Eagling/Spangle Trophies 2017 27 Jun 2017
On Saturday 24th June, four cruisers met to race to Fambridge for the Eagling Trophy. George Winder in Sprite, acting as Committee Boat, got us underway smoothly in blustery conditions.
Verlette (Steve and Katherine Barham) were first over the line, quickly followed by Dreamcatcher (Ramiro Salom and Blanca Boira), Scarlet (Sarah Brown and Zoe O'Connell) and Zelda (Chris and Chrissie Nolan).
As the fleet rounded Black Point, the race became a tough tacking duel in the fresh Westerly breeze. At the finish line, Mark Eagling in the Club RIB, timed us in. Verlette had built an unassailable lead and took line honours, followed by Zelda. Close behind, Scarlet and Dreamcatcher were locked in an exciting battle, with Scarlet just edging it over the line by a metre.
The order was the same on corrected time so after a magnificent sail, Steve and Katherine Barham are the winners of the Eagling Trophy in Verlette.
Spangle (David and Janet Hill) cruised to Fambridge, as did Sea Hound of Dart (Tim and Sarah Matthews) who did a practice Predicted Log. On the way, we were joined by Nightsong (Chris Goodfellow), just back from his Round Britain charity sail. It was also a pleasure to see Sue and Graham King on the water in Quick Reflex, if only briefly, as they sailed from Fambridge to Burnham.
On arrival at Fambridge, we met in the Ferry Boat Inn for a meal. There we were joined by Duncan and Katherine Becker (sponsors of the Spangle trophy), Sheena and Richard Cosens, and Jackie Goodfellow and guests. After our meal, we prepared for the Spangle Trophy quiz set by last year's winners Team Good Hope.
All went quiet, save for the sounds of pens scratching on quiz papers, and lots of head scratching, as the teams grappled with the fiendish questions. Sheena collected and marked the papers. Tension grew as Sheena could be heard saying "Well they haven't won", and "Ha! No chance" (I think that was mine). A few moments later, white smoke emerged from the chimney, and Team Sea Hound were declared very worthy winners of the Spangle Trophy with a score of 19 out of 20.
Race run, meal eaten, quiz completed; all too soon the time came to part. Those on the river took an easy run to back to Burnham, while Sea Hound carried on to the bright lights of Brightlingsea.