Yvonne Takes The Winning Gun

Gunfleet Sailing Club’s second race of its Autumn Series was held last Sunday 16 September in blustery conditions with the eventual winner being Laser sailor Yvonne Gough.

A force five, gusting six south/south-westerly wind greeted the competitors and the main discussion, particularly for the Laser sailors, was which rig to use.  The end decision was a mix of radial and 4.7 sails, whilst for a number of other helms there was no choice, except the standard sail provided with the class.  

In an exciting start it was, in fact, Andy Dunnett who was first away, but he chose to stay close to the Inner Distance Mark, so hugging the beach.  This was despite the flood tide that assisted the boats as they headed down the coast to the Eastcliff buoy.  On the other hand Harry Swinbourne and Tom Philpot in their RS200 did the reverse and started right out by the Outer Distance Mark, gaining the full assistance of the tide and sailing tight, straight onto the windward buoy; chasing hard behind was Gough.  The second leg saw the boats fly out to the seaward buoy on a reach, before gybing and then careering towards the Kingscliff mark on a broad reach.  Despite the lively conditions, all the sailors completed the gybe without capsizing, and held onto their craft during the next leg.  Once round Kingscliff it was a dead beat to the AWS buoy and then a slightly precarious run back to Kingscliff.  Once again, in an attempt to get the best possible angle to the wind, a number of downwind gybes took place, all executed cleanly.  Beating back through the line to complete the first lap it was Gough that had the lead, but at this time the wind eased off and dropped to a force four; the sailing became safer but far less exhilarating.  Dunnett clawed his way into top position and once he completed his second lap he headed for the shore, only to remember that it was in fact a three lap race.  Tasked with now playing catch-up he worked his way past Derroll Pedder, in a Laser, then past the RS200, but failed to beat Gough who sailed into a strong first place. 

Results:  Autumn Series – 2:
1.    Laser – Yvonne Gough
2.    Laser – Andy Dunnett
3.    RS200 – Harry Swinbourne and Tom Philpot

The Club also concluded its slightly more gentle sailing with the End of Season Cruise on the Saturday, in lighter winds.