Irish dinghy sailors have finished top of the UK's prestigious Endeavour Trophy, taking the top two places overall on Sunday (October 5th) in Britain's champion of champions event at Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex.
Big winds reaching over 30kts tested the 30 dinghy champions to the limit today, 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, consistency was clearly the key to success. Northern Ireland's Michael Sims of Ballyholme Yacht Club and Rob Gullan, representing the 505 class, finally notched up a string of top results, which left them able to secure the 2025 Endeavour Championship trophy.
Monkstown Bay Sailing Club's Chris Bateman of Cork Harbour 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.
Monkstown Bay Sailing Club's Chris Bateman of Cork Harbour and Lucy Loughton (B14) competing in the Endeavour Trophy
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!”
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.”
Tough conditions at the start of an Endeavour Trophy race 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.”
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.”
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.
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.”
1. 2025 Endeavour Trophy winners – Michael Sims & Rob Gullan (505) with Edwin Buckley (Race Officer) – PB Sports Photography
Chris Bateman & Lucy Loughton (B14) second – photo Roger Mant
Matt Burge & Christian Birrell (Osprey) third – photo Roger Mant
Overall Results (top 10) no discard
- 1st 505 – Michael Sims & Rob Gullan (17.1pts)
- 2nd B14 – Chris Bateman & Lucy Loughton (20.0pts)
- 3rd Osprey – Matt Burge & Christian Birrell (20.0pts)
- 4th D1 – Nick Craig & Toby Lewis (21.0pts)
- 5th Firefly – Oliver Meadowcroft & Sam Webb (23.0)
- 6th 29er – Jac Bailey & Ben Sinfield (27.0)
- 7th Supernova – Alex & Iain Horlock (33.3pts)
- 8th International Canoe – Sam Barker & Josh O'Brien (37.0pts)
- 9th RS100 – Ian Gregory & Nigel Wakefield (40.0pts)
- 10th Returning Champions – Oliver Groves & Esther Parkhurst (41.0pts)
