Navigators & General 3 Rivers Race at Horning Sailing Club

128 entrants in the 48th Navigators and General Three Rivers Race © Holly Hancock

128 entrants in the 48th Navigators and General Three Rivers Race © Holly Hancock

The Three Rivers Race 2008 was held over the weekend of Saturday 31st May/Sunday 1st June. Out of the 128 entrants in the 48th Navigators and General Three Rivers Race held at Horning Sailing Club, 121 started and there were 100 finishers. The 24 hour race was set over a course of 50+ miles and started this year at 11am, an hour earlier than usual, which resulted in better sailing for most. There were almost idyllic sailing conditions, with a light breeze keeping up for much of the night enabling most of the fleet to return before daybreak.

Due to the tides and conditions the majority of the half deckers opted to go to the Lower Bure Buoy below Stokesby first, then faced a hard slog beating all the way from Acle to Hickling, a decision that paid off for many, including race winner Sally Dugdale crewed by Joe Wellard sailing Reedling Onyx in a winning time of 10 hours and 17 minutes. With four of the eleven Reedlings in existence taking part in the Race it is the first time in 30 years that a Reedling has won, breaking the usual trend of a Thames “A” Rater or Norfolk Punt dominating the leaderboard.

An exciting sight was the mass of boats sailing up the Ant towards Ludham Bridge, some even opting to turn back to avoid the congestion in the narrow river! Yet more interest was added to the Race on the Potter Heigham stretch, where a moored barge caused several competitors to become becalmed, including Bob Hancock sailing Reedling Siskin who had been steadily catching race leader Sally until that point, and Mark Elson sailing Norfolk Punt Snark, after which Bob and Mark came sixth and seventh overall. Matt Ellis sailing River Cruiser Zephyr took advantage of the situation to creep through to finish in a very respectable second place.

Third was the first Norfolk Punt to finish, Jane Pye sailing Snowgoose. Less than a minute behind on handicap was John Atkins sailing River Cruiser Mora. In fourth place was Chris Bunn sailing Punt Kookaburra. Despite crossing the line first and winning the trophy for the fastest passage, Martin Hunter sailing a Thames “A” Rater Spindrift finished 16th on handicap. In the well turned-out Wayfarer fleet Mark Tassie sailing Mistral was first Wayfarer home, finishing 46th in his second ever Three Rivers Race, winning the Nightlight Trophy for his efforts.

Overall Results: (top 10)