505 champs win Endeavour Trophy 2025 - the UK's Champion of Champions event at Burnham-on-Crouch

Big winds reaching over 30kts tested the 30 dinghy champions to the limit on Sunday and, with just four races to count with no discard, it was always going to be an interesting outcome.

Although there was a different winner in every race, it was consistency that was clearly the key to success, with Michael Sims and Rob Gullan representing the 505 class, finally notching up a string of top results which left them able to secure the 2025 Endeavour Championship trophy.

Chris Bateman and Lucy Loughton (B14) sailed an impressive series including a final race win, to take second overall, while former Endeavour champions Matt Burge and Christian Birrell (Osprey) had to settle for third.

64th Endeavour Trophy - Matt Burge & Christian Birrell (Osprey) flying downwind - photo © Sue Pelling

Chatting as they came ashore this afternoon, first timers at the Endeavour Trophy - Chris Bateman and Lucy Loughton representing the B14 class - were naturally delighted with the outcome. Like most of the fleet who were not only getting to grips with a totally new Melges 15 Endeavour boat, but had to contend with exceptionally challenging conditions, they took a race or two to settle in: "We had a bit of whoopsie in the first race with some teething issues. The first gybe we went for a swim but after a while we found our feet. The second race I mucked up the start but managed to claw back up to fourth, and the other two races we found our groove. We were actually hoping for another race but understand the time constraints of completing the whole series in one day!"

64th Endeavour Trophy - 1045 K1, 1041 Hornet, 1029 4000 - photo © Mark Jardine

Bateman commenting on today's tactics added: "The big thing was starting. If you got that right in the first two races it made life easier. Once the tide turned at midday it was a case of playing the tides. The issue if you took the south shore as we did, was then having to cross the river to get to the mark, so it was all about timing. Thankfully in that last race we did just that and crossed ahead of those on the north shore and were able to maintain our lead to the finish."

64th Endeavour Trophy - Ollie Meadowcroft & Sam Webb (Firefly) first race winner - photo © Sue Pelling

Among the stars of the show today were Firefly representatives Oliver Meadowcroft and Sam Webb who sailed a particularly impressive first race winning by nearly one minute from second placed Matt Burge and Christian Birrell. They were close on the heels of initial leaders Alex and Iain Horlock (Supernova) during the first round but an untimely capsize in a huge 30kt gust at the top mark allowed young Meadowcroft and Webb to take the lead which they never relinquished. Another smart move in the final race gained them a few places on the line which lifted them from eighth to third place.

Meadowcroft commented: "Once we were in the lead in that first race we managed to sail our own race downwind and decided to go for an early [spinnaker] drop to play it safe. It was a great first race, we loved it in that wind; so exciting. When you have a bit of time to get the boat going properly downwind it just goes, and goes, and goes. The boat is fantastic."

64th Endeavour Trophy - Jasper Barnham & Graham Sexton (1038, GP14) - photo © Mark Jardine

Alex and Iain Horlock, who weigh in at 165kg, were revelling in the conditions today and said although their capsize while leading was heartbreaking, it was a lot of fun up until then: "It was howling and we just seemed to have speed to burn. We were loving it but it came to an end because a huge gust hit just on the gybe."

64th Endeavour Trophy - Michael Sims & Rob Gullan (505) on their way to winning - photo © Petru Balau Sports Photography / sports.hub47.com

The Melges 15, as the new one-design Endeavour class, has certainly made a big impression in its debut year. And the fact there were different winners in every race, with a good mix of new faces at the front of the fleet from both ends of the age spectrum, is a good indication it has totally levelled the playing field. It was particularly encouraging to see so many youngsters/lightweight teams enjoying the really extreme conditions. One fine example is Ben Pascoe (9) sailing with his father Sam (Hornet). This is his third time at the Endeavour Trophy but today he took the helm. He handled the conditions extremely impressively, and completed the series and finished in 23rd place.

64th Endeavour Trophy - Race 1 second upwind leg - photo © Mark Jardine

Finally, Cassias Day (14) representing the RS Tera Pro and sailing with his crew Dylan Collingbourne, said as well as having a really fun day of sailing, he felt he learnt a lot from his first Endeavour weekend. "It was really good fun and the boat was so quick downwind which made it really exciting racing. Overall we are so pleased with our result because we were up there in the fleet with some very good sailors. I am so happy to have finished the weekend with a 19th overall. The weekend also taught me that starting in a smaller fleet but in bigger boats is a big learning curve. Also getting on the line and accelerating at the right time takes so much practice, so it has been wonderful to experience that, and learn from it."

Overall Results:

Brief history of the Endeavour Trophy

The Endeavour Trophy is a solid silver scale model of the J Class yacht Endeavour presented annually to the Champion of Champions at the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, Burnham-on-Crouch.

The origin of the trophy stems from Tom Sopwith's J Class yacht Endeavour, America's Cup Challenge in 1934. Following a pay dispute and dismissal of his east coast-based professional crew, Sopwith teamed up with 'Tiny' Mitchell, the Commodore of the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club at the time, to recruit amateur members of the club to form a crew.

Although Endeavour won the first two races against Rainbow, and lost the series, this was one of the the closest occasions England has ever come to winning the coveted America's Cup.

In recognition of this achievement, the late Robin Judah - respected member of the RCYC - established a series of races for dinghy sailors to determine the overall dinghy champion of champions from the UK's most popular dinghy racing classes. Beecher Moore, former Endeavour crew, and marketing man behind the successful dinghy designer Jack Holt, joined Judah in his quest to run this event and presented for the overall winner, his solid silver scale model of the yacht.

The first invitation-only race took place in 1961 and the winners were Peter Bateman and Keith Musto, representing the International Cadet class. The event is now recognised as one of the ultimate achievements in British dinghy racing.

The competition is exceptionally challenging and those who qualify through winning their own class championship, are given the opportunity to race equally talented sailors in this unique, highly demanding two-day event on the River Crouch.

Given the diverse entry, which includes singlehanded, doublehanded, heavy and lightweight crews, and to ensure the racing is as fair as possible, carefully selected, strict one-designs are chosen for the event. The original idea back in 1961 was to use the club's own fleet of 15 Royal Corinthian One-Designs but they were considered too specialist and would have placed a perpetual limit on the number of entries. The first event was, therefore, sailed in Enterprises.

Since then, numerous one-design classes have been used for the event including the GP14, Laser 2, Lark, Enterprise, RS400, Topper Xenon, and the Topper Argo. From 2015-2024 it was the 13ft (4m) Phil Morrison-designed RS200, while 2025 marks the Melges 15 Endeavour Trophy debut.

Supporting partners

Melges

Produce a wide range of award-winning sailboats including the Melges 15 used for the Endeavour Championship in 2025. - melges.com

Xeinadin

Leading provider of accountancy services and business advice for small and medium-sized enterprises and individuals across the UK and Ireland. - xeinadin.com

Vakaros

RaceSense by Vakaros is redefining how events are run on the water, from club racing to world championships. RaceSense software allows the race committee to input courses and commands, synchronizing timing, live mark locations, and more across the fleet. All devices, competitor and RC, communicate on a proprietary mesh network with no reliance on cellular connectivity. RaceSense makes instant OCS determinations, eliminates a need to ping, and offers teams certainty in their timing. - vakaros.com

Allen Brothers

Allen Sailboat Performance Hardware - designers, manufacturers and distributors of performance dinghy and keelboat fittings. - www.allenbrothers.co.uk

Stitch Print

Stitchprint is an embroidery and printing specialist, and producer of recycled sail bags. - www.stitchprint.co.uk

Barbuck

TalkingForms from Barbuck, converts your web forms to inbound sales calls in under 30 seconds, using text-to-voice technology. This allows you to talk to your potential client while they are still in the buying zone and focused on your company and products. Speed is critical, as 78 per cent of customers will give their business to the first company to respond. Make sure you speak to them first with TalkingForms, and never miss a lead again. - www.barbuck.com

PB Sports Photography

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