Squib class Jimmy Starling Trophy 2024 at Burnham Sailing Club
by Petru Balau 17 Jul 10:25 BST
13-14 July 2024
Micky Wright & Alex Porteous won the 2024 edition of the Jimmy Starling Trophy, organized by Burnham Sailing Club, over the weekend of 13th and 14th of July, after six races, by winning five and discarding a second.
The trophy was established to commemorate a local young apprentice boat builder, working at the Tucker Brown Boat Yard in Burnham on Crouch, who was knocked overboard in a race during the 1957 Burnham Week and was lost to the sea.
First awarded in 1958 to Oliver Lee, the designer of the Squib keelboat, the Jimmy Starling Trophy is one of the oldest competitions that can be won in a Squib, after the trophy was first won by a Squib in 1979.
Ten boats lined up for the start of the first day of the regatta, on windward leeward courses, set up just outside of the Burnham Sailing Club's clubhouse.
Despite an abysmal start, the national champions, Micky & Alex, clawed their way to the top and won the first race, a feat they repeated throughout the day, by taking all three bullets.
The guest John Clementson, despite not having much experience helming a Squib, won three second places, albeit on one of the fastest boats on the river, Dave Hyde's Sophie 846.
The overall third place, after the first day, was a bit more disputed, with father and daughter couple, Malcolm & Portia Hutchings, Nenuphar 618, winning it, two thirds to Robert Coyle & Ed Aspinall, Humphrey 823.
The day ended with a delicious dinner at the Burnham Sailing Club, followed by live music.
The second day saw Digger Harden, the Race Officer, move the racing area further down the river, to accommodate the RCOD fleet's annual regatta and quite a bit of a shuffle in the Squibs' crews.
The first race was won by Malcolm & Portia, followed by Micky & Alex, with Phil Aspinall & Dave Sheppard, Guy Fawkes 72, taking advantage of Sophie's rudder close encounter with the spreader mark to sneak into third place.
Despite the identical top three results in the last two races, with Micky & Alex taking the win, followed by Malcolm & Portia on second and John & Dave on third, they were not devoid of drama.
After keeping the national champions at bay for most of the race, Otter Nathan Flynn, crewed by his dad Mark, narrowly missed out on a podium finish after a mistimed tack and finished on fourth in the second race of the day.
Ed Aspinall, after taking over helming on Humphrey, with Marc Rawinsky crewing, looked like he was going to beat his father, Phil, yet he had to bow out and contend with a fifth place finish in the last race.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Boat | Sail No | Helm | Crew | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | Spoof | 811 | Micky Wright | Alex Porteous | 1 | 1 | 1 | ‑2 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 2nd | Nenaphur | 618 | Malcolm Hutchings | Portia Hutchings | 3 | 3 | ‑4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 11 |
| 3rd | Sophie | 846 | John Clementson | Dave Hyde | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑6 | 3 | 3 | 12 |
| 4th | Guy Fawkes | 72 | Phil Aspinal | Dave Sheppard | ‑6 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 23 |
| 5th | Humphrey | 823 | Robert Coyle | Edward Aspinal | 4 | 5 | 3 | ‑8 | 8 | 5 | 25 |
| 6th | Shifts & Giggles | 848 | Nathan Flynn | Mark Flynn | 7 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 4 | ‑9 | 29 |
| 7th | Easy | 83 | Ian Brand | Keith Gilmore | ‑8 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 32 |
| 8th | Firework | 192 | Dan Wastnage | Julie Batchelor | 5 | 7 | 8 | ‑9 | 7 | 6 | 33 |
| 9th | Zoom | 14 | Tye Witchard | Neil Scott | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | 4 | 9 | 8 | 45 |
| 10th | Magic Roundabout | 736 | Gareth Price | Brian Tucker | ‑10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 50 |
| 11th | Woody | 720 | Olly Wastnage | Claudia Strang | 9 | 9 | 9 | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | 51 |