Easter Fun at Gunfleet

The traditional mixed weather over the Easter Holiday did nothing to deter the enthusiastic sailors from the Gunfleet Sailing Club.  On Sunday morning 4 April the first race in the Spring Series took place under bright sunshine, blue skies and a chilly force 3-4 north westerly wind.  The first leg took the craft on a bit of a procession as they reached along the coast to the Clacton Pier buoy, but the gusting offshore winds kept the competitors on their toes with the faster handicapped boats taking just seven minutes to reach their destination.  There then followed a reach back to the Eastcliff mark before heading out to the Seaward buoy and a beat in to the AWS buoy.  Despite an early capsize Ken Potts was quick to take the lead in his RS600 followed by Simon Clarke in his Solution; although Clarke was being hotly chased by Mark Venables, also in a Solution.  In the Laser fleet it was a tussle for top spot between husband and wife Matthew and Yvonne Gough but it was Yvonne who was to pull away as the race went on.  Peter Downer lost quite a bit of time in his Comet when he took the wrong course and having realised the error of his ways fought hard to play catch-up. 

Results: Spring Series 1
1. RS600 – Ken Potts
2. Blaze – John Tappenden
3. Solution – Simon Clarke 

On Easter Monday 5 April the wind had swung around to southerly and freshened to a force 4-5, making it lively conditions for the Gunfleet’s Easter Egg race.  The sky was grey and overcast and the wind-chill factor made this a rather traditional bank-holiday.  In a particularly close bunched start the competitors headed off to the St. Michael’s buoy on a beat and particularly impressive were Aaron Baker and Bethany Ford in their Topaz, sticking doggedly with the rest of the fleet as they headed down the coast and challenging Derroll Pedder in his Q’ba.  This time it was Clarke who sailed the wrong course, whilst in the Lasers Paul Stanton lead the way and, after the first lap, lay second overall on handicap.  However, nobody could catch John Tappenden who took his Blaze to victory and a large chocolate Easter egg.

Results: Easter Egg Race
1. Blaze – John Tappenden
2. RS600 – Ken Potts
3. Laser – Paul Stanton