GUNFLEET Sailing Club had a full and varied programme over the Bank Holiday weekend and there were victories for John Tappenden and Andy Dunnett, both sailing Lasers.

It was good to see so many entries for the Ken Potts Pursuit Challenge.

This is a tricky race for the officer of the day as each class of dinghy sets off at different times, depending on their handicap, and at a set time the race concludes.

The force four to five north-easterly wind and freshly ebbing tide kept everyone on their toes and with each lap taking-in the Kingscliff buoy, Seaward mark, AWS and St Michael’s buoy, it was a fair course to power round.

For almost the whole of the first lap it was 'girl power' as Yvonne Gough led all the competitors in her Laser.

However, just as the boats went through the line, she had given way to Ken Potts and Tappenden, also sailing Lasers.

In fact, Lasers seemed to dominate with helms Andy Dunnett, Robert Lockett and Eddie White all streaming behind, with White hanging on after an earlier capsize.

Positions changed in the second lap, with Derroll Pedder and Michael Gutteridge nudging their GP14 in among the Lasers, but Potts remained the lead boat and apparently unstoppable.

However, the old saying of never give up proved fortuitous for Tappenden when, in the third lap, he defied all logic and headed close to shore, so losing the beneficial lift of the tide.

Puzzling though this seemed, it did allow Tappenden to slip around the Kingscliff buoy ahead of Potts and give him a two-boat length lead.

Try as he might, Potts was unable to regain top position, although an interesting game of constant tacking on the final leg kept Tappenden following suit in order to shadow his opponent.

Results: Wallet Trophy: Ken Potts Pursuit Challenge: 1 Laser – John Tappenden, 2 Laser – Ken Potts, 3 Laser – Andy Dunnett.

Monday gave Gunfleet the chance to rerun the last race in their Spring Series, cancelled previously due to fog.

A very light onshore breeze made the sail a sedate affair, although every ounce of effort was used to try and gain a good position.

A total of 17 dinghies had entered one or more of the races and this time it was Peter Downer that sailed his Comet into the top position in the race, with Potts second in his Laser and Dave Fowell third in his Solo.

Unfortunately, these results were not sufficient for Downer to take the overall top spot and, despite coming fourth on the day, Dunnett took the Trophy overall.

Results: Spring Series Overall: 1 Laser – Andy Dunnett, 2 Comet – Peter Downer, 3 Laser – Tom Philpot.