Big winds stop play at Endeavour Trophy
by Sue Pelling 5 Oct 07:51 NZDT
3-5 October 2025
64th Endeavour Trophy - Sabine Potter (right) and Merle Nieuwland prepare for racing tomorrow © Sue Pelling
Champion of champions' big event blasted by 50kt + winds
It was supposed to be the opening day of racing for the Endeavour Trophy - the annual dinghy champion of champions event at Burnham-on-Crouch - today, but with relentless strong winds reaching over 50kts in the gusts, Edwin Buckley (race officer) and his team at the Royal Corinthian YC had no option other than postpone the racing until tomorrow, writes Sue Pelling.
Despite the frustration of the 30-strong fleet of national champions not being able to race, or have the chance to put the new Endeavour Melges 15 to the test on the racecourse in a breeze, the decision not to race in today's wild conditions was a sensible one all round. This does however, mean the entire series of races for the 64th Endeavour Trophy will take place tomorrow.
This is the first time an entire day of racing at the Endeavour Trophy has not taken place, so for Buckley it was a huge wrench to have to call off the racing: "With winds reaching 45-55kts this afternoon, and a rough sea state, this made it totally unsailable. It's a huge disappointment for all concerned but as well as safety considerations we also have limits with what the Harbour Authority allows us to do, and we have to take into account the insurance implications too.
"But it's not all doom and gloom because tomorrow [Sunday] is looking much more positive so the plan is to run the series then. Yes, it's going to be a tight schedule of 35/45-min races but given the fact we have the addition of Vakros RaceSense startline technology with Atlas 2 devices on each boat, there will hopefully be no general recalls to delay proceedings. The first race is scheduled for 1030 and I hope to complete as many of the eight races as possible."
Although the wind will ease off tomorrow there is no doubt it will still be a frisky affair with the forecast showing winds in the region of 20kts with stronger gusts generally from a westerly direction. This means racing will take place on a course set on an east/west course up and down the river at the mouth of the River Roach.
In the meantime competitors are enjoying some free time with a combination of spending time in the dinghy park, learning more about the new Melges 15 and tweaking rigs in preparation for tomorrow, and enjoying the hospitality of the club while catching up with fellow competitors. Also, thanks to Allen Brothers, which is located locally in the next village of Southminster, competitors were invited to a special factory tour where they got a sneak preview of its products in production, and how Allen's hardware products are designed and manufactured.
In the dinghy park Sabine Potter and Merle Nieuwland (420), both 18 years old and weighing just 115kg all up, were spending the time preparing their boat for tomorrow. The girls, who are members of the British Youth Squad, won the 420 national championship together and spend most weekends at squad events around the country. Commenting on their invite to this event, they were clearly delighted to be here for the first time. Potter commented: "It was very exciting to know we qualified for the Endeavour Trophy because it's a very different event from what we're used to and it's great to have the opportunity to experience it.
As well as the racing in general, we are looking forward to learning from those who have been to this event many times before, and hopefully picking up tips from their experiences. We enjoyed learning about the boat in yesterday's training session but we struggled upwind, so we are now concentrating on getting the rig set up for our weight range, which should help tomorrow. Thankfully Melges has given us a tuning rig setting guide, so we are working off that, which is very useful."
Another group of youngsters Ben Greenhalgh (RS Feva), Tom Sinfield (RS Feva crew), Jac Bailey (29er) and Ben Sinfield (29er crew) said they too enjoyed their first time in the Melges 15 yesterday although, like the girls, they are fairly light. Greenhalgh, who is representing the Feva for the third time in a row at this event, said he and his crew's aim is to improve on last year's position: "Last year we were 19th so we hope, sailing the new Melges 15, we can do better. We really like the new Melges 15 because it's manoeuvrable, quick downwind and it seems very stable. It's actually quite similar to the Feva in many respects so it is proving easier to adjust to. If anything at 125kg all up we are at the lighter end of the ideal weight range but we have made a few tweaks to the rig."
Jac Bailey (29er) talking about he and his crew Ben Sinfield's Endeavour debut, added: "We are so happy to be here because this is the first time either of us has been at the Endeavour. It is a great experience for us not only because we are sailing a new boat, but also because we are hoping we can learn a bit from those who've had many years experience at this event. It's great to be among so many champions."
Finally, with such a lot of positive comments about the new Endeavour boat, Melges UK representatives Shaun Priestley (Director Melges UK) and Liam Pardy (Sales and Events Manager Melges UK) were happy to share news on the Melges involvement in the Endeavour event going forward. Priestley said: "The good news is we have three-year contract with the Endeavour, so the event will be raced in Melges 15 for the next three years, which is great and for us in particular as it will be our first hard sell to the market. This is 100 per cent the class's official introduction to the UK.
"We are super-thrilled to be here at this massively prestigious regatta and we're very excited to see the fleet here in the UK. The level playing field these boats offer, in the fact no one has really raced them in the UK, means this year's event is, I believe, unique more than anytime in the history of the event."
On the smart decision to team up with the Endeavour Trophy, Priestley added: "We were aware that if we were to do anything in the UK market, it needed to be big, bold and do the boat justice, so the marrying up of the boat and the event was the perfect match."
Commenting on the immediate plan for the fleet of Melges 15 Endeavour boats following this event, Pardy concluded: "We have a 2026 events calendar lined up and that will involve us having 12 boats positioned around the country at certain clubs and the boats will be available to charter for anyone interested in coming along to try them out. A big element of that will be a race series where we welcome anyone to come along and join in 'rock up and race' style. The boat will be rigged, so it's just a matter of turning up and going sailing. There will be the option to charter for the weekend or perhaps longer, although the fine detail has yet to be confirmed."
Endeavour Entrants 2025:
- 420 - Sabine Potter & Merle Nieuwland
- 505 - Michael Sims & Rob Gullan
- 4000 - Steve Tylecote & Ella Ashworth
- 29er - Jac Bailey & Ben Sinfield
- Aero 5 - Joseph Jones & David Bromilow
- Aero 6 - Jon Emmett & Lorna Glen
- B14 - Chris Bateman & Lucy Loughton
- Blaze - Ben & Lucy Harden
- Cadet - Alex & Howie Enkel
- D1 - Nick Craig & Toby Lewis
- Firefly - Oliver Meadowcroft & Sam Webb
- GP14 - Jasper Barham & Graham Sexton
- Graduate - Fresh Abendstem & Ross Southwell
- Hadron H2 - Richard Leftley & Ian Aplin
- Hornet - Sam & Benjamin Pascoe
- ILCA 4 - Tom Semmens & Steve Hall
- ILCA 7 - Alfie Noel & Hamish Collingridge
- International Canoe - Sam Barker & Josh O'Brien
- K1 - Ben Hawkes & Jonny McVey
- National 12 - Graham & Blue Camm
- Osprey - Matt Burge & Christian Birrell
- Returning Champions - Oliver Groves & Esther Parkhurst
- RS 100 - Ian Gregory & Nigel Wakefield
- RS Feva - Ben Greenhalgh & Tom Sinfield
- RS Tera Pro - Cassius Day & Dylan Collingbourne
- Supernova - Alex & Iain Horlock
- Tasar - Jeremy & Suzanne Hawkins
- Topper 4.2 - Thomas Murphy & Sam Spencer
- Topper 5.3 - Harry Dence & Piotr Tokajuk
- Wayfarer - Paul Cullen & Adam Whitehouse
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 one of the the closest occasions England has ever come to winning the coveted America's Cup.
In recognition of this achievement, the late Robin Judah - respected member of the RCYC - established a series of races for dinghy sailors 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. From 2015-2024 it was the 13ft (4m) Phil Morrison-designed RS200, while 2025 marks the Melges 15 Endeavour Trophy debut.
Supporting partners
Melges
Produce a wide range of award-winning sailboats including the Melges 15 used for the Endeavour Championship in 2025. - melges.com
Xeinadin
Leading provider of accountancy services and business advice for small and medium-sized enterprises and individuals across the UK and Ireland. - xeinadin.com
Vakaros
RaceSense by Vakaros is redefining how events are run on the water, from club racing to world championships. RaceSense software allows the race committee to input courses and commands, synchronizing timing, live mark locations, and more across the fleet. All devices, competitor and RC, communicate on a proprietary mesh network with no reliance on cellular connectivity. RaceSense makes instant OCS determinations, eliminates a need to ping, and offers teams certainty in their timing. - vakaros.com
Allen Brothers
Allen Sailboat Performance Hardware - designers, manufacturers and distributors of performance dinghy and keelboat fittings. - www.allenbrothers.co.uk
Stitch Print
Stitchprint is an embroidery and printing specialist, and producer of recycled sail bags. - www.stitchprint.co.uk
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. - www.barbuck.com
PB Sports Photography
You are the hero, we document it. Capturing the awesome in everyone in video, still and writing form. - sports.hub47.com