Plenty Of Wind At The Weekend

The last Cadet and Otter Sailing On Saturday (SOS) of the season was held at the weekend 13/14 September when the final race in the SOS Class Points got underway in a force 5, gusting 6, north/north easterly winds and large seas.  Right from the start it was clear that this was going to be a lively affair and, sure enough, capsizes came thick and fast.  Harry Swinbourne was first to go over in his Topper, followed by Tom Philpot and Daisy Swinbourne in their Topaz.  The next casualty was the Hobie 405 of the Williams boys – when their outhall came adrift from the boom, forcing an early retirement; then, one by one, retirements occurred as the junior helms found it just too much.  Credit must however go to Brogan Bates and Nick Cottee in their 405 as they completed the course, which took them up the coast to the Kingscliff buoy, out to the Seaward mark, into AWS, back out to sea, before a long reach down the coast to St. Michael’s buoy and a hard slog back to the line, beating all the way.  Their reward was to see the shorten course flag flying which saved them having to undertake a second lap.  

 

 

On Sunday morning fourteen boats took part in the second and final pursuit race for the Potts Trophy.  Conditions were not dissimilar to the previous day, but this didn’t deter many of the Club’s younger members facing the elements for a second time.  With staggered starts, depending on each boats handicap, first away were the Toppers, then, just over five minutes later, it was the turn of the Topazes.  At varying intervals the Lasers, Hobie 405’s Solution, Blaze, and RS 400’s got underway until, some 25 minutes after the Toppers started, it was the RS 600 that headed up the coast to the Kingscliff buoy; in hot pursuit of all the other craft.  The next leg was a run out to the Seaward mark, a gybe, and then a long reach down to the Pier buoy before a rather daunting beat back up the coast and through the line.  Robert Gutteridge capsized on the reach and then had further capsizes on the beat whilst Derroll Pedder capsized his Solution by the Pier mark.  Conor and Finlay Williams hoisted their asymmetric spinnaker on the long reach, kept the boat upright, and picked-off several of the slower handicapped craft; the two RS 400s also hoisted their kites on this leg and they too overtook a number of boats.  By the halfway stage it was John Tappenden who had driven his Blaze into a strong lead with the Williams brothers in second place in their 405.  However, the RS’s were taking no prisoners and were challenging the front runners, until Paul Davis and Beth Ford tipped their RS 400 in at the gybe mark; retiring at this point in the realisation they could no longer beat their rivals.  Meanwhile, a little further back Cadets Nick Cottee and Daisy Swinbourne held onto fifth place in their Topaz.  It was then that the horn sounded to signal that the fixed time was up, Tappenden taking first place and the series overall.