Reports 2024
The penultimate race in the Gunfleet Sailing Club’s evening Summer Series was held in somewhat overcast conditions and a stiff onshore breeze.
Gunfleet Sailing Club held its annual Regatta, sponsored by Orsted Energy and Odiin Recruitment, over the weekend of 20 & 21 July with twenty-eight boats taking part in an offshore wind and a mixture of sunshine and clouds.
Gunfleet Sailing Club members made the most of the fine weather last Wednesday evening, 17 July, when they eagerly rigged-up for the fifth race in the Summer Series. A force 3 - 4 onshore wind greeted the competitors as they headed out to the start line, and with a flood tide holding them back against their first leg up the coast, it was hoped that nobody would “jump the line”. Unfortunately, with the necessary reaching start, both Derroll Pedder and Brian Allen were just a little too eager, in their RS Aeros, and crossed the line a second too early.
Gunfleet Sailing Club members found it hard to believe it was July when they took part in the 3-in-1 multi-race for the Tee Dee Challenge Trophy on Sunday 7 July 2024; a force 5 to 6 south/south-westerly wind, heavy cloud, and below average seasonal temperature greeting them.
Gunfleet’s third race in its Summer Series was held last Wednesday evening, 3 July, in a chilly west/south-westerly blustery wind and very “unlike summer” conditions; needless to say it attracted a keen group of sailors, eager to take part.
Gunfleet Sailing Club held its Personal PY Race on Sunday 30 June which gives every entrant a handicap number, based on a formula using previous results during the year. Eighteen dinghies took part and the race officer set a course that started downwind, and down-tide. It was all credit to the helms that everyone stayed the right side of the line, although John and Sarah Heath had the asymmetric kite flying on their RS200 and were required to head up wind in the last few seconds of countdown to prevent crossing early.
The second of the evening Summer Series of races was held last Wednesday 26 June in weather reflecting the series title. The blue skies and bright sunshine, despite the lateness of the day, provided a perfect backdrop, but unfortunately for the competitors, the easterly wind was just a little too light.
The superb weather brought eighteen boats onto the water for the Gunfleet Sailing Club Chase on Sunday 23 June 2024. This is a unique race where, using the official national handicaps, each class of boat has its own start time, and at pre-announced finish time, all craft should be level with each other; therefore, at that moment in time, whoever is leading has won.
The Wednesday evening Summer Series arrived at Gunfleet Sailing Club on 19 June 2024 and, whilst the sun was out, a stiff force 4 to 6 north-easterly wind resulted in several white-caps on a choppy north-sea.
Gunfleet Sailing Club held the seventh, and final, race in its Wednesday evening Tony Chadd Series on 12 June 2024, with John Tappenden claiming victory in his RS Aero but Ken Potts winning overall in his Laser; the series having attracted twenty four entries.
A somewhat “frisky” offshore wind greeted the sailors at Gunfleet Sailing Club on Sunday 9 June 2024 when they took part in the race for the Jubilee Trophy. As the competitors were busy rigging-up on the beach a sudden squall blew through, sufficient to push a number of boats on their trolleys along the shoreline. At this point, a number of the helms decided that discretion was the better part of valour and returned their craft to the compound.
Gunfleet Sailing Club held the sixth, and penultimate, race in its Wednesday evening Tony Chadd Series on 5 June 2024, with victory going to Finley Taylor in his Topper.
Gunfleet Sailing Club held two races on Sunday 2 June 2024; one for faster handicapped boats, for the London Trophy, the other for slower handicapped boats, for the Potterers Pot. The blue skies, sunshine and force three northerly wind attracted nineteen dinghies onto the water, and it was particularly pleasing to see six Toppers our there, all sailed by some of the Club’s Cadets.
This was definitely the calm after the storm, when Gunfleet Sailing Club members took part in the fifth race in the Tony Chadd Series last Wednesday evening, 29 May 2024; the previous Monday’s event having been disrupted by a sudden squall.
Gunfleet Sailing Club held the third race in its Class Points Series, on Bank-Holiday Monday 27 May 2024,, with each class of dinghy having its own start time, course and, on completion of the series, trophy.