A GENTLE north easterly and bright sun promised good racing at Flushing Sailing Club on Tuesday, but the departure of a large Stena Line coaster delayed the start.

The committee boat was anchored near Trefusis Point to give a good beat towards St Just in the force two breeze. Nearly 40 boats sailed slowly to the end of the docks and at last the starting sequence began with Q class.

Jackdaw got away well and led on the beat to the first mark, where they turned and close reached south along the St Just to St Mawes shore followed by four others sailing a little further offshore. They flew spinnakers, but it was hardly worth the effort and after a short while they were dropped.

A tight group of three sunbeams followed the same line and they pulled away from a fourth one who could not match their boat speed.

Above the boats a low grey cloud came over the hills and drifted down towards the water from behind St Mawes and all failed to read the omens as the wind veered from north east to east.

In U class, they enjoyed more success with their spinnakers because on reaching the windward mark, they turned to port and came back towards the Trefusis shore running more directly downwind.

Popincoota took the lead followed by Deep Purple, Quicksilver, Gap Year and Aurora. As their courses turned south, they too dropped their spinnakers but at the back of the fleet Mary Boon and Outsider held on to theirs.

In B class, John Peters in Rita was first to the mark and they bore away following the same path as Q and V classes reaching south as they were followed by Grace, Florence, Cousin Jinny and Victory who were all in a group, but Cousin Jack had fallen a long way behind.

As the wind speed eased, Deep Purple got ahead and upwind of Popincoota and Jackdaw left St Mawes harbour and dropped their spinnaker near Castle buoy and the tide turned.

Jackdaw, with its large high aspect rig, was the last boat to sail with real purpose. Deep Purple was 50m in front of Popincoota with both trying to get power from drooping spinnakers.

Further back there was a high tension yet low speed dual between Gap Year and Quicksilver with velocities of almost one and half knots as Lennie Trenoweth overtook Quicksilver.

Further back the orange coloured Nitro became the classic painted ship upon a painted ocean as the wind power only just over came the adverse tide.

Many boats radioed in to retire and among them were Temeraire, Zephyrus of Mylor, Magpie and Cousin Jack and in the distance Victory was towed to the mooring and a Sigma pulled home a Sunbeam.

G class: 1st Dragonfly - M Maguire, 2nd Katy - S Grigg, 3rd Kathleen - Brennan/R Carter.

Q class: 1st Jackdaw - T Cook, 2nd Macavity - J Hicks.

U class: 1st Deep Purple - R Jones, 2nd Popincoota - A Grose, 3rd Gap Year - L Trenoweth.