GUNFLEET Sailing Club held their TDC Pursuit Race, as part of the Clacton Sea and Beach Festival.

After an exciting battle, Liam and Ian Wright, from Clacton Sailing Club, took the winning gun in their Dart 18.

Twenty craft took part in the race, made up of entries from Clacton Sailing Club and Brightlingsea Sailing Club, as well as hosts Gunfleet.

All visiting helms were sailing catamarans, which made for a very fast and lively race.

As usual with the Pursuit Race, the dinghies and cats started at staggered times, depending on their official handicap.

This meant there was a gap of over 30 minutes between the very first and last competitor.

There were 10 starts, with the 405, Laser and Solution classes having just seconds between them.

Peter Downer led much of the way down the coast in his Comet but Ken Potts sailed passed him to take pole position.

John Tappenden, also in a Laser, remained hot on Potts’ heels and by the time the catamarans reached the Pier, several of the monohulls had concluded their first lap and were well into the second.

However, the wind got stronger and the catamarans relished the conditions, although for Jack Dempsey, sailing single-handed, a capsize caught him out.

Martin and Debbie Chivers, in a Dart 18, were soon overtaking the slower dinghies, while Robert Mitchell, sailing his Dart 16 single-handed, was just lapping up the conditions.

Meanwhile, the Spitfire of James Stacey and Simon Clarke was accelerating at great speed and sliced through the water. With less than five minutes to go, it was clear Potts had his work cut out to hold off the catamarans and as the minutes ticked by Liam and Ian Wright, sailing a Dart 18, moved into first place and took the winning gun at precisely 12.30pm.

Results: TDC Pursuit Race: 1 Dart 18 – Liam and Ian Wright (Clacton Sailing Club), 2 Laser – Ken Potts (Gunfleet Sailing Club), 3 Dart 18 – Pete Boxer and Eilish Dempsey (Clacton Sailing Club).