Lively Conditions Keep Sailors On Their Toes

The Gunfleet Sailing Club was absolutely buzzing last Sunday 19 April with an ever-increasing number of young people taking to the water and having fun in dinghies.  Despite a strong north easterly wind several Topazes went out, three up, and the children experienced the exhilaration of fast, and wet, sailing.  Whilst all this was happening the Club held its third race in the Spring Series and thirteen boats took part.  With an increasing wind strength, plus the fleet of Topazes just reaching up and down, the Club very wisely had both Rescue Boats on the water to ensure everyone was safe.

Such were the conditions that capsizes occurred amongst those racing with almost immediate effect.  First to realise the winds were too much for him, in his Vortex, was Derroll Pedder but this was in sufficient time before the start of the race to allow him to beach the boat and take out his son’s Q’ba.  Eddie White was the first to retire when his Solution capsized.  After righting it and continuing for a while he then found conditions too lively and decided to call it a day.  As the start got underway Paul Stanton in his Laser lead the fleet on the beat to the Kingscliff buoy, followed by Paul and Katie Davis in their Xenon and Simon Clarke in his Solution.  It wasn’t long, however, before Ken Potts went steaming through the competitors in his RS600 and continued to pull away.  Darren Fitzpatrick was the next to retire, sailing single-handed in his Comet Duo.  Having capsized a few times he headed back to the shore.  Lesley Sacre, sailing her Sea Ranger, almost capsized when her main sheet got caught on the tiller and was later towed in by one of the Club Rescue Boats.  For those that made it to the Kingscliff buoy it was then a very exhilarating reach out the Seaward mark that only seemed to take a matter of minutes.  It was at this point that Sonny Hart capsized in his Solution when the toe straps came undone and, at the same time, the tiller extension broke but he managed to right the boat and sail back to the Club.  Matt Murray-Downing got as far as the Seaward buoy before he capsized, and with increasingly large seas he also retired.

Things then seemed to settle down for a while but as the boats broad reached to the St. Michael’s buoy Yvonne Gough found the conditions becoming too much and retired in her Laser, and shortly afterwards the main halyard on the Davis’s Xenon broke, resulting in the mainsail sliding down the mast.  A Club Rescue Boat was soon on the scene and towed the casualty back to the Club.

The remaining six boats continued to hang on in and the helms revelled in the lively conditions.  At the end of the first lap it was Potts in first place, followed by Stanton in second and Clarke third, but during the second lap John Tappenden slipped ahead of Clarke to take third place at the end of the race in his Blaze.

Results:

Spring Series – 3
1.    RS600 – Ken Potts
2.    Laser – Paul Stanton
3.    Blaze – John Tappenden