CLACTON Sailing club hosted their annual Regatta.

The eagerly-awaited event took place under blue skies, with a summer breeze that lasted all day.

The event was opened by honoured guest Jeff Wright, a past commodore and long-time friend of the club.

The Regatta was joined by boats from local sailing clubs, including Gunfleet.

Also very welcome was the RNLI inshore rescue boat crew, helmed by Joff Strutt, who later presented the RNLI Pennants and the overall winner of the RNLI Cup.

At 11am sharp, the catamarans sped off with father-and-son team Liam and Ian Wright taking the start-line honours in their Dart 18, hotly pursued by Robert Mitchell, sailing single-handed in a Dart 16.

Inches away was Peter Boxer, single-handedly sailing his Dart 18.

The leading catamarans were quickly at the first buoy, with close-hauled racing the order of the race.

At 11.15am, the mono fleet started their race behind the catamarans, following the same course but with fewer laps.

John Summerfield, sailing his Solo, had a perfect start, hotly pursued by Dave Fowell and Darrel Pedder, in their GP14.

Husband-and-wife team Mike and Sue Suffield were inches away in third place.

The leading three were followed by a menagerie of boats, including Lasers, a club Topaz, a Solution Six and a Hobie 405.

Holiday-makers enjoyed the magnificent sight of 20 boats demonstrating their sailing skills at close quarters, often in erratic winds and strong tides.

Back with the catamarans, Larry Foxton and his crew, Mike Rolfe, racing their Hurricane 5.9, had edged into the lead.

Being the fastest boat in the fleet, they had to make as much headway as possible to beat the Wrights on handicap.

In the chasing pack, Peter Boxer and Robert Mitchell were having their own battle, as were Brian Allen and Robert with Cathy Mitchell in Dart 16s.

After a challenging race, the mono course was shortened to just one lap and the honours mirrored the starting line up, with John Summerfield, in his Solo, taking the winning RNLI Pennant.

A very close second was awarded to Fowell and Pedder and a very respectable third to the husband-and-wife Suffield team.

The RNLI catamaran Pennant and overall winner of the RNLI Cup went to the Wrights in their Dart 18, beating Foxton and Rolfe by the narrowest of margins on handicap. Mitchell was a credible third.

The second race of the day was the CUDC Cup, which had all classes competing for the best possible start on a changed course of two interlocking triangles.

A freshening breeze saw all competitors racing at speed.

The Hurricane team made rapid progress to claim first buoy honours, with the Wrights hot on their heels, followed closely by Robert Mitchell in his Dart 16.

The mono fleet led by Summerfield tried in vain with the freshening breeze to keep close to the much quicker craft.

The catamarans took full advantage of their pace in the increased breeze, with team Wright taking the prize of the CUDC Cup by just 20 seconds on corrected time from Mitchell.

After an enormous effort, Mono sailor Summerfield took a well-deserved third.