Gunfleet Regatta Results In Host Of Winners

Gunfleet Sailing Club held its annual Regatta, sponsored by Orsted Energy and Odiin Recruitment, over the weekend of 20 & 21 July with twenty-eight boats taking part in an offshore wind and a mixture of sunshine and clouds.

The first race, for the RNLI Charity Shield, saw visiting RS Aero sailor Dave Perkins, from Hertford County Yacht Club, leading the fleet up the coast to the Kingscliff buoy and fighting a flood tide.  He was closely followed by Ken Potts in his Laser, Simon Clarke in his Europe, and Joff Strutt in his Laser.  Brian Allen, in his A Class catamaran, then flew past the competitors to their windward, but hit a hole in the wind and allowed Perkins, then Potts, followed by Tim Dye, Yvonne Gough, and Robert Mitchell, all sailing Lasers, to round the mark in front of him.  The short run out to the Preston Park buoy saw Allen taking the lead whilst, slightly further back, a collision between Jake Phillips’ Laser and Paul Jackson’s Solo resulted in both helms retiring, with their boats towed back to the shore by the Club’s Safety Boats.  A reach out to Seaward was the opportunity for Dye to overtake Potts; Mitchell also moving up the ranking, but the following beat back in to the AWS buoy had Potts regain his position and also pass Perkins.  Clarke refused to let go and kept his Europe ahead of several faster handicapped boats, whilst just behind him there was a three way tussle between the Lasers of Gough, Paul Stanton, and Andy Dunnett.  A short reach to Lilley Farm mark was followed by an even shorter beat in to the Eastcliff buoy, a reach to St. Michael’s buoy before returning back to the line. At the end of the first lap, Potts had the lead, on handicap, by a very narrow margin, but in the second lap, Clarke cranked-up his Europe a notch and took the winning gun by just one second.

Results – RNLI Charity Shield:
1.    Europe – Simon Clarke
2.    Laser – Ken Potts
3.    RS Aero – John Tappenden
First Under 18:  Topper – George Smith

After an excellent lunch, prepared and served by the Galley Crew, there followed the Diamond Jubilee race and by now the tide had turned and was starting to ebb.  This time Dye lead the fleet away, but by the time he reached the first mark he had Clarke snapping at his heels.  However, once again Allen took his catamaran into prime position, whilst as they all reached the offshore buoy it was Clarke that now lead the dinghies. The wind began to get a bit fluky and Allen, well ahead of the game, lost time when he touched the Eastcliff buoy and was forced to take a 360 degree penalty turn.  At the end of the first lap it was Clarke in the top place with Potts and Dye second and third respectively.  As the boats continued on their second lap the wind suddenly died and many competitors found themselves being dragged backwards by the tide, particularly those heading out to Seaward, who were frustrated to see the buoy falling away from them.  The helms that had already rounded that mark beat very slowly in to AWS and this was when getting the layline right made all the difference.  Potts showed his skill by judging it to perfection and, just behind the catamaran, made his way down the coast to Lilley Farm, but an unexpected gust caught him out and his Laser capsized.  Whilst the righting of his boat lost him very little time it became clear that a skilful piece of sailing by Chris Maloney, in his Comet, was going to take the honours.

Results – Diamond Jubilee Trophy:
1.    Comet – Chris Maloney
2.    Laser – Ken Potts
3.    Europe Simon Clarke
First Under 18:  Topper – Izzie Heath

A short break for tea and cake relieved the sailors of the frustration of the previous race, and by now a breeze had kicked in, still primarily from the north-west.  Class racing then followed, with seven separate starts, and courses to suit each class.  First away were the Toppers and six Cadets took part.  Sam Kettle lead the fleet, but it wasn’t long before George Smith slipped past, and by the end of the first lap it was Smith first, Belle Hart second, and Izzie Heath third.  During the second lap Heath got past Hart and began challenging Smith, pulling ahead on the very last leg
Results – Class Racing:
Toppers:
1.    Izzie Heath
2.    George Smith
3.    Belle Hart

Next to go were the Comets and it was clear that both Chris Maloney and Peter Downer were a good match, positions changing quite regularly.  At the end of their first lap, Maloney has ahead of Downer by a hairs breadth but then began to pull away.  However as they rounded the AWS buoy, Downer cut very tight and slipped ahead, but an exciting tussle until the end.
Comets:
1.    Peter Downer
2.    Chris Maloney

Third away were the Solos and Europe, sailing like for like, and although Simon Clarke took an early lead, he was overtaken by Emily Cossens and clearly had a fight on his hands, whilst a little further back was Michael Gutteridge, having sorted out an earlier centreboard problem.  After some good tactical stuff it was Clarke that was rewarded with his second win of the day.
Solos & Europes:
1.    Simon Clarke
2.    Emily Cossens
3.    Michael Gutteridge

In the Laser race the top three places were dominated by Paul Stanton, Tim Dye and Ken Potts, and neither let go of the others.  At the end of the first lap it was Stanton leading, followed by Dye, and Potts bringing up the rear.  The battle continued throughout the second lap and different tactics brought different placings, but at the end of the race it was Potts that held off his rivals.
Lasers:
1.    Ken Potts
2.    Paul Stanton
3.    Tim Dye

The RS Aeros followed on and all the boats had their 7 rigs up, making for real match racing.  John Tappenden carved out an early lead, and at the end of the first lap he appeared to have the whole thing sown-up; Dave Perkins in second place and Derroll Pedder third.  The second lap saw Tappenden increase his lead but there was some movement in the rest of the fleet when Dave Ingle drove his Aero into second place.
RS Aeros:
1.    John Tappenden
2.    Dave Ingle
3.    Derroll Pedder

The Catamaran and Menagerie fleet set off together but, after some fine sailing, Robert Gutteridge retired in his Contender, which cemented John and Sarah Heath’s win in their RS 200; they having already pulled into a strong lead.  Brian Allen took his A Class into first place in the catamarans.
Menagerie: RS 200 – John & Sarah Heath
Catamarans: A Class – Brian Allen