Exciting Start To Spring Series

Fifteen boats took part in the first race of the Gunfleet Sailing Club’s Spring Series last Sunday 10 April.  Competitors would be forgiven for thinking it was summer as they sailed away from the beach in blue skies, bright sunshine and a pleasant north easterly breeze.  As the seconds ticked away before the start the craft bunched-up tightly at the Outer Distance Mark, and at the head of this group was Paul Davis in his Solution.  With a real fear of jumping the line Davis began to reach down it but as soon as the start flag fell from the yardarm he was away.  The vast majority of the fleet tacked in towards the shore as they punched the first of the flood tide, and it wasn’t long before boats were round the Kingscliff buoy and on a broad reach out to the Seaward mark.  John Tappenden had by now established a modest lead in his Blaze, with cadet Matt Downing close behind in his Contender and Simon Mathewson third in his Vortex.  However, a bigger battle was well underway in the Solution class with Simon Clarke challenging Davis, closely followed by Mark Venables and then Eddie White.  Further back in the slow handicap fleet a number of the younger cadets were pushing their boats hard, with Ben Richardson in his Topper slipping ahead of Bethany Ford and George Venables in a Topaz.  Slightly further back was Robert Gutteridge, also in a Topper, working hard to get the most from his boat.

The reach into shore and back out to sea caught Clarke out when his boat touched the AWS buoy and he lost valuable time undertaking a 360 degree penalty but it wasn’t long before he was putting the pressure back on Davis.  Following a long leg down to the St. Michael’s buoy and a beat back to the line, as the competitors completed their first lap, it was Tappenden in first place, Andy Dunnett in his Laser second and Clarke third; with Davis just two seconds behind in fourth position.

On the second lap Dunnett dropped back a few places and Downing, making the most of a freshening breeze, nudged his way up to a very creditable third place overall. 

Results: Spring Series - 1
1. Blaze – John Tappenden
2. Solution – Simon Clarke
3. Contender – Matt Downing