CLACTON Sailing Club held a highly-successful Regatta.

Robert Mitchell and Gary Corton, in their Dart 16, sailed the first catamaran home and were also crowned as overall RNLI Trophy winners.

John Summerfield and Martin Berryman, meanwhile, were always in control of their lightweight Taser dinghy and went on to win the Adult Mono Pennant.

In addition to some exciting racing, it was also an excuse for a reunion of old club members.

Guest of honour Geoff Wright, along with wife Veronica, opened the event and shared stories of club Regattas going back 40 years.

Other surprise visitors included previous commodore Phil Foster and son David.

Richard Walker was welcomed as the visiting commodore from Gunfleet Sailing Club.

However, it was unfortunate that his sailors were unable to attend as launching from their club remains prohibited, while the coastal defence works continue.

The RNLI Trophy race got under way in fresh force four to five south-westerly winds and a building southerly swell.

A healthy turn-out of catamarans started ahead of the mono fleet, but all were to race around the same fast course.

Ian Wright, sailing with son Liam in their Dart 18, were clear ahead within seconds of the gun, having audaciously secured the most inshore position of the line.

They headed off well upwind of the fleet on starboard tack.

The strongly-ebbing spring tide was one of the main features of the race, making the windward leg frustrating as each boat had to make a judgment call when to tack, having over-stood the lay lines.

Poor decisions meant additional tacks and the fleets stretched out on this first leg.

The Mono fleet enjoyed tight racing and there was a selection of Lasers, Tasers and Toppers.

Andy Dunnet thought he had made a flying start in his Laser.

However, he crossed the line early and later had to retire.

After the technicalities of the upwind leg, the rest of the course seemed to be more a test of boat speed and handling as two broad reaches took them past a fast gybe at the seaward mark and on to the downwind mark.

Out at sea, a deepening swell was developing and this increased the risk of nosedive for the cats or a broaching death roll for the monohulls.

Ian and Liam Wright, with the responsibility of leading the pack, sailed the wrong course on the first lap.

They realised their error but fell back into second place and were never quiet able to recover.

The course then tightened to a fetch back into the ODM, before tacking and freeing off immediately on to two screaming reaches out to sea and back to complete the first lap.

The outside gybe mark in these strong wind and wave conditions normally produces a capsize zone.

However, it is a measure of how racing standards have improved this year that there were no incidents.

The wild conditions did test sailors and boats in other ways, though.

Mark Venables demonstrated able seamanship, having managed to sail ashore after retiring with a broken Laser mast.

Cruelly, he then tore the sail in the shoredump close to the beach. After jumping waves on the way out in the fast reaches, Stelios Tablis’ crew, Simon Mathewson, fell through a tear in the trampoline of their Nacra 20.

As a result, they were also forced to retire.

James Stacey, 16, also deserves a special mention for having helmed the big Hurricane catamaran in these conditions, completing the three-lap course in 59 minutes to win the Cadet Pennant.