Another First For Ken

Gunfleet Sailing Club held the fourth race in its evening Summer Series on Wednesday 17 July which, following some interesting tactics, saw Ken Potts taking first place in his Laser.

The last of the day’s sunshine, coupled with blue skies, certainly attracted a good entry and the craft made an attractive scene against a backdrop of the wind turbines. With a slack low tide, and in a pleasant southerly breeze, it clearly paid to be by the Outer Distance Mark for the start of the race but that didn’t deter a few competitors from trying their luck at the other end, by the Inner Distance Mark.  The angle of the wind meant a close-hauled beat to the Eastcliff buoy, with Andy Dunnett rounding it first in his Laser.  There then followed a reach to the AWS mark, with Dunnett still holding the front position, before a beat out to the Seaward buoy.  It was on this leg that Dunnett called starboard, for right of way, on Potts, but it wasn’t long before there was an opportunity for the roles to be reversed and Potts had starboard on Dunnett, resulting in Potts taking the lead.  The penultimate leg was a run to the Kingscliff buoy when Rob Lockett decided to try broad-reaching his Blaze but to no advantage.  Slightly further back Robert Gutteridge kept his Solo ahead of Yvonne Gough and Eddie White, both sailing Lasers.  As the competitors completed the first lap it was Potts in the lead, followed by Dunnett, and then Gutteridge.  The second lap saw some positions changing and Clare Giles slipped her Europe ahead of Lockett’s Blaze only to drop back on the third lap.  Dunnett pushed Potts but try as he might he was unable to recover his original position, whilst Gough reduced the gap between her and Gutteridge in the second lap but she too slipped back in the third and final lap.  

It was noticeable that, in the final lap, the tide started to strengthen and the wind began to ease but it did little to change to positions of the top three sailors who had, by now, carved out their final placings in the race.
  
Results:  Summer Series – 4:
1.    Laser – Ken Potts
2.    Laser – Andy Dunnett
3.    Solo – Robert Gutteridge

Several members took part in the Clacton on Sea Sailing Club Regatta and congratulations go to Gunfleet’s Michael Gutteridge for winning the Cadet Cup in the afternoon CUDC race.