Glorious Conditions Greet Winter Series Competitors

For the second week running the competitors taking part in Gunfleet Sailing Club’s Winter Series of races were greeted by unbroken sunshine and bright blue skies last Sunday, coupled with a light offshore breeze.  Cadet Robert Gutteridge, in a Laser, was a bit too eager at the start and found himself the wrong side of the line but hastily returned to cross it correctly. On the other hand Cadets Conor and Finlay Williams in their Hobie 405 were quick to hoist their asymmetric spinnaker on the reach to the Eastcliff buoy and kept level pegging with the Solution dinghies.  This first leg down the coast was assisted by a freshly flooding tide but as the boats headed out to the Seaward mark they were then fighting the tide and progress noticeably slowed down.  After that it was a beat in to the AWS buoy before a run back out to Seaward and then a very close haul to Kingscliff; the final leg being a reach back through the line.  Such were the conditions that there were no incidence and at the end of the first lap it was Simon Clarke in first place in his Phantom, followed by Paul Davis in his Solution.  During the second leg the gap opened up to allow Clarke to take a comfortable victory.  Two sailors to take particular note of, as the race went on, were Fabio and Sebastian Sanchez sailing a Byte and a Topper respectively.  Despite this being the first time out in their new dinghies they handled the craft with particular confidence and showed the rest of the Club that they will be a force to be reckoned with in the not too distant future.