Solway Yacht Club hold busy weekend with spring pursuit race

Kippford, the Urr estuary and Rough Firth saw one of its busiest, most colourful weekends ever, with great Solway Yacht Club activities on and off the water.

Things started on Thursday with the spring pursuit race, run over 100 minutes with a nail-biting photo finish.

There were a variety of entrants from Cadets through to the highly experienced, all with handicaps set by boat rating.

Pursuit racing has the slower rated boats starting first, with the faster rated starting later and once all have started, it’s a chase down to the final seconds, with the winner being the leading boat when the timing gun sounds.

Young James Colbeck in his Topper who was first to start but was unlucky to get stuck against the incoming tide, losing time in the process. Next away were Ian and Margaret Purkis in their Firefly followed by the rest, the powerful Flying Fifteen of Colin Filer and Jamie Gascoigne being one of the last to start.

The Purkis Firefly built a big lead as the fleet headed out to a mark set off White Port Bay before turning to Castle Point. With the chasing fleet closing in, it seemed John and Val Broadbent in their GP14 or Keith Veasey in his Finn posed the biggest threat to the Firefly’s lead, but still leading as they headed back to Rough Island, the Firefly was holding on by 50 yards; the Filer/Gascoigne crew heading the chasing pack.

Back out towards Horse Isles Bay the minutes were ticking down with the Flying Fifteen closing in. At 99 minutes, 50 seconds the Firefly held on, but it wasn’t to be. In this David and Goliath battle, Goliath won, just, with only five seconds to spare the Filer/Gascoigne Flying Fifteen took the lead. Race timing and safety boat crews hadn’t seen a closer finish in years, but it was full