70th Anniversary Enterprise National Championship 2026 at South Shields Sailing Club - Day 3
by Alice Driscoll 26 May 10:44 BST
23-26 May 2026
The happiest boat on the water - 70th Anniversary Enterprise National Championship at South Shields © Rebecca Bradley
Celebrating its 70th anniversary, the Enterprise Class has also seen the highest attendance at its South Shields four-day National Championships since 2019. The event has drawn in a number of people new to the class, has seen the return of familiar faces returning to competitive racing, and attracted youthful competitors - the youngest being just 13 enjoying a first experience of a championships on the sea.
Together with a newly formed Championship and Sponsorship Committee and working together with the excellent organising team at South Shields Sailing Club, this event has proved a huge success in all areas - with the slight exception of the weather which continued to prove itself challenging on the second day of racing.
With the country basking in record temperatures, the anticipated sea breeze kicked in the for the first race on Monday. An over eager fleet forced a general recall and were put in their place with the black flag on show at the next start.
It was GP sailor Andy Smith, crewed by Emma Smith who showed the Enterprise sailors how to do it, with a clear lead at the first mark establishing a lead they retained to the finish, leaving Tim Sadler and Salty to battle it out with Nick Craig and Toby Lewis to finish in second and third place. Local Tynemouth sailor Neal Piper crewed by his daughter Ellen established a strong overall position by coming in sixth place, just behind first lady helm Ann Jackson with Alan Skeens.
A long wait ensued as the wind dropped and shifted, putting the beleaguered race officer Jason Riby and his team under more pressure. Moving the race course in search of wind saw the eventual start of Race 5. With a strong tide against the fleet, the majority chose the right-hand side of the course.
The fickle conditions proved them wrong, with slightly more pressure coming in from the left and the few brave (some said foolish) boats which had gone left saw a delighted Nicol Halcrow and Elidh Morton rounding the mark first, followed by Charles Morrish and Dan Swaffield with Alice Allen crewed by Karen Jewson on their tail.
With the wind dropping, it was a tense downwind leg for the leaders, hoping that the Race officer would not abandon the race. A much-welcomed shortened course flag was raised, with Charles Morrish taking advantage of a quick gybe to come first overall, with Nicol Halcrow second and Alice and Karen third. Just behind them, Nick Craig and Tobytastic held off Tim Sadler and Salty, putting Craig now into first position overall, just three points ahead of Sadler.
The planned third race of the day was postponed as by now the wind had disappeared completely.
Ranking the fleet into Gold, Silver and Bronze divisions this year has proved as difficult to predict as the musical bingo enjoyed by many of the sailors in the bar afterwards, as the evening awards saw Bronze division placed Andy and Emma Smith winning race 4, alongside with Bronze division Nicol Halcrow and Elidh Morton as winners of Race 5. But it also shows how closely contested the racing can be - notwithstanding tide and lucky shifts - as GP sailor Andy Smith said, "It's a really friendly fleet with very tactical sailing."
This year has seen a variety of ages across the race course, with the youngest sailor being Leo Fry, crewing for his father Chris. Only his second time sailing on the sea, and wishing there had been more wind, Leo says he wants to do more racing on the Northern Circuit this year.
The happiest boat on the water is always the all-girl team of 15-year olds Sophie Forbes and Isabelle Beechey, who said they have found the racing in the Enterprise class a lot calmer than their usual squad training in Toppers and very friendly. Their happiness was also helped by winning the cash prize from the musical bingo!
With just one more day's racing to go, the class meeting also saw the nominations of a new Class Commodore and Treasurer, with both positions to be ratified formally at the next AGM. The four-day format over a bank holiday was also voted as being highly successful, with the class now seeking a venue for its 2027 National Championships, before heading to Looe in 2028.
Full results so far