A Bird In The Hand......

Gunfleet Sailing Club held the second race in its Spring Series last Sunday 9 April and whilst the weather was absolutely perfect for visiting the seaside, sadly for the sailor there was a distinct lack of wind.  

Twelve dinghies took to the water and sailed very gently around the start line in an onshore breeze that struggled to get above 6 mph.  Robert Gutteridge led the fleet away from the line in his Laser and up the coast to the first mark against the last of the flood tide.  Ken Potts, who appeared to be sailing the wrong way, with just seconds to go before the off, smartly tacked around the Outer Distance Mark as the horn blasted across the water, putting himself in a very strong position.  However, it seemed only a few seconds before Jack and Elliot Berry drove their Fireball past the leading boats, on their windward side, and continued to pull away.  As the competitors rounded the Kingscliff buoy it was the Fireball first, followed by John Tappenden and then Potts.  Pushing Potts was Sonny Hart in his Solution, who managed to steal Potts’s wind on the close haul to the Seaward buoy.  A little further back were Paul Stanton and Eddie White in their Lasers whilst in the thick of it was Shona Goodchild, also in a Laser.  With such a light breeze it all proved too exasperating for Andy Dunnett and he soon threw in the towel and gently drifted his way back to the shore.  Despite the slackening tide it still managed to force the helms to put in a tack before they reached the Seaward mark, but once round it was practically a run down to the Eastcliff buoy.  With their colourful spinnakers flying both the Fireball and Tom and Ed Philpot’s 405 made an impressive site to the many shore-based onlookers.

It was Stanton’s turn to pester Potts on the beat back out to sea and, at one point, he managed to slip ahead of him.  But it was on this leg that the Philpot brothers got the shock of their lives when a young bird landed on the back of Tom’s hand whilst helming the 405, and then promptly went to sleep.  Fearing the bird was injured the boys did the gallant thing and retired back to the beach where the bird continued to rest for a while before flying away.

Meanwhile the shorten course flag was hoisted and, as the boats crossed the finish line, it was Tappenden that gained first place on handicap. 

Results:  Spring Series - 02:    
1.    Laser – John Tappenden
2.    Laser – Ken Potts
3.    Laser – Paul Stanton