GUNFLEET Sailing Club had a busy weekend, starting with the first event in their Cadet and Otter Sailing On Saturday programme.

Under the close supervision of cadet officer Claire Aylen, the young members got their boats out on the water and spent a number of hours getting some good practice in.

Sunday morning saw 13 boats taking part in the Potts Pursuit Challenge.

With staggered starts, depending on dinghy speed, it meant each competitor was catching up with the one in front while holding back those behind.

Toppers were first away, followed eight minutes later by the Comet class.

Luke Powling led the way, in his Topper, down to the St Michael’s buoy and had sailed a significant distance when Dave Fowell and Jeremy Goodchild got underway in their GP14.

Soon after this the 405s powered up, with Tom and Ed Philpot leading the fleet, and 31 seconds later the six Lasers were away and this just left the Fireball of Jack and Elliot Berry.

Twenty-three minutes after the Topper had sailed off, the Berry brothers got underway and for them it was a case of trying to pick everyone else off.

Powling maintained the lead as he headed out to the Seaward buoy but a shift in the wind and a strong ebbing tide made it apparent that it would not be possible to make the offshore mark without putting in a tack or two.

John Tappenden, who had led the Lasers from the start line, was now finding himself under pressure from several of his class-mates, while the GP14 was maintaining a good pace.

The next leg was a broad reach to the Kingscliff buoy and up went the spinnakers, so providing extra speed and a real spectacle to the onlookers.

The Fireball, by now, had made its way past half the competitors and, on the close haul back out to sea, challenged the Lasers.

A second reach to Kingscliff and then a fetch back through the line saw just one boat holding the Berry brothers back from claiming victory and that was being sailed by the boys’ father, Paul Berry.

As the time limit got ever-closer, the Fireball sailed past dad and into the lead, opening the gap as the finish horn went.

Results: Potts Pursuit Challenge: 1 Fireball – Jack and Elliot Berry, 2 Laser – Paul Berry, 3 Laser – Ken Potts.

In the afternoon, the Cadets and Otters undertook sail training with ten dinghies getting on the water and the young crew learnt how to maximise performance.