A gentle south westerly wind created a relaxed atmosphere for the sailors on Saturday, writes Chris Clapp.

One of the club’s regular sailors, Nick Jennings, was unable to sail due to an injury and therefore acted as race officer of the day. He oversaw the proceedings of nine boats on the water, competing in two shortened races.

The first race saw Miles Hapgood, sailing his first race of the season with his regular crew Steve Smith, timing the start perfectly to lead the fleet around the first windward mark.

He was closely followed by Simon Price and Emma McFayden in their Scorpion, who kept the pressure on throughout the race.

Mark Collett and son Matthew, in their RS 200, sailed well to keep up with the faster Scorpion dinghies.

Alex Hammond, with crew Michelle Anning, sailed competitively in a RS Feva and did well to secure two wins from the other Feva on the water, sailed by brother and sister team, David and Christina Clapp.

Ady Moreton, the club’s vice commodore, and crew Steve Beard, completed both races in their RS 200 making the most of the limited breeze.

The second race of the afternoon saw Mark Collett and son Matthew make an excellent start in their RS 200, breaking away from the rest of the fleet.

Miles Hapgood and Steve Smith once again closed the gap and sailed closer to the wind, managing to regain first position and lead the fleet at the windward mark.

Meanwhile, Simon Price and Emma McFayden in their Scorpion and Paul Wilson, sailing a single-handed Laser dinghy, were catching Miles and Steve.

The wind then eased, making it a nail-biting finish with Miles and Steve taking the win, Simon and Emma second place, Paul crept in for a third place and Mark and Matthew fourth, all finishing within a couple of boat lengths of each other.

Richard Davies and Scott Tobin, both sailing club Qubas, did well to complete both races due to the light conditions. Good sailing!

This Saturday (May 5), it is junior and development sailing for club members in the morning, so sailing dinghies will be on the water for most of the day.

If you have ever wanted to try your hand at sailing then do come along and join us on Saturday, May 19, when the club is staging an RYA approved ‘Push the Boat Out’ event.

Free sailing sessions will be available throughout the day.