Tim Wins

Gunfleet Sailing Club held the second of its pursuit races on Sunday 26 July 2026, this time appropriately named The Chase.  Having calculated the time each class of dinghy would take so that there would be a complete tie for first place, the boats were then set off at staggered times with the finish being exactly one and a half hours after the slowest handicapped craft got underway.  The force 4 to 5, gusting 6, south westerly wind deterred a number of entrants, particularly as there were many white caps offshore.  First away was The Laser 4.7s, followed four minutes later by the Laser Radials; finally it was the turn of the RS Aero 5s, all competitors having chosen appropriate rigs to suit the conditions.  Adam Kedge led the fleet and headed out to sea on the beat down the coast to the Eastcliff buoy in his Laser 4.7, gambling on the cleaner wind more than making up for the adverse tide, the ebb having commenced less than an hour before.  His father, Simon, set off in his Laser Radial, determined to catch his son but wasn’t banking on the fight he was to have with the RS Aero 5s.  Whilst most competitors headed out to sea on starboard tack, Tim Dye soon went about in his RS Aero and headed towards the shore, a tactic that clearly paid off.  The next leg was a broad reach out to the Seaward mark and by the time the second boat reached this buoy, Adam Kedge had already sailed into the AWS mark and back out to Seaward.  The wind was also playing games and began to veer westerly which caused Simon Kedge to capsize but he was soon back up and playing catch-up.  There followed another reach to the Kingscliff buoy before beating back through the line.  Adam Kedge held his lead but all the time the gap was closing, his father capsized for a second time whilst the clock kept ticking away.  At the end of the second lap, Dye was just behind Adam but it took to the gybe mark on the subsequent leg to Kingscliff for him to take the lead.  Shortly after going through the line and commencing the fourth lap, the finish horn sounded, giving Dye a clear victory.

The Chase:
1.    RS Aero – Tim Dye
2.    Laser – Adam Kedge
3.    RS Aero – Derroll Pedder

A few days earlier the third race in the Summer Series took place with Robert Gutteridge getting an early lead in his RS Aero which he maintained throughout the event.

Summer Series 3:
1.    RS Aero – Robert Gutteridge
2.    RS Aero – John Tappenden
3.    RS Aero – Brian Allen