Cruise Blown Off

Sunday, July 17, 2011 - 20:30

Reports 2011

Yet again the Gunfleet Sailing Club was forced to cancel its scheduled cruise last Saturday 16 July when southerly force eight winds greeted members as they arrived in the hope that conditions might just moderate. Sadly that’s the third cruise in a row that has been cancelled due to strong winds. The Club did however hold the first race in its Wednesday evening series for the Tony Chadd Trophy some three days earlier, with eleven boats taking part. With a fresh north westerly wind blowing off the shore it resulted in a flat sea but gusty conditions. The fleet made quick work of the reach to the Eastcliff buoy although Cadet Robert Gutteridge found conditions a little too unpredictable and retired back to the beach in his Topper. There then followed a gybe round the mark for the rest of the competitors before a broad reach out to the Seaward buoy followed by a beat into shore and the AWS mark. By this time the flooding tide was strengthening and several of the boats got dragged towards Clacton Pier as they ran back out to sea. At the end of the first lap John Tappenden had taken first place in his Blaze, Paul Davis was second in the Solution whilst Simon Clarke, also in a Solution, was chasing hard on Davis’s heels. During the second lap places changed around in the middle of the fleet but the top two helms proved unstoppable with Kelvin Morton taking third place in his RS600.

Results: Tony Chadd Trophy Series - 1
1. Blaze – John Tappenden
2. Solution – Paul Davis
3. RS600 – Kelvin Morton