Final Class Race Reveals Overall Series Winners

It was a busy time for Gunfleet Sailing Club over the August Bank Holiday weekend with the race for the Jim Suckling Long Distance Shield on the Sunday, followed by the final race of the Class Points Series on Monday.

Sixteen boats took to the water prior to the start of the long distance race in a force four, gusting five, East/North-Easterly wind, with the younger members of the Club wisely rigging the 4.2 sails on their Toppers.  Against the flood tide the fleet headed up the coast, all on starboard tack, Ken Potts leading in his Laser Radial, with Jono Dunnett and Tim Dye just behind, both sailing Lasers, and John Tappenden’s RS Aero on top of them.  Then, screaming through the fleet, slightly downwind, came Brian Allen and Rob Mitchell on their F18 catamaran.  Whilst a number of helms tacked early, and headed out to sea, the leading craft continued into the middle of the next bay before going about at the very last minute, so making the most of the slacker tide at the water’s edge.  The lumpy conditions were not to everyone’s liking and Eddie White soon retired back to shore in his Comet.  The F18 was first to round the Kingscliff buoy, followed by Potts, Dunnett. And Dye. With a short reach to the Preston Park mark, then a run to the AWS buoy. Allen and Mitchell were pulling away all the time and after a second reach out to the Seaward mark the pair hoisted their asymmetric spinnaker and started the long downwind leg to the Pier buoy.  At this point it was realised that this most westward mark had disappeared, subsequently discovered that the Council Beach Patrol had inadvertently taken it away in the misbelief it was one of theirs from the Air Show; this resulted in the race having to be abandoned.

The Class Racing was more successful and saw a large fleet of Lasers all jockeying for the best position on the start line; Jono Dunnett leading the fleet up to the Kingscliff buoy, followed by Tim Dye and then Ken Potts, but by the time they rounded the mark Potts had slipped in front of Dye.  A good reach out to the Seaward buoy, a lively gybe, and a second reach into the Eastcliff mark saw the leading two Lasers start to head to the wrong buoy, allowing Dye to sail past.  Further back Robert Mitchell was holding onto fourth place until he capsized, allowing Paul Stanton and Brian Allen to slip by.  However, Stanton did a backward somersault out of his boat and immediately capsized.  After several changes in the lead boat it was Dunnett who took the winning gun.  The next class away were the Solos and Simon Clarke held Dave Fowell off throughout the race, whilst Malcolm Smith took the Comet class, John Tappenden the Topaz, and Dave Ingle the Menagerie fleet in his RS Aero.  The star of the show was, however, Finley Taylor who, in a force four to five wind, came home first in the Topper class.  As this was the last race in the series there was a lot riding on the day’s final positions.

Results – Class Points Winners Overall:  
Laser – Robert Mitchell
Solo – Dave Fowell
Comet – Malcolm Smith
Topaz – John Tappenden
Topper – Finley Taylor
Menagerie – RS Aero; Dave Ingle