GUNFLEET Sailing Club’s 2016 Cadet Week, sponsored by Dong Energy, proved a real hit with a great mix of racing in the morning and games in the afternoon - the latter being both on and off the water.

The races were held in four different classes – Toppers, Topazes, Hobie 405s and Lasers, with separate starts and courses each day, with the exception of Wednesday when a cruise to St Osyth was planned.

Monday morning saw a strong south-westerly breeze but this did not deter the sailors from taking part.

The Toppers found the going quite tough, with a number of capsizes, resulting in Ted Newson taking first place.

The Topazes appeared to be enjoying the strong winds and, while there were some retirements, it was Shona Goodchild and Maddie Corbett that claimed top spot, followed by Harrison Smith and Joshua Aiken, with Will Swain-Murrison and Francesca Cottee third.

The Hobie 405s and Lasers were just lapping up the conditions, with places changing in both classes.

Beth Elliott and Finlay Williams took first place, Ross and Caleb Aylen were second and Tom and Ed Philpot third. Robert Gutteridge was first in the Lasers, followed by Harry Swinbourne.

Tuesday’s racing was in slightly lighter winds and, once again, Newson was first in the Toppers, with Abigail Hayes second and Henry Spooner third.

Smith and Joshua Aiken gained first place in the Topazes while Thomas Aiken and Jude Aylen got a creditable second place, with Owen Hooper and Robbie Jay third.

The 405s saw the same order of finish as Monday but in the Lasers it was Swinbourne that displaced Gutteridge for top spot.

Wednesday’s cruise was blown off, resulting in games all day, and continuing strong winds on Thursday saw a shuffle of the programme to make that a games day too.

This resulted in the last two races being held on Friday, with Spooner taking the winning gun in the morning in the Topper class.

Smith and Joshua Aiken continued to dominate the Topazes, but, thanks to some tactical sailing, the Philpot brothers took a comfortable win in the 405 class.

Gutteridge reclaimed top spot in the Lasers.

The final race, in the afternoon, saw Newson get his third win.

Smith and Joshua Aiken repeated their morning glory, while the Aylen brothers had a convincing win in the 405s. Gutteridge also mirrored his earlier victory in the Laser fleet.

Those Cadets and Otters that were just learning to sail were given training while the racing was underway.

At Saturday’s cadet party, the overall team results were given out and the following trophies presented:

Swallow Trophy – Toppers: Ted Newson; Amazon Trophy – Topazes: Harrison Smith and Joshua Aiken; Captain Flint Trophy – Hobie 405s: Beth Elliott and Finlay Williams; Long John Silver Trophy – Lasers: Robert Gutteridge.