61st Endeavour Trophy - Overall

Luke Patience and Faye Chatterton finished second overall in the 61st Endeavour Trophy © Sue Pelling

420 national champs, Ollie Meadowcroft and Oscar Cawthorne took a well-deserved fourth overall in the 61st Endeavour Trophy © Sue Pelling

The 2022 Investec-sponsored Endeavour Trophy dinghy champion of champions that took place this weekend at Burnham-on-Crouch (7-9 October) was one of the most interesting on record with the overall winners not being decided until the final race, writes Sue Pelling.

So close were the points going into the final race that it was difficult to predict the outcome. Even Morris and Fillmore (RS800), who amassed a score of 1,6,8,4,2,1 were surprised to hear the overall result, particularly as they scored their worst result of the regatta, an 11th in the final race of the event after an incident on the start line.

Having taken the overnight lead yesterday, Morris and Fillmore were unable to match the downwind speed of 2021 Endeavour champions Luke Patience, and Faye Chatterton in today's first race and had to settle for second place. The tables turned in the second race of the day (race 6) however, and it was the overnight leaders - Morris and Fillmore - who read the tricky, shifty, south-easterly winds well, and made the best tactical decisions in the strong flowing Spring tide to take the top spot. This left the ever-threatening Patience and Chatterton in second, and second overall.

Commenting as they stepped ashore Morris (35) and Fillmore (35) were genuinely surprised to learn the news of their win: "A stunned Morris said: "It feels so surreal. Our last race was pretty terrible because we got stuck on the pin end and ended up 11th. We sailed in thinking we'd lost it, so it is a really pleasant surprise to find out we've won. It's also good to get one over on the professional sailors who have had a few returning champions over the past few years. This is a good score for the amateurs!"

Talking about the boat set-up, Morris added: "Because we are a heavier crew, we needed to keep as much power on as possible by using a bit less kicker than normal, a bit more mainsheet tension, and by not raking the mast back."

Chatting about the key to their overall success, Fillmore added: "I guess it helps that Tom has had a good season in the RS200 this year, so he is good at making the boat go fast. The weight factor did make us suffer a bit downwind, where some of the lighter crews were able to sail at different angles and, without doubt, were certainly faster than us at times."

Offering advice to anyone who has the opportunity to sail the Endeavour in the future, Morris concluded: "First and foremost, my advice is to learn the venue, and learn about the tides. Also make sure you sail the boat together beforehand."

An elated Tom Morris and Guy Fillmore back on shore on Sunday afternoon after winning the 61st Endeavour Trophy - photo © Sue Pelling

After a mixed bag of results yesterday, which left them in eighth place, Patience said he and his crew, gave themselves a serious talking to last night in preparation for today's final races: "We did our damage yesterday really, but we said we'd be a bit braver and push ourselves a bit harder today. Anyway, we were positive and came out firing, and I found my feet, and Faye was great and kept the calmness in the boat. It started well but in the final race, after a good start, we realised that going right paid and we were on the left, which didn't help our cause. I think we were lucky to climb back to fourth and end up second overall."

On a concluding note about what to expect at this event, Patience said when sailing at the Endeavour it's important to remember it's never over until it's over: "It's a complex place to sail and people make mistakes right up until the 11th hour. If you can be one of the boats that are steady and stable, you can usually do quite well."

GP14 representatives, Ian Dobson and Emma Hivey sailed a consistent series to finish third overall in the 61st Endeavour Trophy - photo © Sue Pelling

Steady and stable is exactly how to describe the performance of Ian Dobson and Emma Hivey (GP 14), another team in the equation for a top spot going into the last race. Throughout the weekend they sailed consistently and gathered a string of top six results, including a third in the first race of the day. They ended the regatta with two sixth places, which was enough to secure third place overall.

This duo are former Endeavour competitors, and Hivey (née Clarke) a winning crew from 2009. Dobson said: "I think this has to be my best Endeavour result, and very enjoyable. My biggest weakness this weekend I would say was fitness but we managed it and are happy with the result overall."

Another team that made an impact this year was Ollie Meadowcroft (18) and Oscar Cawthorne (17) representing the 420 class. They started the regatta well with a win in race three yesterday and were second overall going into today's racing. This young, talented team proved themselves again today in the gusty 10-15kt breeze in the final race of the day. They made a good tactical decision to take right-hand side up the river Roach, the favoured side out the tide, and although overtaken by Christian Birrell and Rachel Gray (Merlin Rocket) they finished second, which was enough to secure them fourth place overall.

Meadowcroft said it was a tough day: "It was windier with lots of tide, and the fleet was close together, so we really had to work hard to get anything out of it. We had a few mistakes, which pushed us out the top three but generally, we are very pleased with how we sailed. And very, very, pleased to be here at the Endeavour. It has been an amazing weekend and great racing."

Back on shore after racing in the afternoon, competitors and guests attended the Endeavour prize-giving, where the winners Morris and Fillmore were presented with the spectacular solid silver model, and the half model of the America's Cup J-Class yacht Endeavour.

Plans are already under way for next year's Investec-sponsored Endeavour Trophy, which is taking place on 6-8 October 2023.

Overall Results:

Event website: royalcorinthian.co.uk/endeavour (includes live tracking)

Brief history of the Endeavour Trophy

The Endeavour Trophy is a solid silver scale model of the J Class yacht Endeavour presented annually to the Champion of Champions at the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, Burnham-on-Crouch.

The origin of the trophy stems from Tom Sopwith's J Class yacht Endeavour, America's Cup Challenge in 1934. Following a pay dispute and dismissal of his east coast-based professional crew, Sopwith teamed up with 'Tiny' Mitchell, the Commodore of the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club at the time, to recruit amateur members of the club to form a crew.

Although Endeavour won the first two races against Rainbow, and lost the series, this was the closest England ever came to winning the coveted America's Cup.

In recognition of this achievement, Robin Judah - respected member of the RCYC - established a series of races for dinghy sailors in order to determine the overall dinghy champion of champions from the UK's most popular dinghy racing classes. Beecher Moore, former Endeavour crew, and marketing man behind the successful dinghy designer Jack Holt, joined Judah in his quest to run this event and presented for the overall winner, his solid silver scale model of the yacht.

The first invitation-only race took place in 1961 and the winners were Peter Bateman and Keith Musto, representing the International Cadet class. The event is now recognised as one of the ultimate achievements in British dinghy racing.

The competition is exceptionally challenging and those who qualify through winning their own class championship, are given the opportunity to race equally talented sailors in this unique, highly demanding two-day event on the river Crouch.

Given the diverse entry, which includes singlehanded, doublehanded, heavy and lightweight crews, and to ensure the racing is as fair as possible, carefully selected, strict one-designs are chosen for the event. The original idea back in 1961 was to use the club's own fleet of 15 Royal Corinthian One-Designs but they were considered too specialist and would have placed a perpetual limit on the number of entries. The first event was, therefore, sailed in Enterprises.

Since then, numerous one-design classes have been used for the event including the GP14, Laser 2, Lark, Enterprise, RS400, Topper Xenon, and the Topper Argo. The 13ft (4m) Phil Morrison-designed RS200 - a smaller version of the RS400 - has been the chosen class for the Endeavour Championship since 2015. It weighs in at 78kg and is an ideal choice to suit a wide crew-weight range.

Supporting partners

• Investec
  Investec is a banking and wealth management business with a refreshingly human approach. We provide financial solutions and expert advice that aim to meet - and exceed - expectations. We are trusted with managing over £41 billion (as of March 2021) of our clients' money and we take great pride in our relationship-based approach and our purpose to make a tangible and meaningful difference. Minimum eligibility criteria and terms and conditions apply. With investment your capital is at risk. http://www.investec.com

• RS Sailing
  Produce a wide range of award-winning sailboats including the RS200 used for the Endeavour Championship for the last two years. The company is based in Hampshire and is supported by a worldwide dealer network, and active class associations throughout the world. http://www.rssailing.com

• Allen Brothers
  Allen Sailboat Performance Hardware - designers, manufacturers and distributors of performance dinghy and keelboat fittings. http://www.allenbrothers.co.uk

• Lonton and Gray
  Lonton and Gray sailmakers are manufacturers of quality sails for dinghies, one-design keelboats and all types of cruisers up to 50ft.

• The Old Salt Loft
  The Old Salt Loft is a producer of recycled sail bags, t-shirt, printing, merchandise and embroidery spec. https://www.theoldsaltloft.com/

• Barbuck
  TalkingForms from Barbuck, converts your web forms to inbound sales calls in under 30 seconds, using text-to-voice technology. This allows you to talk to your potential client while they are still in the buying zone and focused on your company and products. Speed is critical, as 78 per cent of customers will give their business to the first company to respond. Make sure you speak to them first with TalkingForms, and never miss a lead again. http://www.barbuck.com

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