Allen support East Coast Piers Race
by Ben Harden 25 Jun 2017 17:14 BST
1-2 July 2017
Nacra 20 Carbon © Allen
Allen is proud to announce its support of the 30th East Coast Piers Race, which raises funds for 'The Cirdan Trust' to further support their important work with socially or physically disadvantaged children.
Starting from the Marconi Sailing Club on the River Blackwater, the long distance race sailed by high performance dinghies and catamarans, covers a maximum distance of 48 miles up the East Coast to Walton Gate and back.
The ECPR has three courses that can be chosen by participants, as well as two inshore races the day before - The Bradwell Race, added in 2015 which is more manageable for dinghy sailors, with a course length of around 13 miles. The Bradwell Race competitor's sail to the Bradwell Gate, back to the start area, half way back down the river and then back to the finish. The Colne Point Race, which is 27 miles long, is always available for smaller cats and fast dinghies.
The full 48 mile East Coast Piers Race is only sailed by the quickest big cats and there will be "Mother Boats" moored at every mile of the course. The competitors will be able to stop at any point to moor up and won't be penalized for it – handy if you have to fix something or if you just need a rest. The full course has been shortened for the past few years due to the wind forecast and beach works past Clacton.
Andrew Dowley, one of the organisers of the ECPR, hopes for an entry of around 80 boats and commented "For spectators we would always recommend coming down for the start of the race. It's the best view and a very good sight! I expect this year could be a big one as we have Allen involved and Sail Racer helping us promote the event, we also have GPS tracking this year, courtesy of GJW Direct."
Liz Adams, Managing director of Allen Brothers, said "We are really looking forward to seeing how much time competitors can shave off last year's time. By working with high level sailors from the British Sailing Team and youth sailors showing particular talent we continue to develop our equipment to push the boundaries and take sailing to new levels." The company has recently released the "Quint" mainsheet system which is designed to work on a wide range of fast cats, from Tornados and F18s to the latest foiling A Class and Nacra 17s.
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