Squib Gold Cup 2025 at Royal Corinthian Yacht Club
by Petru Balau 6 May 19:57 BST
3-4 May 2025
Jack Grogan and Mike Banks, sailing on Budgies Tongue 221, won the Squib Gold Cup, hosted by the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, over the early May Bank holiday 2025.
Three seasons over two days, sometimes even during the same race, 7 races, 11 boats finishing in top 3 in at least one race, 60 degrees wind shifts, the 2025 edition of the Squib Gold Cup, hosted by Royal Corinthian Yacht Club will be one to remember over the years.
Despite the warm Saturday, the constantly shifting wind direction forced the Race Officer, Edwin Buckley to postpone the start of the first race, until a suitable race area, at the mouth of the river Roach, could be established.
The first race started with most of the fleet clustering at the pin end, forcing quite a few competitors to start the day by doing turns, while Sophie 846, Steve Hall and Dave Hyde, being OCS.
Spoof 811, sailed by National Champions Micky Wright and Alex Porteous, along with What's The Story 779, Nic Tolhurst and Ross Corbett seemed to distance themselves from the rest of the fleet, engaging into a match racing kind of tack battle, while Rojo 32, Nick Bacon and Richard Tucker and Lady Penelope 819, Malcolm Hutchings and Andy Carley, were doing the same, farther back.
A 6 laps affair, the race saw Spoof win by a considerable margin, while What's The Story got caught up and lost the second place to Lady Penelope.
The sharp drop in temperature and increase in the wind strength made the Race Officer shorten the second race to 30 minutes.
Dark n Stormy 787, sailed by Chip Cole and David Smith, and Guy Fawkes 72, Phil Aspinall and Dave Sheppard, managed to get away from the fleet, with the battle for the top position being won Guy Fawkes, after Dark n Stormy, despite leading at the second windward mark rounding, were not able to prevent the yellow boat from slipping inside and holding the position to the finish, with Budgies Tongue 221, Jack Grogan and Mike Banks, taking the third place.
With the temperature dropping to polar conditions, the third race saw Lady Penelope round the windward mark first, followed by Sophie 846, Steve Hall and Dave Hyde, Rojo and Spoof.
Unfortunately for Lady Penelope, the choice of the right side at the leeward gate was the wrong one, allowing Sophie to slip in front, followed by Spoof.
The race was eventually won by Sophie, with Dark n Stormy second and Spoof in third place and as AP over A was flown from the committee boat, Dark n Stormy finished the day as overall leaders.
The fleet retired to the club house for pre dinner drinks and the past Gold Cup winner, Nigel Grogan, was awarded the Dick of the Day jacket, adorned with a Scottish themed hat, courtesy of the Royal Forth Yacht Club, hosts of the 2024 edition of the National Championships, for trying to park his boat on top of another boat during the day.
The second day of the regatta saw the fleet layer up, an excellent choice considering the weather forecast, while the RO had to set up the racing area up the river Roach.
The first race of the day started with a general recall and on the eventual restart saw Lady Penelope take the lead, followed by Budgies Tongue and Guy Fawkes.
On the second lap, Budgies Tongue were the first to head on the east shore, out of the changing tide, while the rest of the fleet kept towards the middle, trying to find a clear lane.
The east shore proved to be the winning side, with Budgies Tongue gaining a huge advantage they retained to the end, while Guy Fawkes managed to win their battle with Lady Penelope for the second spot.
Race five saw Penny Benjamin 95, sailed by Daniel and Hattie Henderson attempt a port flyer, move cut short by the fleet, forcing them to head toward the west shore, along with four other boats.
While three of the westerners gave up quickly and headed back to the east shore, for the quintessential Burnham short tacking, Penny Benjamin and Guy Fawkes kept on the west and to their disappointment, ended up somewhere in the middle.
On the east side, Sophie, Crossfire 797, Patrick Wilton and Mike Taylor, Budgies Tongue, Lady Penelope and Spoof were the leading boats, a short distance away from the rest of the fleet.
A few good shifts allowed Budgies Tongue to gain and extend the lead and they went on to win the race, followed by Sophie and Spoof, after quite a fierce battle.
Race 6 saw the fleet head quickly towards the shallow water of the east shore, with only Rojo daring the west side, not a particularly useful move.
The race was won by Budgies Tongue, with a combination of skillful tacks and well used lifts, as Mike got used to the boat, this being his first event in a Squib.
The battle for the second spot was a different matter entirely, with Firework 192, Dan Wastnage and Charlie Mathews, despite leading around the windward mark, were caught up by the rest of the pack and eventually lost to Lady Penelope and Penny Benjamin.
The last race of the day saw Chequemate 157, Ray Apthorp and Ian Simons, winners of the 2024 edition of Burnham Week, round the windward mark first, followed by Firework, Helmut Schoing II 105, Nigel Grogan and Chris Agar, Spoof and Budgies Tongue.
The right side of the leeward gate proved to be the wrong one again and while Chequemate managed to hold on the second place, being overtaken only by Spoof, Firework was chewed up by the fleet and ended the race in 7th place.
The race was won by Spoof, with Chequemate in second place, Helmut Schoing II in third and Budgies Tongue in fourth.
The overall winners were Budgies Tongue 221, Jack Grogan and Mike Banks, with Spoof 811, Micky Wright and Alex Porteous in second place and Lady Penelope 819, Malcolm Hutchings and Andy Carley in third.
Two other trophies were awarded at the prize-giving dinner, hosted by Royal Corinthian Yacht Club: the Silver Fleet Trophy and the Dick of the Day jacket.
Testament to the quality of the fleet, the Silver Fleet Trophy was awarded to By The Lee 868, sailed by Carl Anderson and Jason Phelps, 15th overall, as the other 14 boats ranked higher all recorded at least one race into the top half of the fleet.
Nigel Grogan was in a bit of a pickle as to whom to award the Dick of the Day jacket, since himself was the most likely contender, yet in the end, the jacket went to Phil and Dave, thanks to a highly questionable fashion decision.
The next Squib event on the river Crouch is the RBYC Whitsun Regatta, 24th to 26th of May, while the fleet is looking forward to the trip to The Royal Torbay Yacht Club, for the 2025 National Squib Championships, only a few weeks away.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Boat | Sail No | Helm Name | Crew Name | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | Budgies Tongue | 221 | Jack Grogan | Mike Banks | WMYC & DSC | (NSC) | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 14 |
| 2nd | Spoof | 811 | Micky Wright | Alex Porteous | RCYC | 1 | ‑14 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 18 |
| 3rd | Lady Penelope | 819 | Malcolm Hutchings | Andy Carley | RCYC | 2 | ‑11 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 24 |
| 4th | Dark n Stormy | 787 | Chip Cole | David Smith | RBYC | 7 | 2 | 2 | ‑9 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 28 |
| 5th | Sophie | 846 | Steve Hall | Dave Hyde | RCYC | (OCS) | 7 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 29 |
| 6th | Guy Fawkes | 72 | Phil Aspinall | Dave Sheppard | RCYC | 8 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 8 | ‑11 | 10 | 37 |
| 7th | Chequemate | 157 | Ray Apthorp | Ian Simons | RCYC | 5 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 4 | ‑15 | 2 | 37 |
| 8th | What's The Story | 779 | Nic Tolhurst | Ross Corbett | RCYC | 3 | 4 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 8 | (DNF) | 42 |
| 9th | Penny Benjamin | 95 | Daniel Henderson | Hattie Henderson | RYA | 9 | 6 | ‑12 | 5 | 11 | 3 | 11 | 45 |
| 10th | Rojo | 32 | Richard Tucker | Nick Bacon | RCYC | 4 | 5 | 7 | ‑12 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 47 |
| 11th | Crossfire | 797 | Patrick Wilton | Mike Taylor | HPYC | 10 | 10 | (DNF) | 10 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 54 |
| 12th | Firework | 192 | Dan Wastnage | Charlie Gilmour | RBYC | ‑15 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 54 |
| 13th | Helmut Schoing II | 105 | Nigel Grogan | Chris Agar | | 13 | 9 | 10 | 14 | (DNF) | 12 | 3 | 61 |
| 14th | Humphrey | 823 | Robert Coyle | Marc Rawinsky | RCYC | 6 | 13 | (DNC) | 13 | 14 | 14 | DNC | 79 |
| 15th | By The Lee | 868 | Carl Anderson | Jason Phelps | RCYC | 12 | 15 | 13 | ‑16 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 80 |
| 16th | Squabble | 854 | Ian Scott | Julia Batchelor | RCYC | 14 | ‑17 | 14 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 91 |
| 17th | Atalanta | 815 | Nick Milton | Gavin Kemp | RCYC | 11 | 16 | (DNC) | 15 | 13 | 18 | DNC | 92 |
| 18th | Shifts & Giggles | 848 | Mark Flynn | Jonny Beale | RCYC | 16 | (DNF) | DNC | 18 | 17 | 17 | DNF | 104 |
