Burnham on Crouch Dinghy Easter Regatta
by Petru Balau 3 Apr 07:44 BST
30-31 March 2024
Ben Harden and Lucy Ellery, Burnham Sailing Club, won the Dinghy Easter Regatta at Royal Corinthian Yacht Club © Petru Balau Sports Photography / sports.hub47.com
Ben Harden and Lucy Ellery, representing Burnham Sailing Club, won the Burnham on Crouch Dinghy Easter Regatta, hosted by Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, over the Easter Weekend, 30th and 31st of March, 2024.
Ben Harden and Lucy Ellery, representing Burnham Sailing Club and sailing on an RS200, won the inaugural event of the Burnham Dinghy Fleet 2024 season, the Easter Regatta, hosted by Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, over the Easter Weekend, 30 and 31st of March, with two wins, one second and a discarded 4th.
Sunshine and no wind greeted the 10 boats strong fleet, with a healthy mix of both dinghy classes and clubs representation, on the morning of Saturday.
Yet, as predicted by Royal Corinthian Yacht Club Dinghy Class Captain and the event Race Officer, the wind filled in at lunch time with an easterly direction and the fleet enjoyed an afternoon of brilliant sailing conditions, on a town course, to the delight of the onlookers from the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club balcony.
The first of the day's two races was won by Ben and Lucy, followed by Rory Munro, representing Royal Burnham Yacht Club, on Blaze, with Nick Peel, from RCYC, on his ILCA 6/Laser Radial on 3rd.
The second race of the day brought Nick his first ever win in the dinghy fleet, the result of hard work over the last two seasons.
He was followed by Charlie Matthews, RCYC, Blaze, Rory on 3rd, with Ben and Lucy on 4th.
The weather changed on Sunday morning and the sunshine was replaced by overcast, with the wind growing in both strength, 15 knots, gusting 25 and chilliness.
Ben and Lucy recorded their second win of the event, with Nick on second and Charlie on 3rd.
Flynn and Niamh Davies, representing Burnham Sailing Club, seemed to finally come to grips with their Merlin Rocket, scoring a 2nd over the line, 5th on corrected time.
This was not to last, as they had to use the services of the RCYC Safety Boat, to prevent their boat from becoming a Merlin Submarine, after a not so successful tack, in the last race of the day.
The last race of the event was won by Charlie, with Ben and Lucy on second and Nick on third.
Unfortunately for Nick, this was not enough and he finished 3rd overall, losing the second spot to Charlie on count back, with Ben and Lucy taking the win.
A special mention needs to be made about RCYC Otter, Hayden Gilmore, who, despite the challenging conditions of the second day, looked at times close to beat RCYC Otter Nathan Flynn, winner of last year's Marco Polo Pursuit Race.
In the words of his father and coach, Keith Gilmore: "Hayden came off the water beaming, having a good race in testing conditions.
"Real proud dad moment for me watching him sail his Laser".
The next event in the Burnham Dinghies Fleet calendar is scheduled next Sunday, 6th of April, the first day of the Sunday Series, open to members of all Burnham clubs: Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, Royal Burnham Yacht Club, Burnham Sailing Club and the Creeksea Sailing Club.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Class | PY | Boat Name | Sail No | Helm Name | Crew | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | RS200 | 1046 | Bluey | 740 | Ben Harden | Lucy Ellery | BSC | 1 | ‑4 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 2nd | BLAZE | 1033 | | 764 | Charlie Matthews | | RCYC | ‑4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 3rd | ILCA 6 / Laser Radial | 1154 | | 221487 | Nick Peel | | RCYC | ‑3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 4th | ILCA 6 / Laser Radial | 1154 | | 209957 | Nathan Flynn | | Otters | ‑5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 13 |
| 5th | ILCA 6 / Laser Radial | 1154 | | 217731 | Hayden Gilmore | | Otters | ‑7 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 18 |
| 6th | RS200 | 1046 | | 1152 | Jo Tribe | Marcus Collingbourne | BSC | 6 | ‑8 | 6 | 6 | 18 |
| 7th | BLAZE | 1033 | | 854 | Rory Munro | | RBYC | 2 | 3 | (RET) | DNC | 19 |
| 8th | MERLIN ROCKET | 993 | Eclipse | 3553 | Flynn Davies | Niamh Davies | BSC | 8 | 7 | 5 | (RET) | 20 |
| 9th | 2000 | 1118 | Tag Team | 3713 | Liam Hannah | Katie Reilly | BSC | ‑10 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 25 |
| 10th | ILCA 7 / Laser | 1102 | | 166594 | Richard Shepherd | | BSC | 9 | 9 | (DNC) | DNC | 32 |
| 11th | BLAZE | 1033 | Soapdish | 836 | Trevor Bawden | | RCYC | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | 42 |
| 11th | ILCA 6 / Laser Radial | 1154 | | 209087 | James Hutton‑Penman | | BSC / RCYC | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | 42 |
| 11th | ILCA 6 / Laser Radial | 1154 | | 213598 | Keith Gilmore | | BSC / RCYC | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | 42 |