Endeavour 2022 Day 1 Racing 12 Oct 2022
RS800 champs take overnight Endeavour Trophy lead
Tom Morris and Guy Fillmore reign supreme in tough, shifty conditions
Royal Corinthian YC, Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex (8 October 2022): Tom Morris and Guy Fillmore representing the RS800 class have taken the overnight lead of the Investec-sponsored Endeavour Trophy dinghy champion of champions event after four races writes Sue Pelling.
Burnham-on-Crouch was bathed in glorious sunshine with wind reaching 20+kts for today’s opening races of the 61st dinghy champion of champions series for the coveted Endeavour Trophy.
The wind was extremely shifty however, leading to close tactical racing that was reflected in the results. The racing was unpredictable throughout the day, with a different winner in every race.
However, Morris and Fillmore, with a 1,6,8,4 to count, just managed to shake off the young 420 representatives Ollie Meadowcroft (18) and Oscar Cawthorne (17), who sailed an impressive series including a win in the penultimate race of the day. This puts Meadowcroft and Cawthorne just one point astern of the overnight leaders.
The first race of the day started in a good, working breeze after two general recalls and the black flag introduced. Morris and Fillmore, from Hayling Island SC, made a cracking start, which put them into the lead they never relinquished. However, in the shifty conditions it was tricky for even the most seasoned champions to work out which side of the river to opt for in the strong Spring tidal stream, but as the day wore on, going right seemed to be the most favoured.
Morris commenting on the day’s racing said: “It was a really tough day and we found ourselves down the ‘pan’ on several occasions. I would say, we were saved by heading for the right-hand side of the river in each race really. We learnt our lesson on the very first beat when we went left. From the second beat onwards, we went right and it paid dividends. The conditions at Burnham, with the low-lying land either side and narrow channels are not dissimilar to where we sail at Hayling, so I think that helped us a bit today too.”
Looking ahead to tomorrow, Morris and Fillmore agreed they would like to see even more wind: “At 145kg overall, we are on the heavy side for an RS200 but having said that, sailing a venue like this makes it a bit more of a leveller.”
Meadowcroft and Cawthorne, representing Upper Thames Sailing Club were elated with their results. On his debut as a helmsman at the Endeavour, a focused Meadowcroft said: “It was straightforward tactically in terms of the tide and having to evade it one way and not the other, but the more difficult part was choosing which side of the river to take. Thankfully we ended up getting it right most of the time and we are pleased with the result.”
Commenting on the choice of boat for the event, Meadowcroft added: “I do very much enjoy sailing a boat I can hike really hard, and to be able to push it hard upwind, so in that respect we enjoy the RS200. Even when the wind is tricky like it was today, the beauty of the RS200 is the fact it’s easy to change up or down a gear. It’s a simple boat to sail but it’s all about knuckling down and trying to find the pressure and going for it. Consequently, we are really looking forward to tomorrow’s racing.”
Other notable winners today included 2021 Endeavour champion Luke Patience, and Faye Chatterton who claimed the ‘award’ for the biggest lead of the day when they finished nearly two minutes ahead of Merlin Rocket representatives Christian Birrell and Rachel Gray. The final win of the day went to Santiago Sesto Cosby and Leo Wilkinson – 29er national champions.
With slightly more wind forecast for tomorrow, and with the overall results wide open with the discard yet to come into play, the final four races of the eight-race series are likely to produce the sort of dynamic racing that the Endeavour championship is famous for.
In the meantime, competitors and guests enjoyed a relaxing evening at the traditional, grand Endeavour dinner, which is this year dedicated to Leukaemia UK in memory of Pat Buckley, who died of acute myeloid leukaemia in January 2022 at the age of 73. Pat was involved with the club for almost 30 years and acted as race Recorder during the Endeavour Trophy for many years alongside Edwin Buckley, her husband, and the Endeavour Trophy’s long-standing race officer.
Results (4 of 8 races)
1st RS800 – Tom Morris and Guy Fillmore (19pts)
2nd 420 – Ollie Meadowcroft and Oscar Cawthorne (20pts)
3rd RS200 – Arran Holman and Hayden Sewell (25pts)
4th D Zero – Nick Craig and Toby Lewis (25pts)
5th GP14 – Ian Dobson and Emma Hivey (28pts)
6th Merlin Rocket – Christian Birrell and Rachael Gray (30pts)
ENDS
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.
- 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.
- 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.
Endeavour contact
Edwin Buckley on +44 (0) 7768 003 453 or email: edwin@sweetings.uk.com.
Event website
https://royalcorinthian.co.uk/endeavour/
How to donate to Leukaemia UK
To donate to Leukaemia UK text ENDEAVOUR followed by your donation amount to 70450 to give that amount. Texts will cost the donation amount plus one standard network rate message, and you’ll be opting into hearing from us. If you would like to donate but don’t want to hear from us, please text ENDEAVOURNOINFO instead.
Image Credits
1 Overnight leaders Tom Morris and Guy Fillmore (RS800) – photo Sue Pelling
2 Ollie Meadowcroft and Oscar Cawthorne (420) sailed impressively and finished the day in second place overall – photo Sue Pelling
3 A well-behaved fleet once the black flag was introduced – photo Sue Pelling
4 Spectacular conditions made for an ideal day’s racing – photo Roger Mant
5 Eighth overnight. Luke Patience (2021 Endeavour champ), and Faye Chatterton are looking forward to bettering their score tomorrow – photo Sue Pelling
6 Downwind fun – photo Roger Mant
