With a flat sea, conditions looked ideal from the shore for the last of the ‘taster sessions’ this season, however a brisk and gusty Northwesterly wind gave the session a ‘sting in the tail’, writes Simon White.

Launching on the falling tide added to the tricky conditions of the day, but once away it was literally an exhilarating blast on a broad reach to deeper water. This gave a real taste of the speeds achievable in a sailing dinghy but also the instability of the boat that goes with sailing in brisk gusty winds.

With the gusty conditions continuing throughout the morning it took the skill of all helms to keep the boats upright.

One or two helms did give the inexperienced a try at helming, but were only rewarded for their bravery with a quick swim and a lesson on how to right a capsized dinghy. With the sun shining it did make the water look warmer than it actual was but thankfully most stayed dry.

The morning was rounded off with some hot food and drinks back at the clubhouse and some interesting conversations about the mornings experiences. It seems that all the hard work put in by the members of the sailing club has been a success.

It has not only given the opportunity for some to experience the thrill of sailing, but also raised the profile of the sailing club itself. It is one of the many fantastic clubs the town has to offer with one of the best views across Lyme bay. No better place to be on a nice summers day!

Thirteen boats took to the water for the afternoons racing and with the conditions remaining as a brisk gusty Northwesterly the decision was made to have one long race as opposed to the normal two shorter back-to-back races. Some of the laser sailors decided to rig with the smaller radial sails to help combat the conditions.

With the competitive spirit coming to the front from all helms and crews and speed being the order of the day it made for some ‘interesting’ racing.

It was not long before some, perhaps pushing a little to hard were out of their boats and going for a swim. It turned into a two horse race for the honours between two of the Scorpion fleet, that of James Salter with crew David Johnson and Guy Revill with crew Jack Rea. Chris Clapp again leading the Laser fleet around the course.

Results: Scorpion Fleet: 1, G Revill/J Rea; 2, J Salter/ D Johnson; 3, S Price/ E MacFayden.

Laser Fleet: 1, C Clapp; 2, M Taylor; 3, A Watson