WALTON and Frinton Yacht Club held the fifth and final race in their Winter Series.

The outcome of the series was still to be decided, with Martin Jenkins, in his Phantom, holding a two-point advantage over Ken Potts, in his Laser.

If Potts could win and Jenkins finished third or worse, the title would be his.

Race officer Chris Brooke set a simple triangular course with three laps, so he could shorten or finish it if the fickle breeze died away completely.

After a short delay, the race started in a steady four to five-knot breeze, which enabled the fleet to get away cleanly.

The Lasers of James Oxley and Potts had good starts, as did the OK of Simon Hipkin and the Solo of John Sewell.

Jenkins, in his Phantom, hung back a few seconds so he could get close to the committee boat and be the boat closest into the wind on the first beat.

This tactic paid off as the Phantom was able to pinch higher into the breeze and slip past the leading boats that were being taken down tide of the first mark.

Jenkins rounded more than a minute ahead of Geoff Parker, in his Hadron, who had got through the chasing pack.

With a run and a reach before rounding Hedge End buoy, and heading back up wind to Naze Buoy, Jenkins was able to sail away in clear breeze and build a race-winning lead.

The positions behind the leader changed several times.

Potts, who was still hoping to win the series, was getting back into contention but a yacht passing close to him did nothing to help his cause and pushed him back down the order.

With the leader completing the last lap, the breeze dropped away to virtually nothing.

All the boats struggled to make way but the leading Phantom was round the last mark, heading back to the finish line at the club with the tide underneath him.

This enabled Jenkins to increase the margin between himself and the fleet to a massive 15 minutes.

The Phantom of Chris Nelson was the second boat over the finish line but Sewell's Solo was close enough to take second place on handicap - ten minutes behind Jenkins, on corrected time.

This meant the series went to Jenkins' Phantom.

In second overall was Potts' Laser and third was Sewell's Solo.

The next race at the club will be the first of the Spring Series on March 26.

Results: Race five: 1st Martin Jenkins, Phantom; 2nd John Sewell, Laser; 3rd Ken Potts, Laser; 4th John Tappenden, Laser; 5th Simon Hipkin, OK; 6th Geoff Parker, Hadron; 7th James Oxley, Laser; 8th Chris Nelson, Phantom; 9th Glen Bacon, TOY.

Overall positions: 1st Martin Jenkins, Phantom; 2nd Ken Potts, Laser; 3rd John Sewell, Solo; 4th John Tappenden, Laser; 5th James Oxley, Laser; 6th Glen Bacon, TOY; 7th Chris Nelson, Phantom; 8th Simon Hipkin, OK; 9th Geoff Parker, Hadron; 10th Paul Stanton, Laser; 11th Dominic Jacobs, Laser.