River Cruiser Weekend 2026 at the Norfolk Punt Club
by Alastair Drew 8 Jun 20:05 BST
6-7 June 2026
Acheivement tropy winner, Shark - River Cruiser Weekend on Barton Broad © Robin Myerscough
They say the best must be able to sail in all conditions and for the two-day 2026 River Cruiser Open held at the Norfolk Punt Club, twelve of the very best arrived on Saturday to test themselves out in driving rain and very strong gusty winds.
Ten River Cruisers passaged up the River Ant to join two local boats for the 1pm briefing. A southerly breeze meant that a relatively simple upwind-downwind course could be set from one end of Barton Broad to the other, but with gusts approaching 30mph some competitors were understandably nervous about putting up sails in such conditions.
For the first race (2pm) the 'a' fleet (the six faster handicap boats) all set out. Catspaw (Brian, Michelle, Kate and Graham) retired with gear failure, but all other boats made it to the finish with some form of sail reef in the main and many on smaller jibs.
The race officials kept boats out for around the 50 minute mark with 218 - Mystery (Matt, Jo and Kath) winning by 14 corrected seconds from 307 - Mischief (Steve, Di and Sam) and then 433 - Shark (Martin + 4 crew) and further minute behind.
Four of the 'b' fleet ventured to the start line for their 2.05pm start. 348 - Alchemy (Richard & Nels) suffered a jib halyard failure within 5 seconds of the start and had to retire. 37 - Harrier (Jack and Toby) were the slowest handicap boat but was always going to be well suited for the heavier wind conditions with a relatively smaller rig than other boats, and so it proved with them finishing over the water around boats much faster than then on handicap.
Once corrected, they were 4 minutes ahead of 179 - Waxwing (Simon, Simon and Rachel) with Sprite (Mark, 2 * Emily, Rose and Eleanor) taking third place.
The wind showed no sign of dropping for the 4pm second Saturday race. Mystery sat this one out from the 'a' fleet and Mischief were very comfortable winners from the now recovered Catspaw and then 314 - Whisper (Johnnie, Lisa, Grace and Kevin). The 'b' fleet saw Waxwing suffer gear failure just ahead of the start with Harrier finishing slightly over 2 minutes ahead of Alchemy and then Sprite.
The Norfolk Punt Club is known for the unique nature of its sailing club, with its buildings sitting on floating pontoons in the middle of the picturesque Barton Broad. With River Cruisers by their very nature having accommodation within the cabins, almost all competitors joined the race officials and other Norfolk Punt Club members for a fine evening out on the water of food, drink and festivities.
Sunday offered a break from the rain, with bright blue skies on show from dawn. The wind had even moderated to around force 3 gusting 4, switching to the west. All competitors pushed off for the start of race 3 with Mystery winning the 'a' fleet by 3 seconds from Catspaw and then Mischief a further 9 seconds back. Very close racing seen throughout. The 'b' fleet was again won by Harrier, over 90 seconds from Nutcracker (Phil, Su and Kate) and then Alchemy.
The final race started at midday with the close racing seen in the 'a' fleet continuing. Catspaw from Mischief from Whisper. The 'b' fleet was this time won by Nutcracker who showed some very good speed, almost catching up with the 'a' fleet. Harrier second and Alchemy third.
4 trophies were on offer for the weekend. Shark won the Achievement Trophy (for eligible boats faster than a certain handicap). The 'a' fleet (Barton Broad Trophy) was won by Mischief, who finished on the same points as Catspaw. The 'b' fleet (Moonshadow Trophy) was comfortably won by Harrier.
The overall White Horse Trophy was won by Harrier, with Alchemy second and Mischief third. Thanks go to all competitors for travelling to Barton Broad and to the organisers (Alastair, Lena, Peter, Sian, Kathy, Simon, Paul, Nigel & Biddy) who ran the event.
A Fleet Results:
| Pos | Boat Name | Sail No | Handicap | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | Shark | 433 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 |
| 2 | Catspaw | 244 | ‑4 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| 3 | Whisper | 314 | ‑4 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 8 |
| 4 | Bewitched | 338 | ‑5 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 12 | 11 |
| 5 | Mystery | 218 | ‑7 | 2 | 13 | 4 | 8 | 5 |
| 6 | Mischief | 307 | ‑7 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 3 |
B Fleet Results:
| Pos | Boat Name | Sail No | Handicap | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | Waxwing | 179 | ‑8 | 4 | 13 | 8 | 11 | 10 |
| 2 | Tinkerbell | 418 | ‑8 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 12 |
| 3 | Nutcracker | 303 | ‑10 | 13 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| 4 | Sprite | 290 | ‑11 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 6 | 6 |
| 5 | Alchemy | 348 | ‑14 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| 6 | Harrier | 37 | ‑18 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |