THERE was a fresh west/south-westerly wind and unbroken sunshine as 12 boats took to the water for Gunfleet Sailing Club's Jubilee Cup.

Andy Dunnett had a clear start in his Laser and he was followed by Harry Swinbourne and then John Tapenden, both in Lasers.

The boats made a long beat down the coast to the St Michael’s buoy.

With the tide ebbing, competitors tacked close to the shore, in order to mitigate its negative effect.

Dunnett, however, became the first casualty when he capsized and forewent his lead.

The Fireball of Jack and Elliot Berry were the first craft to round the mark.

There then followed a very broad reach to the Eastcliff buoy before a run to the AWS mark. Tappenden was now leading the Laser fleet while a little further back were Dave Fowell and Jeremy Goodchild, in their GP14.

Having successfully flown their spinnaker on the last two legs, the Berry brothers attempted to head out to the Seaward buoy still flying it but disaster struck and they found themselves in the water, while several boats went past them.

Having righted the boat, they decided to retire back to the shore.

Eddie White also capsized and he too called it a day.

Meanwhile, the rest of the competitors battled on, gybing around the Seaward buoy before an exhilarating reach to the Kingscliff mark before beating back through the line.

Things started to settle down at this point and it was Tappenden who had the lead as the boats started the second lap.

The wind seemed to drop for a short while and then pick up, with the odd squall blowing through. Tappenden maintained his lead and won the race but all credit had to go to Ted Newson, who sailed his Topper round the course in a very determined way.

Results: Jubilee Trophy: 1 Laser – John Tappenden, 2 Laser – Paul Stanton, 3 Laser – Andy Dunnett.

The previous Wednesday evening, Gunfleet started their Summer Series.

In a strengthening wind, it provided a fascinating spectacle to those on shore.

Results: Summer Series – race one: 1 Laser – Andy Dunnett, 2 Vortex – John Tappenden, 3 Laser – Yvonne Gough.

Gunfleet launched their weekend of activities with the Cadet and Otter Bring A Friend Sailing event, as part of the Sailing On Saturday group.

A group of excited and eager young visitors got their first taste of handling a dinghy at sea and all agreed it had been a great success.