Tappenden Takes The Trophy

Mixed weather greeted members of the Gunfleet Sailing Club on Sunday 20 June when they took part in the race for the Bill Geddes Trophy, with John Tappenden taking the winning gun in his RS Aero after three laps of exciting tussles.  

From arrival at the Club, and throughout the event, the sky was heavy with dark cloud, and the wind varied in both direction and strength; primarily coming from offshore.  A tight start saw Ken Potts lead in his Laser, albeit Tappenden took the windward position and so managed to block some of Potts’ wind as the competitors fetched up the coast to the Kingscliff buoy; Tappenden by now just having the edge.  There followed an almost dead run out to the Seaward buoy and decisions were divided which side of the mast to have the boom.  During this leg Carlo Bardetti moved up to third place in his Laser but soon found the pressure from the other sailors as he got further out to sea.  Cleanly rounding the second mark it was a beat to the ODM and with an ebbing tide the fleet sheeted hard in and pointed down the coast; the wind shifts making it difficult to determine the optimum time to tack.  By now Robert Mitchell had taken over third position, in his Laser, and Bardetti was trying to hold off Brian Allen in his Laser but to no avail.  After the ODM it was a reach to the Eastcliff buoy before returning back through the line.  At the end of the first lap it was Potts who had a comfortable lead on handicap.  On the second lap Allen tried sailing by the lee on the run out to Seaward and closed the gap with Mitchell but lost it again on the beat, whilst Bardetti capsized at the Eastcliff buoy but was soon back up and in the thick of things once more.  Potts clung on to his lead but was to see victory slip from his grasp in the third and final lap.   

Results – Bill Geddes Trophy:
1.    RS Aero – John Tappenden
2.    Laser – Ken Potts
3.    Laser – Robert Mitchell

The previous Wednesday evening saw the final race in the series for the Tony Chadd Trophy, and such was the eagerness to get going that a number of competitors jumped the start line and it was necessary to have a general recall.  Ten minutes later the race got underway with Andy Dunnett leading in his Laser, followed by Tappenden in his RS Aero and Yvonne Gough in her Laser. As the fleet headed up the coast to the Eastcliff buoy so the wind, which had been fickle much of the day, freshened sufficiently to hurry the boats around the course.  Derroll Pedder, who had a disappointing start in his Solo, managed to catch-up  to the main group during the second lap but just as the third lap was in full swing, so the wind faded away, and boats started to change positions with regularity.  Out in front by now was Potts in his Laser and he had a comfortable win over Dunnett, with Clare Giles third in her Europe.  These results cemented Potts’s overall top placing in the series.

Results – Tony Chadd Series Overall:
1.    Laser – Ken Potts
2.    Laser – Andy Dunnett
3.    RS Aero – John Tappenden