Tappenden Takes The Trophy

With winds gusting up to 42 miles per hour last Saturday 15 June the first race in the Gunfleet Sailing Club’s Cadet and Otter Class Points had to be postponed but fortunately Sunday’s weather proved more favourable for the race for all members for the Jubilee Cup.  In a force 5 south/south-westerly wind Club Commodore Richard Walker sailed down the line in his Sea Ranger on starboard tack, calling for right of way to the majority of competitors who were powering-up on port tack by the Outer Distance Mark.  Along with Simon Clarke and Emily Cossens in their Scorpion the two boats headed out to sea to make maximum use of the freshly flooding tide whilst the rest of the fleet headed inshore as the craft made their way down the coast to the St. Michael’s buoy.  There then followed a broad reach out to the Seaward buoy, a gybe, and then a fetch to the Eastcliff mark, a second gybe, a run to the Kingscliff buoy, hooking round the AWS buoy on the way, before a third gybe and a beat back to the line.  By the end of the first lap the wind had freshened and was nudging into a force 6, and in the lead was John Tappenden in his Blaze, with Paul Davis second in his Solution and Walker third.  During the second lap a number of places changed, and changed again but Tappenden remained the clear leader throughout.