THE sea was like a sheet of glass, without a breath of air, as Gunfleet Sailing Club members prepared to compete for the Tee Dee Challenge Cup.

As the minutes ticked by, a gentle breeze appeared from the east and the boats slowly made their way to the start line.

A strong flooding tide meant the first leg, up the coast to the windward mark, was a reasonably slow and somewhat tortuous affair, with many competitors tacking to the buoy, only to find themselves being pulled away from it as they drew near.

The next leg, out to the seaward buoy, provided similar frustrations, with the tide getting stronger and the light breeze turning even lighter.

Daisy and Harry Swinbourne were the first to retire in their Topaz, followed a little later by Ken Potts, in his RS 600.

There then followed a reach into the AWS buoy and a beat back out to sea, followed by a run down the coast and a fetch back to the line. Throughout the race, Peter Downer showed his prowess in his Comet by stealthily combating the effect of the tide, while in the Solution class Sonny Hart led the way but was unable to make an indent into the top-three positions.

In the slow-handicap fleet, Richard Walker remained ahead in his Sea Ranger, followed by Tom Philpot and Beth Elliott, in their Topaz.

Walker was only just beaten over the water by Robert Gutteridge, in his Solution.

All competitors were very pleased to see the shorten-course flag flying as a single lap had proved gruelling enough.

John Tappenden, in his Blaze, eventually won on handicap, followed by Paul Stanton (Laser) and Paul and Katie Davis (RS 400).

In the afternoon, it was the race exclusively for the fast and medium-handicapped boats, with the winner receiving the London Trophy.

By this time, the wind had freshened very slightly, the tide had turned and the rain was now falling. In a reaching start, the boats now stemmed the freshly ebbing tide but made reasonably short work of the first leg – a surprisingly close bunch as they all tried to navigate around the buoy.

As the fleet headed out to sea, the expected gaps began to appear, with the boats settling down into their handicap order.

However, once around the mark and heading into the AWS buoy, nearly all the dinghies allowed themselves to be dragged up the coast by the tide. Stanton, however, held a true course in his Laser and, as a result, was the first person to round the mark, putting him in a very strong position.

As the boats headed up the coast and then back through the line, it was obvious Stanton was unstoppable.

The second lap saw some good tactics by all, but to little avail, and Stanton romped home to a very solid win.

Results: London Trophy: 1 Laser – Paul Stanton, 2 Blaze – John Tappenden, 3 Solution – Robert Gutteridge.