Enterprise Tideway Race at South Bank Sailing Club

by Paula Southworth 7 Jun 2006 09:34 BST 4 June 2006

Enterprise 50th Anniversary Tideway Race South Bank and Ranelagh Sailing Clubs

On 4th June 2006 47 Enterprise dinghies raced down the River Thames from Putney to Westminster in light wind conditions, a marker buoy was dropped just before the Houses of Parliament – all competitors successfully rounded this mark but then found it difficult to do the return leg until the tide turned at 3 00 pm. The Fleet lost the wind under Vauxhall Bridge and became becalmed for awhile but the wind picked up and all of the fleet returned to the finish at South Bank Sailing Club. The Enterprise was designed by Jack Holt at Putney in late 1955 as a boat for the people; over 23000 Enterprises have been built to date and are now sailed in 17 countries worldwide. The rich, bright blue sails instantly identified the Enterprise Dinghy in this very memorable, historical event.

History states: ‘True to the design brief outlined by the News Chronicle, the boat is suitable for any level of sailing, from family cruising to club racing, National and International competition. The boat is sailed and raced on rivers, lakes and reservoirs with many coastal events taking place around the UK’.

For the Thames race, there were three sequential starts at five- minute intervals, which means the boats were spread out over quite a large area of the River. This provided a spectacular sight for Londoners and visitors as they witnessed Enterprise Dinghy Sailing at its best. Spectators were able to access the riverbank for viewing for the majority of the race.

The racing was organised by South Bank and Ranelagh Sailing Clubs and other London river clubs provided additional safety boat support (Twickenham were very prominent in their support for this event). The first start took place at 1 00 pm which was carefully calculated on wind and tide condition, with the critical factor being the estimated time to the turning mark near Westminster and best match for the state of the tide. The Committee did a brilliant job – every competitor rounded the mark and had the view of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. This was a magical event which was created by a very enthusiastic Enterprise Team from Southbank , Ranalagh and the Enterprise Association - a memorable event for the 50th Anniversary – a thank you to everyone involved plus our sponsors Fullers London Pride who have also supported the Thames Valley Bowl Events for the last two years.

Overall Results:

Pos	Helm	Crew	Sail No	Club
1	Russell Short	Katy Fry	22453	Rotherham
2	David Hodgson	Sue Whitehill	18266	Papercourt
3	Martin Davies	Laurence Davies	22320	Rugby/Daventry
4	Adam Wickenden	Jack Mann	21104	Silverwing
5	Alan Beaney	Jess Holley	23048	LCSC
6	David Beaney	Alex Beaney	20234	Broadwater
7	Phil Wilson	Chris Bridge	4394	Ogston
8	Martin Weston	Celia Hamblin	22851	British Airways
9	Philip Chambers	Ewan Gittins	22559	Hampton
10	Paul Young	Alison Torrens	22901	Midland
11	Paul Engelman	Katy/Jenny Engelmann	22469	Silverwing
12	Dick Lankester	Ann Lankester	22547	Weir Wood
13	Andrew Taylor	Kathryn Hayfield	22715	Delph
14	James Sinclair Taylor	Unknown	21804	LCSC
15	Richard Thorpe	Jane Thorpe	13719	Toddbrook
16	Una Hodgkins	William Hodgkins	22464	LCSC
17	Alison Payne	Kevin Law	22564	Toddbrook
18	David Ackroyd	Claire Ackroyd	21853	Silver Wing
19	John Parke	Bob Jackson	19481	SBSC
20	Nick Gallwey	Jack Gallwey	22085	Bewl
21	Alex Johnson	Ian Johnson	20567	Frensham Pond
22	Richard Jackson	Pat Jackson	22353	Sussex Yacht
23	Richard Goss	Mary Daniels	22071	Burghfield
24	Don Henderson	Sara Bennett	19659	SBSC
25	Christopher Granger	Denise Granger	21547	Papercourt
26	Martin Bottomley	Ray Ball	23159	Emberton Park
27	Alistair Edwards	GraemeStoten	20902	Twickenham
28	Chris Rowsell	Teresa Burton	21979	Lensbury
29	Gary Marshall	Armand Attard	21078	SBSC
30	Glen Cole	Negla Salem	20378	Island Barn
31	Karen Taylor	Anita Cropper	22893	Delph
32	Louis Moulden	Dorri Moulden	23007	Delph
33	Paul Elliott	Jeremy Kahn	16660	SBSC
34	Andrew Short	Sarah Morton	22921	Rotherham
35	Allan Munro-Faure	Rory Munro-Faure	22563	SBSC
36	GraemeEckley	David Mackay	16343	SBSC
37	James Strother	Rebecca Hill	21885	Aldenham
38	Joseph Helm	Gordon Haycock	21545	Ullswater
39	Paul Holdsworth	Lydia Cole	22131	Killington
40	Roger Fulton	David Hannay	21086	Aldenham
41	Matthew Marques	Rebecca Scott	20588	SBSC
42	Les Smith	Alex Smith	22857	Aldenham
43	Greg Davies	Jason Glasgow	22560	Aldenham
44	Roger Delpech	Claire Delpech	22547	SBSC
45	Anthony Cole	Natalie Hawes	23094	Aldenham
46	Roger Morse	Peter Scott	22662	Aldenham
47	Jeremy Clarke	Margaret Orgill	22463	LCSC