Gunfleet 2019 Cadet Week Goes From Strength To Strength

It’s Monday 29 July and that can mean only one thing...the start of Gunfleet 2019 Cadet Week, sponsored by Orsted, and what a great start it’s turned out to be.  The sun shone all day, the wind started as a force three south westerly, and the only sound to be heard was the fun being had by all the Club Cadets and Otters.

This year’s Cadet Week has been themed “Pirates” and an appropriately dressed Cut Throat Cadet Officer Harry welcomed everyone to what promises to be a bumper week of fun on and off the water.  The Teams were formed, lead by Lauren, Harrison and Owen and it was on with the action.  Morning brought the first race of the Cadet Week Class Points, with a twist this year as there is to be a cup for the series as a combined handicap race too.  

By the start of the race the wind had backed to southerly and freshened to a force four; Owen and Francesca got a great start, close by the Inner Distance Mark, in their Topaz, whilst Harrison was slightly further out in his Topper.  Just behind, but much nearer the Outer Distance Mark, were Alfie and Lauren, both in Toppers.  The beat down the coast to the Eastcliff buoy was quite a slog as the competitors fought a freshly ebbing tide, and for Ben and Sophie, and Jake and Emily, it proved a bit too much and they retired in their Topazes.  Meanwhile Owen was first round the windward mark, whilst Harrison, having maximised boat speed by baring-away slightly, now looked like he could let Alfie slip by; the latter having sailed hard and high and was making straight for the buoy whilst Harrison had to put in a couple of tacks.  A little further back were Jude and Freddie in their Topaz, and then Callum and Taylor in Toppers.  Star of the show was George in his Topper, with a 4.2 sail, who capsized, got the boat righted, and was off chasing the rest of the fleet.  The boats then reached out to the Seaward buoy but a number of competitors got caught by the tide and found themselves being swept past, resulting in some quick tacking.  Everyone then very cleanly gybed before heading back to AWS, gybing again, and broad reaching to the Kingscliff buoy before beating back to the line.  After a disappointing start the 405 of Ed and Henry climbed its way through the fleet and lead the second lap.  Harrison pulled away from Alfie, but then Alfie closed the gap, Lauren got ever nearer the two lads, and Jude and Freddie started to put a bit of pressure on Owen and Francesca; but too little too late.

Results – Class Racing 1:
Toppers:
1.    Harrison Smith
2.    Alfie Searles
3.    Lauren Hooper
Topazes:
1.    Owen Hooper & Francesca Cottee
2.    Jude Aylen & Freddie Spooner
405s:
1.    Ed Philpot & Henry Spooner 
 

All-In Handicap Race 1:
1.    Topaz – Owen & Francesca
2.    Topper – Harrison
3.    Topper – Alfie

Whilst all the racing got rather exciting on the water, a group of younger Otters played a variety of equally exciting games on the beach.

By now it was lunchtime and everyone tucked-in to sausages, mash, and beans/peas, plus lashings of juice, and fruit to follow, thanks to the Galley Crew.  

Fully refreshed, the Teams got ready for some serious fun in the afternoon.  This started with the “All Aboard” race, where a chosen team member sailed a Topaz around a small course before heading back to shore to pick-up a team/shipmate.  It was down to Harrison, Ed and Owen to make the maiden lap and Ed was first to find his way back to shore, followed by Owen.  With the second crew member aboard there looked like little change in order but after the third person was safely on board then Harrison slipped into the lead.  On they went, each boat having four, then five, then...disaster for Ed’s boat when it capsized and threw the motley crew into the briny.  With a lot of laughter the sailors climbed back and picked up the pieces.  Now each Topaz had seven crew and the boats’ handling became a bit erratic.  Various tactics were tried, including paddling and swimming the boats round the course, and slowly progress was made.  Eventually, tired and weary, the crews came back to shore.  But there was no time to stop because the next game, “Balls-Up”, was just about to start.  Off sailed the Team Topazes with three crew aboard.  Suddenly a mass of coloured balls were released and overboard went all but the helms in order to pick-up as many as they could.  Meanwhile, closer to the shore, another wave of balls descended and the rest of the Team members swam out to collect as many as they possibly could.  Hundreds of balls later (literally) it was down to the marshals to count the number each Team had.  Luckily it was time for a cake-break; refreshment for the Cadets and Otters, and a chance to recount the balls for the helpers.

All sugared, and juiced, up it was time for the last game of the day – the “Water Balloon Sail”.  Each Team Topaz, with a couple of crew, headed to RB2 out at sea where they were presented with a tennis ball.  Sailing as fast as they could, back to the shore, the handing over of the ball released a mass of water-filled balloons to be run, by the rest of the team, up to the Eastcliff beach – we hope you are following all this!!  The Team Topazes were, by this time sailing up to meet their Team members, collect all the water balloons, and safely transport them back to the Club.  If this didn’t sound easy to follow, well it wasn’t that easy to successfully complete, but by crikey the Teams did fantastically well.

That just leaves the question of how did each team do in each game, and for the answer to that you will all need to be down at the Club tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.

It’s the second day in and the wind was a pleasant force three to four; well that is at 5:00 a.m. but sadly by 9:00 a.m. it was force five to six and by the time the eager Cadets and Otters arrived it was blowing a force seven; oh, and the sea was full of large waves and white horses.  There was no doubt as to whether we would go out on the water because, whichever way you looked at it, the answer was no.  Harry and the games organisors had a council of war, tactics were discussed and a plan put together to beat the rotten weather.  So, within a flash, everyone was heading for the recreation ground for a game of rounders.  There were to be two teams – Lauren’s and Taylor’s and both captains proved to be red hot when it came to leading by example.  A hefty whack of the ball and full-pelt round the four bases before you could say it was blowing a hooley.  But it wasn’t just the bigger/older Cadets that packed a mighty punch, and it was great to see the likes of Poppy, Molly and Brooke giving the ball a good seeing to.  Harrison manage to trick a few fielders by suddenly swinging the bat to the right, rather than the left, and young Annabelle loved running...and running,,,and running, although not necessarily at the right time or in the right direction.  Sophie packed a mean punch (not literally you understand) and Callum knew how to give it some.  When both teams were done, and everyone thought they could relax, it was time for another round!  All of a sudden it was a hasty retreat back to the Clubhouse where the lunch was about to be dished-up – pasta in a tomato bolognese sauce with cheesy potato bake and garlic bread, a feast fit for a king, particularly an Italian one.  

By now the wind has moved up to 40 mph, a force 8, and it was clearly an absolute no-go for getting boats on the water.  So it was back up to the recreation ground for a touch of “welly wanging”.  The teams wisely made sure they separated for the practice throws as it was literally raining wellies.  After some near misses the teams came together for some very competitive and lively lobbing.  Whether records were broken, it’s hard to say, but there were certainly some impressive distances covered by these poor old boots.  There were also some hasty moves by some of the marshals, in order to avoid being struck by a wandering welly!   

Next came the “chin 2 chin” game which is almost self explanatory.  Each team lined up and the front person passed a soft ball to their colleague behind them, but the ball is under the chin with no hands allowed.  As soon as the team member at the back had the ball safely under their chin they had to run to the front and pass it back again.  And so it went on until the very first person was back at the front; simple to understand but not quite so easy to practice.  Balls fell to the ground and chins got welded to each other.  Certainly a lot of interesting techniques were used and, at this point, those that chose not to eat the garlic bread at lunchtime probably came to regret that decision!!

Thoughts turned to a cake-break but it was far too early, so everyone descended to the beach for tug-of-war.  Teeth were gritted, muscles flexed, and team by team they took the strain.  The big chaps were dutifully hammed into the ground as anchor men and the sizes tended to diminish as they got nearer the front, until the small rival Otters were facing each other, with just a short distance of rope between them.  Pull...pull...heave...heave, and teams started to move backwards, then get pulled forward, recover and regain their position, until a sudden collapse!

Now it really was time for a cake-break and hungry mouths were fed with a variety of scrummy tuck.  And as everyone looked out the windows at the wild sea, so the heavens opened up and down came the rain.  As the clock ticked towards the end of the day there was a loud cheer as Harry announced that it was time to get into wetsuits, put on a lifejacket, and head for the water for some fun in the waves; an amazing end to the day.

Wednesday arrived, and with it strong winds!  Admittedly force 6, which was less than Tuesday, but still too strong to sail on the cruise.  Boats safely ashore, the day of games on the beach, as originally planned on arrival, went ahead; with a few additions to maintain a packed day.  First game was the “long jump” and the teams went off do some instant practising.  The teams then lined-up and, starting with the Otters, the jumping began in earnest.  Some impressive distances were achieved before the Cadets took over and really started stretching themselves.  It started to look like it was between Jude and Ed for the greatest distance, although Jake put in a bit of a blinder, but unfortunately falling back on his hands and shortening the length.  Owen moved his team up with a hefty leap but after a showdown between the very best jumpers it was Jude that took the honours.

There was just time for a breather before the “egg and spoon race”.  Some interesting tactics were tried; should it be slow and gentle, or fast and furious?  Each team member ran up the beach and round the wellington boot!! before returning to the rest of the gang and handing the egg and spoon to the next team-member.  After a frantic run by everyone it was announced that this had just been the warm-up and now it was to be the real deal.  Things definitely sped-up this time round with several wobbles and near misses but it was Lauren’s team that finished first.

Before the next game it was all hands to a lively launch of the Club’s small Rescue Boat that went out to lay a marker buoy for the “swimming race”.  Once in position the boat stood just off, in order to provide safety cover whilst the teams lined-up their swimmers.  One from each team plunged into the rough sea, and headed flat-out to the buoy.  On arrival they had to touch the mark and then swim back and, as soon as they landed and ran across the line, it was the next team member’s turn.  When it came to the smaller Otters then a larger Cadet swam alongside them to give them both support and encouragement.  Alfie was top man for the red team whilst Francesca really cut through the water for the yellow team.  The green team had Jake shining through, but at the end of it all it was victory for the yellows.

And before the picnic lunch, which of course was originally planned for the cruise destination - St. Osyth, there was just time for the “watery wordsearch”.  The Rescue Boat went out and scattered small containers, with a letter on each, on the water, and it was the task of each team to swim out and grab ten different letters to make the word; the exact word the team had to work out for itself.  Unfortunately the containers were just a little too far out and it provided much entertainment watching the Rescue Boat crew hastily picking all the letters up, which they very successfully did.  The second casting of the containers on the waves was perfect and soon everyone was in the water (in truth some never left it) gathering the letters.  But the trickier bit was back on dry land and trying to rearrange the letters to form the word.  Suddenly a cry went up, from the red team, they had got it – BINOCULARS.

It was lunchtime and everyone settled down to ham and cheese sandwiches, crisps, a chocolate bar, and an energy drink; time to chat over the tactics and success of the morning’s games.  Ironically, whilst lunch was being eaten, the wind abated a little and thoughts turned to some boat-based games for the afternoon.  But the optimism was, sadly, short-lived as the wind then began to build again.  

The afternoon got underway with the “treasure hunt” and each team had a designated square on the beach which had 100 doubloons buried in it.  Digging with nothing other than hands, the teams systematically, or in some cases less systematically, riffled through the sand.  After some time the yellow team had 46, the red 50, and the greens were well in front with 77.  But like so many things, the tables turn, and it was the yellow team that cried eureka as they popped the 100th piece of treasure in the bucket; next being the green team.

“Numbers-up” saw everyone back in the water, swimming out in search of bottles with numbers in them, ranging from 100 to 600.  It was a case of grab as many as you can and get them ashore and into your bag.  Bottles were everywhere, and bodies were everywhere, and it wasn’t long before the bags were positively bulging with numbers.  All too soon every bottle was accounted for and the Cadets and Otters headed up to the Clubhouse for a cake break.

Feeling suitably refreshed it was back on the beach for the “egg throwing”.  Two rows of Cadets and Otters, team member facing team member, and within handshaking distance; so the first throw was easy.  Then the gap opened and still it was quite easy.  The gap got wider and things got a bit trickier, and with every throw so the couples got further and further away.  Eggs got broken and the players got less until, at the end of the first game, there was just Harrison and Freddie left, so claiming first place.  A second game ensued with numbers dwindling as the eggs smashed, resulting in Ed and Henry being victors.

To finish a very full day it was time to “kiss the bow”.  A Topaz dinghy was held on its side whilst each team member gingerly slid along the gunwale towards the front of the boat, subsequently leaning forward to kiss the bow as it tilted beneath the waves.  Yes, it was as hard as it sounded but impressively a number of people managed to achieve the goal, although not necessarily something they would easily be able to explain to their school friends!

Thursday arrived, and with it came blue skies, sunshine and a pleasant breeze; just right for sailing.  The boats were soon on the beach and rigged, Harry held a briefing, and gave an update on the scores, and things were really hotting-up.  As the clock ticked ever closer to the start of the class racing, so boats were buzzing up and down the line, the crews keenly seeking-out the best place to start; their decision not helped by the slight wind shifts.  All of a sudden they were off, with Harrison, George and then Lauren leading the way in their Toppers.  With the wind settling to a westerly, and with the last of the flood tide under them, it was a close haul to the Eastcliff buoy.  Then it was a reach out to the Seaward mark and it was on this leg that George capsized and, in trying to right the boat, found his sail sliding down the mast.  Taylor then capsized his Topper and unfortunately turtled it, requiring assistance from the Rescue Boat crew, and in the end both dinghies had to be towed back to shore.  The third leg was a short reach to a temporary mark before a beat to the AWS buoy, up the coast to the Kingscliff mark and back through the line.  At the end of the first lap Harrison was leading, Lauren second and Alfie third.  On the second lap Owen and Francesca pulled ahead, rounded the Eastcliff buoy and then headed off-course out to sea.  Surprisingly, many of their competitors just followed suit but Jude and Emily spotted the error and made directly for the correct offshore buoy, moving them right up the pecking order.  The wind on the second lap backed south westerly and as Ed and Henry, leading the fleet in their 405, rounded the Kingscliff buoy they immediately tacked out to sea to gain the tide under them.  On the third and final lap the wind started to play cruel tricks on the competitors; it dropped, it picked up, it backed further round, it veered the other way, and any combination of the above.  To add insult to injury the tide now turned and started to ebb, rather strongly, making it slow progress when punching the tide down the coast.  Positions changed several times, and often it was just by being in the right place at the right time.  Frustrating, and demoralising as the last lap must have been, the Club’s sailors persevered, although at times some were definitely going backwards.  Slowly they began to finish with, for many, the race lasting over two hours.  However, they were compensated by the aroma of lunch emanating from the Clubhouse and soon the crews were reliving the race over fish fingers, chips and baked beans.

Results – Class Racing 3:
Toppers:
1.    Harrison Smith
2.    Alfie Searles
3.    Lauren Hooper
Topazes:
1.    Jude Aylen & Emily Palmer 
2.    Owen Hooper & Francesca Cottee
405s:
1.    Ed Philpot & Henry Spooner 
 

All-In Handicap Race 3:
1.    Topper – Harrison 
2.    Topaz – Jude & Emily
3.    Topper – Alfie

Immediately after lunch it was time to play catch-up with the race postponed from Tuesday due to the force eight winds.  The wind, this time, was a force three south-westerly, far more suitable, and once again the boats stayed close to the line whilst waiting for the off.  Jude and Freddy were in the perfect spot and should have lead the fleet in their Topaz but got caught in irons.  This let Owen and Emily through in their Topaz, followed closely by the Topper trio, Harrison, Lauren and Alfie.  By now the ebb tide had strengthened and it was a little surprising to see so many head out to sea and into its stronger negative effect on the beat to the windward buoy.  Owen and Emily capsized, allowing Lauren to be first round the buoy.  As Jude and Freddy were close to going round they too capsized and then realised they hadn’t put their bung in.  Having righted the boat the somewhat soggy duo limped back to the shore, drained the water out, firmly replaced the missing bung, and got back in the race.  By now the wind was touching force four, making really good sailing conditions, as the competitors reached out to a temporary mark, ran up the coast to the AWS buoy, and then reached back to the ODM to complete the first lap.  Order of play, at this point, was Harrison, Lauren, and then Alfie, but with some sharp tactics, Alfie slipped past the other two and began to pull away.  Slightly further back in the Toppers were Callum, George, and Taylor.   In the Topaz fleet it was Owen and Emily leading, with Jake and Francesca second; Ben and Sophie retiring, somewhat exhausted after the morning race.  Back to the Toppers and there was clearly no stopping Alfie who finished the second lap over a minute ahead of his nearest rival, and at the end of the final lap was leading by over four minutes.

Results – Class Racing 2:
Toppers:
1.    Alfie Searles
2.    Harrison Smith
3.    Lauren Hooper
Topazes:
1.    Owen Hooper & Francesca Cottee
2.    Jake Palmer & Francesca Cottee
3.    Jude Aylen & Freddy Spooner 
405s:
1.    Ed Philpot & Henry Spooner 
 

All-In Handicap Race 2:
1.    Topper – Alfie
2.    Topper – Harrison 
3.    Topper – Lauren 

It was definitely time for a cake break at this point, with plenty of juice to maintain the body fluids, and then onto the “triathlon” game.  With everyone in their teams it was first away for the swimmers, before handing the battens over to their team-mates who immediately set sail down the coast to a specific point where the team runners eagerly awaited.  But once again the elements decided to have some fun and the wind fell away as the craft fought the tide.  To say it was painful was an understatement but, in the end, the runners got their chance and the first team back was the yellow, followed by the green team.  By now it was time to pack the boats away, get changed, and head home for a good night’s rest before the final day of 2019 Cadet Week.

It’s Friday already and, once again, we have welcomed blue skies and sunshine, plus a force three to four offshore wind.  With the promise of some exciting sailing, plus the knowledge that the top spot was still open to a number of crews, the boats were soon rigged on the beach and ready to go.  But first Harry ran through the scores up until today and it was very close between all the teams, so everything still to play for.  Then it was time for the race briefing and particular mention of the strong flood tide, and the always tricky offshore wind.  The course was explained, which was to be three laps, and off the boats headed out to sea.  As the craft jockeyed at the start line their helms showed all the signs of being well-seasoned pros, using the tide to hold them back as they nudged their way to the line.  It was certainly an impressive sight as class flag fell from the yardarm and the boats accelerated away, heading up the coast to the Kingscliff buoy.  Jude and Freddy lead the way in their Topaz, very closely followed by Harrison and then Alfie in Toppers; and as they reached the first mark the 405 of Ed and Henry had slipped by.  Just behind Alfie was young George in his Topper and if determination was anything to go by then he was set to win the race.  However, as the boats gybed around the buoy, George caught a gust and his Topper capsized, allowing several competitors to slip by.  Further back Lauren was having technical troubles with her Topper and lost more time when she too capsized.  The second leg, a reach out the temporary seaward buoy, saw Jude and Freddy maintain their lead but the subsequent beat to the AWS mark saw the 405 pull clear; unusually downwind tacking on the run back to the X buoy, particularly as the lads did not use their asymmetric spinnaker.  Even more surprising was the number of competitors that, instead of running directly from mark to mark, just followed the course of the 405.  Some of the shrewder cookies realised what was happening and gained significant ground by sailing the shortest possible distance and, as the final leg of the first lap got underway it was Alfie now in the lead in his Topper, second were Owen and Francesca in their Topaz, and third was Harrison in his Topper.  During the second lap it was good to see both Callum and Taylor doing so well in their Toppers, Taylor pulling ahead quite early on.  Meanwhile, several of the crews continued to downwind tack but Ben and Sophie Bennett aimed their Topaz straight at the offshore buoy and, in doing so, found themselves leading the class.  Alfie opened the gap still further, throughout the second lap and for much of the third and final lap, but Harrison slipped past him on the beat and despite being challenged a number of times, held onto the top position until the bitter end.

Results – Class Racing 4:
Toppers:
1.    Harrison Smith
2.    Alfie Searles
3.    Taylor Wright
Topazes:
1.    Owen Hooper & Francesca Cottee
2.    Jude Aylen & Freddy Spooner
3.    Ben & Sophie Bennett 
405s:
1.    Ed Philpot & Henry Spooner 
 

All-In Handicap Race 4:
1.    Topper – Harrison
2.    Topper – Alfie
3.    Topaz – Owen & Francesca 

All the time the race was underway the younger Otters had organised games on the beach to keep them amused.  

As the boats came ashore it was time for lunch and soon the Clubhouse, and its veranda, was full with hungry sailors tucking into jacket potatoes and a choice of fillings.  

Refreshment time over and everyone gathered on the beach for “water jousting”.  An upturned Topaz moored just offshore was the platform for two Cadets, or Otters, to climb aboard and attempt to knock each other into the sea using rather soggy pillows.  Just staying balanced on the hulls proved rather difficult but it soon became clear that standing up was not a good idea, and sitting firmly on the keel gave you the best chance to both stay onboard, and knock your opponent off.  In the end nobody stayed dry and even the victors got a ducking, with a quick wobble of the hull by the support team!  

The fun and games meant everyone was ready for a cake-break and with a recharge of sugar and energy, to say nothing of gallons of juice to prevent dehydration, the teams all formed for the final game – the “water and land treasure hunt”.  The teams split into two, with those on terra-firma finding various clues, which interlinked with clues out at sea for the sailors, and just to make it tougher the clues were cryptic.  Those on foot headed up to the Kingscliff Hotel, whilst those afloat went out to the Seaward buoy.  Once back to shore the next part of the hunt was a sail to certain other buoys where clues allowed the crews to piece together where their destination was.  All this took them finally to the cafe below First Avenue where, buried in the sand, was their mascot which they had to sail back to the Club and then, gathering the whole team, hoist the jolly roger.  

By now the sun was well and truly over the yardarm, and boats were packed away, wetsuits got out of, dry clothes put on, and the gates closed on a fabulous 2019 Cadet Week.
 

Suddenly it’s Saturday and time to celebrate the great week with the Cadet Week Party.  The food was scrumptious, and just so much of it, and it was great to catch-up with everyone and look back over the past five days.  The highlight was, of course, the presentation of the awards.  Cadet Officer Harry Swinbourne started off by thanking all those involved in assisting with the Week, without whom it could never have happened.  There was then the presentation of merit certificates for a wide range of different achievements, from forgetting your bung (which seems to happen every year, although fortunately not for the same person!!) to being a doughnut monster!  It was then onto the more serious stuff as the awards for top sailing were presented:

Swallow Trophy – Toppers: 
1.    Harrison Smith
2.    Alfie Searles
3.    Lauren Hooper

Amazon Trophy – Topaz:  
1.    Owen Hooper & Francesca Cottee
2.    Jude Aylen & Freddy Spooner
3.    Jake & Emily Palmer

Captain Flint Trophy – 405:
1.    Ed Philpot & Henry Spooner

Overall All-in Handicap Race:
1.    Topper – Harrison Smith
2.    Topper – Alfie Searles
3.    Topaz – Owen Hooper & Francesca Cottee

Hush then descended as the final team scores were given and, my goodness, they were close!  But at the end of the day there could only be one winning team and it was....

ORSTED Trophy for 2019 winning Cadet Week Team – “Gunfleet Galleons” – Lauren Hooper, Alfie Searles, Ed Philpot, Henry Spooner, Jess Searles, Taylor Wright, Poppy Swinbourne and Brooke Sayer

The party then continued until late into the night, a grand finale to a great week.