Solutions Dominate Top Spot

Gunfleet Sailing Club held the fourth race in its Winter Series last Sunday 14 November which initially looked as though it might not take place due to lack of wind.  However, a quarter of an hour before the start some rain began to fall, and with it came a very light offshore breeze.  Fortunately the rain then stopped but the light airs continued to fill in.  Surprisingly a number of the craft were over the line at the start although all but one realised the mistake and returned to correct their error.  However Matt Downing in his Contender took a while to spot the Individual Recall Flag and lost a number of minutes going back.  The reach to the Eastcliff mark did not take long and this was followed by a simple gybe before a broad reach out to the Seaward buoy.  It was only at this point that the fleet began to beat into the shore which started to split the competitors, but with the continuing light winds it appeared that the race was being run in slow motion.  At the end of the first lap Simon Clarke had a six second lead in his Solution over Paul Davis, also sailing a Solution, but then the rain began to fall and with it the positions changed.  After some clever tactics from several of the competitors during the second lap the lead changed and Davis slipped in front crossing the finishing line just 8 seconds ahead of nearest rival Clarke. 
 
Results – Winter Series 4:
1. Solution – Paul Davis
2. Solution – Simon Clarke
3. Solution – Eddie White