Bourne End Week Regatta at Upper Thames Sailing Club
by Roy Burnham 31 May 2007 10:23 BST
26-30 May 2007
Wet and Windy – just how we like it!
After some calm and warm days in which competitors set up the tents and caravans in the adjacent field, the regatta saw cool, cloudy and at times, very wet conditions for competitors and spectators alike. However the weather was not going to deter the 60 or so competitive sailors who raced their boats to try to win one of the celebrated trophies which are a feature of this historic week.
For 115 years, the Upper Thames Sailing Club at Bourne End has hosted this regatta for dinghies ranging from OKs and Fireflies to Wayfarers and Merlin Rockets and featuring the National Championships of the magnificent Thames A-Raters.
2007 saw a record number of entries with 16 Raters competing for the silverware and especially for the Queen’s Cup, originally presented by Queen Victoria.
A busy social programme went ahead without interruption thanks to the large marquee which the club had erected on the riverfront lawn. With a mix of events including Curry Nights and Barbecues, everyone had a great time. Sponsors of the week were fatface and craftinsure, so winners left with some tangible mementoes of their week as well as the precious silverware.
A raffle in aid of Sail4Cancer raised over £300 for the charity.
The inaugural Junior Bourne End Week, for cadets between 12 and 18 years, is scheduled to take place from Thursday 31st May until Saturday 02 June. We hope the sun will shine!
Upper Thames Sailing Club welcomes new members, either social or sailing. What a great place to relax by the beautiful River Thames. For details check out the club web site.
Dinghy Class Winners:
Firefly: Peter Cook and Janet Exelby (Frampton-on-Severn)
Merlin Rockets: Pat and Jilly Blake (Cookham)
Wayfarers: Roy and Judy Burnham (UTSC)
OKs: Julian Burnham (UTSC)
Handicap: Simon and Jemma Davies (UTSC)
Overall Dinghy Class winners: Peter and Beth Brewer, Wayfarer (UTSC)
Thames A-Rater results:
Thames Champion Cup: Spindrift, Martin Hunter, Jeremy Kearns and Mark Staite
Queens Cup: SCAMP, Jonathan Smith, Jens Larsson and Adrian Hart
Full results can be found at www.utsc.org.uk/results