and Michael Gutteridge in his Solo, all three vying for top spot.  The sky started to cloud over and the wind backed to south-westerly as the fleet headed from Seaward to the Kingscliff buoy with sailing conditions improving all the time.  A further wind shift to the south meant a tight close haul on the last leg through the line and onto the next lap; Downer taking this first lap on handicap.  It was particularly pleasing to see the younger members out in their Toppers and Taz, having a great time on the water.  With the wind continuing to shift between south and south-west, and gusting to a force four, the second lap saw positions change, which was very unfortunate for Stanton who had lead the Lasers for much of the way but he eventually lost it to Potts who took the race on handicap.  However, combining all the results of the series it still gave Stanton overall victory.  

Results – Spring Series Overall:
1.    Laser – Paul Stanton 
2.    Solo – Derroll Pedder
3.    Comet – Peter Downer