Spring Series Excitement All The Way

Last Saturday evening 19 April Gunfleet Sailing Club held its very first Horse Race Night and it proved a real smash.  The canter of hooves, the smell of the turf, all on film of course, and the roar of the crowd – i.e. the members in the Clubhouse, the evening was an absolute hit.  Betting was fast and furious; the horses sweated, the men perspired and the ladies glowed gently as the Clubhouse reached fever-pitch!  At half times it was a choice of burgers, hot dogs, carrots and straw and with punters, jockeys and horses all fed it was down the straight and into the second half.  At the end of the night some people phoned Securicor to assist them with their winnings whilst others left without a shirt on their back but everyone agreed it had been a great evening and a second Gunfleet Gallop will certainly be on the cards next year. 

 

The Easter Bank Holiday Weekend brought a mixed bag of weather with Sunday’s race in the Spring Series being held in showers and gusting north easterly winds.  Paul Stanton started on port tack in his Laser, defying the rest of the fleet that were on starboard, but he smartly tacked just ahead of the RS 400 of Paul Davis and Beth Ford and risked coming close enough to the shore to remain the windward craft as both boats went about again.  Fighting a flood tide the vast majority of the craft similarly followed suite, sticking close to the shore, as they all headed up the coast to the Kingscliff buoy.  On the other hand Derroll Pedder in his Solution, Robert Gutteridge in his Laser, and the Bates brothers in their 405, headed out to sea and were clearly hit by the adverse tide.  Simon Clarke and Emily Cossens were first round the mark in their Scorpion and then it was a run back to the AWS bouy, a reach in to the ODM mark and a second slog up the coast to Kingscliff.  After this the competitors reached out to the Seaward buoy, gybed round it, and had a second reach into Eastcliff before beating back to the line.  Stanton was clearly loving the conditions and at the end of the first lap had built up a comfortable lead; his likelihood of winning being strengthened on the second lap when firstly the Scorpion and then the RS 400 capsized on the downwind leg.  However, on the third lap Davis and Ford had their boat simply flying on the reaches, with their asymmetric spinnaker hoisted, and managed to steal victory from under Stanton’s nose. 

 

 

Easter Monday brought very different conditions with blue skies, sunshine and a force three to four north/north easterly wind, coupled with a flat sea.  Seventeen boats entered the fourth and final race in the Spring Series and they made an impressive sight to the many onlookers on shore as they buzzed up and down the start line waiting for the “off”.  Ken Potts in his RS 600 and Derroll Pedder in his Solution both had fine starts, and right up in the front of the fleet were Cadets Brogan and Max Bates in their Hobie 405.  Like the previous day the competitors groyne-hopped up the coast to the Kingscliff buoy, at which point the RS 400 found its spinnaker was knotted causing quite a delay when it was hoisted on the reach to the Seaward mark.   On the second reach to St. Michel’s buoy the boats were all still quite closely bunched, whilst the next leg, a beat back up the coast to the AWS buoy, began to split the fleet.  In the Lasers it was Matt Gough who lead the full rig group, whilst in the radial rigs his wife Yvonne was neck and neck with Paul Stanton throughout the race.  The other clear battle was between Harry Swinbourne and Tommy Martin in the Toppers but it was Swinbourne that kept Martin at bay.  The only casualty during the race was the Hobie 405, sailed by Beth Elliott and Darcie Baker, which capsized after the first lap and required Rescue Boat assistance, so being forced to retire.