CLACTON Sailing Club held their annual Easter Bunny Series.

Making the most of the dry weather, they ran both races back to back.

At 11am sharp, the fleet of catamarans lined up with all the competitors keen to get a clean start and gain the advantage of being first to the windward mark, which had been placed inshore.

Brian Allen with Matt Burrell and Larry Foxon with Daniel Brezinski, both on Hurricane 5.9 SXs, were first away, closely followed by the father-and-son team of Mark and George Venables, on their Dart 16.

Allen and Burrell were first to the windward mark, where they hoisted their striking blue gennaker and they were off to the seaward buoy.

Foxon and Brezinski's third sail launch was delayed through a halyard being snagged, dropping them behind the third Hurricane, crewed by Stafford Glover and Burrow.

The race was now on as all the competitors raced around the course, made up of a sausage and a triangle.

The Allen and Burrell team were clear winners, followed by Foxon and Brezinski, who had managed to retake two positions through tactical use of the strong tide.

The fleet of catamarans stayed on the water, awaiting the second race, and it was the Venables team that were first away.

However, they were quickly overhauled by the much faster Hurricane 5.9SXs that quickly hoisted the vast gennakers.

The Allen and Burrell team led the pack and all was to play for.

With close-quarter sailing and tactical use of the tide in very fluky wind conditions, all came down to the last buoy, with the three Hurricanes all coming at it from different angles.

It was the Allen-Burrell team that took line honours, with the Glover and Burrow crew just seconds behind.

With all the results in, Allen and Burrell were winners of the Easter bunnies, with Foxon and Brezinski second and Glover and Burrow third.

Team Venables was fourth.