Busy Time For Gunfleet

Gunfleet Sailing Club welcomed over 50 visitors on Saturday 18 May when it held its “Push The Boat Out” taster day.  In absolutely ideal weather conditions the public had a chance to take to the water and discover the fun to be had from sailing dinghies off the coast of Holland on Sea.  All ages took part and the day was heralded a great success by the members and visitors alike.

The next day saw the Club’s experienced sailors taking part in the race for the Ken Potts Pursuit Trophy; this included the donor of the cup but he was beaten into second place by John Tappenden in his RS Aero.  The race, which involves a staggered start depending on the official handicap of competitors’ dinghies, saw an early lead for Peter Downer in his Comet following an impressive beat on the first leg.  His clean reach out to the Seaward buoy gave every indication that he was going to be hard to beat, but then tragedy struck when, as the leading craft, he took the wrong course.  This gave the chance for Michael Gutteridge and Derroll Pedder to pounce, in their GP14, and soon they held the lead, holding off the rivals for much of the race, and using their spinnaker at every opportunity on the downwind legs.  Those competitors having correctly reached in to the AWS buoy then took a very broad reach to the Eastcliff mark before running down the coast to the St. Michael’s buoy then beating back through the line.  As time marched on so Tappenden picked his way through the fleet and found himself at the head of the race, with Potts hot on his heels in his RS600; however, try as he might, Potts could not catch Tappenden who took the winning gun.

Results:  Ken Potts Pursuit Trophy
1.    RS Aero – John Tappenden
2.    RS600 – Ken Potts
3.    GP14 – Michael Gutteridge and Derroll Pedder

The previous Wednesday evening the Gunfleet held the second race in the Tony Chadd Trophy series.  Andy Dunnett was first to cross the start line in his Laser, with Potts close by him, also in a Laser.  Squeezing in-between them was Clare Giles in her Europe and she looked a particularly hot contender until the rudder came off the boat and the hull filled-up with water; sufficient problems to force an early retirement.  Having their own private battle were Yvonne Gough and Eddie White, both sailing Lasers, whilst Rob Lockett trailed in his Blaze.  By the end of the second lap, Potts had built up a good lead but, despite capsizing, Dunnett managed a solid second place.

Results:  Tony Chadd Trophy – 2
1.    Laser – Ken Potts
2.    Laser – Andy Dunnett
3.    GP14 – Michael Gutteridge and Derroll Pedder