Bourne End Week at Upper Thames Sailing Club - Overall
by Negla Salem 2 Jun 2006 13:35 BST
27-31 May 2006
Action from Bourne End Week at Upper Thames Sailing Club © Karen Collyer
At Bourne End, in the year of her Majesty's first jubilee, 1887, was instituted what is now known as the 'Bourne End Week'. Upper Thames Sailing Club held this year's Bourne End Week regatta over five days : May 27th-31st. All the sailing clubs meet there and two, sometimes three, races a day are sailed. From it's start, thanks in no small measure to the hospitality of the Upper Thames Sailing Club and its genial officers, it has been a thorough success. The Regatta was originally part of the social scene, held in the first week of June between Ascot and the Henley Regatta. The Queen's Cup Trophy was donated by Queen Victoria and first presented in 1893 by the Duke of Connaught, her third son who was president of the Upper Thames Sailing Club. The first championship was won by T Foster-Knowles in 'Mona', winning again in 1899 and 1900.
Thames A Raters are a unique and exciting class of 3-handed dinghy desiged specifically to perform at maximum speed in a river environment. The class offers an unusual combination of traditional classic craftsmanship blended with cutting edge technology, ensuring a highly competitive and evolving racing culture, and a full racing programme. The newest was built in 2001 and hull materials range from lovingly restored wood, to fibreglass and even carbon fibre, and the rigs, which are an astronomical 44 feet high and would not look out of place on a 30 foot keelboat, are competitively maintained from carbon or alloy.
'Carina' - pictured, is a Burgoine designed and built boat, and one of his very best. Launched in 1902, she was virtually unbeatable in her early years. Her first owner WH Wheeler, later commodore of Thames S.C. was called by the great Linton Hope 'the king of boat sailors'. He said of Carina, "No matter what the weather may be, drifting match or half a gale, Carina is sure to be either first or in the first three'. Post-WW2 she was a regular winner, but was laid up in recent years. She has now been superbly rebuilt and looking absolutely stunning, she returned to the water in the 2003 Bourne End week, and won both the Scamp Cup and Thames Champions Cup on handicap.
Carina was raced this year by the youngest crew ever in the history of these boats - with an average age of under 20, an astonishing feat for such young helm, mid and jib hands - Sam Christie 21, Sara Razik 18 and Justin Evelegh 20. High speed sailing on the Thames is as exciting and thrilling as it has ever been, with new generations of youngsters improving in skill and technique with every passing year.