Eskimo Trophy at Blackpool and Fleetwood Yacht Club

Sunday 16 December 2001

Despite forecasts of no wind almost 50 entrants who were confident enough to turn up to the BFYC Eskimo Trophy (Skippool Creek, Thornton) were treated to ideal racing conditions. A bright crisp morning was greeted by a filling wind which steadied to a reliable force 2 to 3 throughout the race.

The event which has been held annually for over thirty years brought together many of the North’s top sailors who battled it out for this prestigious trophy with a top prize of £100. The race officer , Arnold Fitton got all sailors off to a clean start, having set a well balanced course which took fair account of the flood & ebb tide in the river wyre. The conditions were ideal for conventional classes of dinghy such as GP14 and a large fleet of RS 400’s struggled to catch any of the early starters for the first hour.

This years GP14 national champions Neil Marsden & Derrick Hill were eventual winners and lead the race from near the start but were closely pursued throughout by John Greenwood in a Finn. Last years winners of the event Richard Whitworth and Sally Townend were never out of contention and eventually finished in third place. Mike Budd and the youngest sailor in the race , son James were early pacemakers and set targets for the rest of the competitive RS400 fleet. Two of the Merlin’s just managed to pip winning Junior helm Mike Senior and Graham Nelson in their GP14.

Club sailing captain Andy Airnes said ‘Despite having to change the date to pre Xmas instead of the traditional new year date to suit local tides, the event had been a great success’ He thanked all concerned at the club and visiting sailors for supporting the event.

Event Photos: (© Chris Chapman, click thumbnail for full picture)

Prizegiving picture shows from left to right: Derrick Hill winning crew, Club Commodore Dave Fish and Commodores Lady, Neil Marsden winning helm and Andy Airnes Club Sailing Captain

Overall Results: