CATAMARANS were flying as Clacton Sailing Club hosted the Hurricane Class Association Open Meeting.

Local sailors took on the best in the country, with teams travelling from as far as North Wales.

The Sunshine Coast did not disappoint, with fabulous light to moderate winds and blue skies.

Six races were held, with race officer Ian Wright setting the start line from a committee boat anchored a short distance offshore.

Rob Mitchell, with James Parsons, made a bold statement of intent by clearly taking the start-line honours in the first two races on Saturday.

The starts became ever more competitive, with the fleet crossing within seconds of each other.

Amid the drama of an individual recall in the third race, Larry Foxon, sailing with Brian Allen, tacked-off onto port to benefit from a wind shift and enjoyed the prestige of being the first boat to round the windward mark.

With each race lasting an hour, it would be not only a test of boat handling and strategy but of personal fitness and determination.

And with each successive race it became clear the championship would go to one of the visiting teams.

Sunday dawned with the promise of increased wind.

Andy Bedford and Robert Taylor were plagued with equipment failure and retired from three of the races but seemed, nevertheless, to have enjoyed their first event at Clacton.

Local pair Matt Burrell and Dan Brzezinski thoroughly enjoyed big-fleet racing, completing all six races with steadily increasing positions as they gained experience.

Fitted with twin trapezes and asymmetric kites, these cats come under serious loads which proved too much in race four for John Tuckwell, who had teamed-up with James Stacey.

They broke their mast under the shock load of the kite opening and were forced to retire.

Grant Piggott and Andy Webb, both previous national champions, reunited for this event and, as the wind freshened in race four, showed they still have what it takes by leading off the line, gamely hanging onto their lead until finally being caught in the third lap.

The windward leg was shortened for the final race, which allowed four laps to be completed.

With the leading two boats very close on points, the start was everything.

Piggott showed his experience to reach the windward in first place but was reeled-in on the second lap by John Ready and Sam Nicholls, who went on to get their third win of the event.

Ritchie Hanmore and Ed Smith had also scored three bullets and the final place was decided from the strongest discard.

Result: 1st Ritche Hanmore and Ed Smith (Stone Sailing Club), 2nd John Ready and Sam Nicholls, 3rd Grant Piggott and Andy Webb, 4th Mark Gower and Blake Rutter.