The Royal Corinthian Yacht Club at Burnham on Crouch hosted a splendid Open Meeting for Dragons over the long weekend of 17 to 19 July. It was run as part of the East Coast Windward/Leeward Series. This all coincided with the Club’s Summer Regatta, so there was much to see and do all weekend.
Entries came from all over the British east coast, including Cathy Ogden in Kismet GBR 821 from the Royal Forth Yacht Club, Edinburgh, Rick Gillingham in Navaho GBR 764 from Aldeburgh Yacht Club and Howard Paterson, Taniwha GBR 823 with Quentin Strauss, Whistle GBR 560, both from Medway Yacht Club. They were joined by home boats including Mark & Mandy Wade in Avalanche GBR 722, Andy Moss in Hands Off GBR 760, Ian Gray in Still Crazy GBR 827 and David Warner aboard Dublin Bay GBR 826.
Friday dawned hot and windless. Would the scheduled three races get done? With a 1225 hrs Warning Signal, there was a scramble to get off the moorings with time to drift down against the flood tide to the mouth of the River Roach. With a predominant northerly wind, we hoped for a good sea breeze to kick in. When it did, Race Officer Edwin Buckley and his magnificent Team Phoebe were able to set a challenging course, albeit with race one starting over an hour later than planned.
The course was challenging and large wind shifts made for testing racing. Prophetically, the top three boats to cross first were Whistle, Quentin being crewed by the resourceful Philip Catmur, the glamorous Sarah Strauss and ever-youthful Nigel Young; they were followed By Dublin Bay, with returning Dragon and Burnham sailing legend Rob Cambell on the helm, ably aided by returning top Finn sailor, Petticrow Dragon builder and Burnham legend Tim Tavinor, with owner David Warner needing a map to navigate around the unfamiliar foredeck and in third place was Still Crazy, helmed by another Burnham legend, Ian Gray, crewed by the mighty Heath Puxley and game youngster and first time Dragon crew, Meghan Flint.
Race two followed much the same, the wind shifts gaining a little in strength, continuing to make the racecourse hard to read. First to make sense of the course was Still Crazy, closely followed by Whistle and then visitor Rick Gillingham in Navaho, crewed by the stalwart ex-RCYC Otter Will Anderson and the luckless Chris Brunsdon.
For race three the committee boat made a move out into the open waters of the raging, flooding River Crouch, where the wind over tide created a mighty swell. By now the wind had whipped up to gust at 20 knots, so the oilies were donned and the crews got set for a wild ride. And they got it. Conditions suited the heavier, muscular crews and it was Whistle that got clear ahead, with Dublin Bay and Navaho forming a chasing pack. In fourth place was the equally muscular Howard Paterson in Taniwha, being egged on by Kiwi Bill Baker and stoical Jeff Meudzil.
Saturday arrived with a low cloud base, bringing to a close a long run of very hot weather. Racing was due to get underway at 1100 hrs, however, setting the course across the confluence of the rivers Roach and Crouch proved tricky for the race officer and it was at 1120 hrs that we got across the line for race four.
The wind was a perfect strength and the tide was due to ebb throughout the three races. Again, Edwin Buckley laid an interesting and testing course, helped by a shifting wind and low water level. Leading the pack along the east shore, Hands Off skipper Andy Moss, crewed by the ever-keen husband and wife team of Teresa and Tim Wilkes, managed to find the mud and went so firmly aground they had to be towed off, ending their race.
The evergreen Rob Campbell in Dublin Bay showed owner Warner that his boat could win races and was followed by Still Crazy, with third crew member for this day, the ever-game Rene Nel, having replaced young Meghan, with third place being taken by Avalanche, with Burnham legends Mark and Mandy Wade crewed by their old, younger crewman of yore, Duncan Grindley. A special mention must be made of the excellent race had by the Kismet girls from Edinburgh, finishing in fourth place to the delight of owners Cathy Ogden and Sheena Kerr, crewed by the ever-cheerful Moira Kinnear and Fiona Hutchison.
It was during the interval that the luckless Chris Brunsdon, aboard Navaho, suffered a blow to his head and was lifted off the boat to return to the clubhouse for attention. We all hope that he has recovered well. Race five was set on the same course and proved another hard to call test. So testing that at the first attempt to get the race underway there was a general recall, the fleet proving far too keen. It was the Wades in Avalanche that crossed first after the restart. They had had to miss Friday’s racing due to a family commitment, so the win was good consolation. They were followed by Still Crazy and then Whistle.
Race six was the decider. We had had four winners in five races, so this was critical. In a good call the race officer continued to use the same course set in the morning. Hands Off came around the stern of the committee boat at the start and almost immediately tacked onto port, to follow the east shore of the river up to the mark, which they rounded in first place, not to relinquish it until the finish line. Chasing them hard came Dublin Bay and Whistle, to take second and third place, with a grand performance by the two man crewed Navaho in fourth.
Teams spent the evening in the RCYC clubhouse for a paella party, complete with musical accompaniment from a jazz saxophonist and local singer Rihanna.
Sunday began with breakfast in the clubhouse before the club’s all-comers pursuit race, which took the fleet down the River Crouch and into the River Roach. Visiting sailors joined local crews, with members of team Whistle sailing aboard Mark and Mandy Wade’s cruiser, Avalanche Too, alongside Nigel Cole, Teresa and Tim Wilkes. The team enjoyed a relaxed sail and the opportunity to use the boat’s Code Zero for the first time, under the guidance of sailmaker and Dragon sailor Nigel Young. A Laser dinghy ultimately won the race.
The weekend concluded with a ploughman’s lunch and prizegiving. Commodore Mary Makey presented Whistle with the day one and overall meeting trophies, while Dublin Bay was named the winner of day two.
- Tim Wilkes, Burnham Fleet Captain
- Images: Roger Mant & Barry Standford
OVERALL RESULTS
1. GBR560 Whistle Quentin Strauss, Philip Catmur, Nigel Young 1 / 2 / 1 / (7) / 3 / 3
2. GBR826 Dublin Bay Rob Campbell, David Warner, Tim Tavinor 2 / (5) / 2 /1 / 4 / 2
3. GBR827 Sill Crazy Ian Gray, Heath Puxley, Meghan Flint, Rene Nel 3 / 1 / (9) / 2 / 2 / 5
4. GBR664 Navaho Rick Gillingham, Will Anderson, Chris Brundson 4 / 3 / 3 / 5 / (8) / 4
5. GBR760 Hands Off Andy Moss, Tim Wilkes, Teresa Wilkes 5 / 4 / 5 / (9) / 5 / 1
6. GBR722 Avalanche Mark Wade, Mandy Wade, Duncan Grindley (9) / 9 / 9 / 3 / 1 / 6
7. GBR823 Taniwha Howard Paterson, Bill Baker, Jeff Meudzil 6 / 6 / 4 / 6 / 6 / (7)
8. GBR821 Kismet Cathy Ogden, Sheena Kerr, Moira Kinnear, Fiona Hutchinson 7 / 7 / 6 / 4 / 7 / (8)
View the full race-by-race results here >>>