Tappenden Takes Top Spot

Members of the Gunfleet Sailing Club were greeted by unbroken sunshine and a pleasant force three to four southerly wind last Sunday 21 April when they took part in the fourth race of the Spring Series.  First across the start line was John Tappenden in his Blaze, closely followed by Paul Stanton in his Laser, but by the time the boats had reached the first mark, the Kingscliff buoy, Ken Potts had slipped ahead in his RS600.  On the beat out to the Seaward buoy a number of different tactics were taken, and this saw Tappenden regain his lead for a short while, but he found he was unable to quite make the mark and was forced to put in an extra tack, so knocking him back.  Simon Clarke and Emily Cossens took the opportunity to move-up to third place in their Scorpion, strengthening their position on the run back down to the Kingscliff when they hoisted their spinnaker.  As usual the Laser fleet was having its own race within a race, with Stanton fighting off Andy Dunnett, Yvonne Gough and Robert Gutteridge to maintain his class lead and be in second place overall at the end of the first lap.  However, things changed quite a bit during the second lap with Gutteridge retiring and Dunnett working his way to the front of the Lasers.  Slightly further back the Solution, sailed by Eddie White, spent the whole race chasing the Lasers whilst Lesley Sacre, in her Pico, sailed a steady course but was unable to make any real impression.  As the race continued it became a two-boat challenge, between Tappenden and Potts, with Tappenden eventually taking victory by a narrow margin.