Please select your home edition
Edition
ETNZ Store Sale No.2 728x90px TOP

Bourne End Week 2021 at Upper Thames Sailing Club

by Tony Ketley 4 Sep 2021 05:53 NZST 28-31 August 2021

Bourne End Week 2020 never happened, Covid-19 got in the way and continued to threaten the staging of the event for a second year. May bank holiday, the usual date for the event came and went, but shortly after, enough restrictions had been lifted to give hope that the August bank holiday would see it happen.

Network Rail also posed a threat. The club had agreed with Network Rail that they could use the camping field as a base for their plant and materials when upgrading the local railway line. Without this field available to us the whole nature of the event would change. Lots of competitors spend the evenings on site in the bar or marquee, there is dining every night and entertainment some nights. When the evening comes to a close, many folks bed down in the camping field, everyone is happy.

Unfortunately, Network Rail's work overran, and the field was not ready until one week before the event. Fortunately, the venerable turves seemed to have survived.

River sailing can be a bit unpredictable wind wise, but this year it was fairly constant 11-12 Notts most of the time. Saturday the sun shone us but for the rest of the event, it was fifty shades of grey in the sky. Rain was noticeably absent, though it did try once or twice without successes.

BEW has traditionally been the time and location for the Thames A Rater class to have their national championships. There is much silverware to compete for, but the holy grail is the Queen's Cup, that's Queen Victoria's cup, first presented in 1889 and sailed for on the last day of the regatta.

In recent years it has changed hands several times, this year it was almost predictable which crew would be taking it home. Never a certainty, but as one crew in the previous three days of competitions had scooped up all six trophies, with two to go, could they bag them for a clean sweep. The crew with the golden touch were, Ben Palmer, Matt Hannaby and James Warren, sailing Ulva number 8.

I should mention there is one that they were overqualified to compete for, which went to a UTSC crew, Dan Harrison and his many team members Sue Mackenzie, Nicki Binks, Don McDermott, Ben Mieszkian and Ed Crichton. This is quite common in Rater sailing.

Other classes were catered for, Merlin Rockets were strongly represented with 18 entries, OKs and Wayfarers had class starts, the handicap class boasted a Phantom, Lasers, N12 and others.

As the event drew to a close a collective sigh of relief was breathed by the Flag Officers and the teams that supported them, so many obstacles had been overcome, problems had been foreseen and countered. Upper Thames SC had done it again, despite the odds.

Trophy Winners:

ClassTrophyBoatHelmCrew
Sunday Prior ‑ All Dinghies under 16’Rathbone Rose BowlAlouetteJennie Portsmouth(UTSC)
Ladies Rater RaceNo TrophySpindriftNicola Smith ‑James (UTSC)Vanessa Pilon & Kevin Rose
1885 Pursuit Race1885 TrophyQuiverMartin Hunter (UTSC)Tim Williams
A Rater Open1907 Vagabond CupSpindriftKevin Rose (UTSC)Rosie Frost
Merlin Rocket River ChampionshipWantage TrophyQueen PhillipaChris Kilsby (TSC)Pippa Kilsby
Merlin RocketVintage TrophyQueen PhillipaChris Kilsby (TSC)Pippa Kilsby
OK River ChampionshipsYeatman Bowl2196Alastair McMichael 
OK RegattaYeatman TrophyZymSimon DavisUTSC
Wayfarer Splashaway ChallengeSplashaway CupKimsarPeter Brewer (UTSC)Beth Brewer
.Splashaway PlaquePenelopeNicola Smith‑JamesRichard Stent (UTSC)
.Notly NogginKimsarPeter Brewer (UTSC)Beth Brewer
A RaterThames Championship CupUlvaBen Palmer (TSC)Matt Hannaby & James Warren
.The Dunn CupUlvaBen Palmer (TSC)Matt Hannaby & James Warren
In Thames Championship not placed 1st 2nd or 3rd in any raceRuby SalverTaraDan Harrison (UTSC)Sue Mackenzie & Nicki Binks
A RaterClayton Jackson CupUlvaBen Palmer (TSC)Matt Hannaby & Matt Reid
.Scamp CupUlvaBen Palmer (TSC)Matt Hannaby & James Warren
.Commodore’s CupUlvaBen Palmer (TSC)Matt Hannaby & James Warren
.Wokefield Challenge CupUlvaBen Palmer (TSC)Matt Hannaby & James Warren
Merlin Rocket Yeves Challenge PlateFlinkidinkStuart Jenkins (UTSC/Hampton)Nicola Scaddan
WayfarerFounder’s CupKimsarPeter Brewer (UTSC)Beth Brewer
Handicap FleetHandicap Class CandlesticksCinzanoAlex Pausey (UTSC)Josh Dench
CadetWalter CupLaserJacob Gould(UTSC)
SeriesSilver Jubilee Champioship TrophyKimsarPeter Brewer (UTSC)Beth Brewer
A RaterVintage Rater TrophyUlvaBen Palmer (TSC)Matt Hannaby & James Warren
.Queen’s CupUlvaBen Palmer (TSC)Matt Hannaby & James Warren
Merlin RocketGravy Boat Trophy Mark Barwell (Lymington Town SC)Louise Johnson

Related Articles

Merlin Rockets at Upper Thames
David Battye was naturally itching to point his flag for inadequate stability This year's edition of the Upper Thames Sailing Club Merlin Rocket open meeting weekend (8th and 9th September) saw a temperamental forecast and every different flavour of weather, but often a noticeable lack of wind. Posted on 13 Sep
Merlin Rocket River Championships at Upper Thames
Excellent racing on the widest non-tidal stretch of the Thames As is now becoming tradition, the coveted Merlin Rocket River championships were once again held across a sunny May bank holiday at Bourne End Week, Upper Thames Sailing Club's premier event of the year. Posted on 31 May
The oldest footage of Thames A Raters
A look back into our video archive Bourne End Week has been running since 1887 and is days away from the 2024 edition. As this event includes the Thames A Rater National Championship, we round-up all the videos which show early racing in the Thames A Rater class. Posted on 19 May
Merlin Rockets at Upper Thames
Craftinsure DeMay Vintage, Thames Series and Allen South East Series weekend Upper Thames Sailing Club hosted the Craftinsure Vintage DeMay, Thames Series and for the first time the Allen South East series over the weekend of 16th and 17th September. Posted on 25 Sep 2023
Merlin Rocket River Championship
A merry-go-round for third place Upper Thames Sailing Club hosted the Merlin Rocket River Championships as part of the annual Borne End Week festival that celebrates mayflies, camping, cocktails, sunshine, and some of the very best sailing to be had on the River Thames in equal measure. Posted on 7 Jun 2023
Merlin Rockets at Upper Thames
A good turnout for the Craftinsure DeMay Series & Thames Series event The Merlin Rockets were at Upper Thames Sailing Club for the weekend of 10 and 11 September, with the DeMay Vintage event taking place on the Saturday, and the Thames Series racing on Sunday. There was a good turn-out on both days. Posted on 15 Sep 2022
Bourne End Week 2022
The event took place on the Jubilee bank holiday weekend Bourne End Week took place on the Jubilee bank holiday weekend, but despite the draw of celebration parties and television coverage of this once in a lifetime event, substantial numbers of the sailing fraternity chose Bourne End to do their celebrating. Posted on 22 Jun 2022
Merlin Rockets at Upper Thames
Craftinsure Merlin Rocket DeMay Series and Thames Series event The Merlin Rockets headed to Upper Thames for the weekend of 11 and 12 September, with the DeMay Vintage event scheduled for the Saturday and the Thames Series and Silver Tiller event on Sunday. Posted on 15 Sep 2021
Merlin Rocket River Championship
Held during the Bourne End Week Regatta The 2021 Merlin Rocket River Championships were hosted at Upper Thames Sailing Club over the August bank holiday weekend. Incorporated into the club's annual Bourne End week regatta it had as so many events this year been shifted. Posted on 8 Sep 2021
OnBoard sailors get new boat boost
Ten youngsters from across the UK have been handed a huge boost The delighted sailors have been awarded exclusive use of their own boat for the next two years through the on-going partnership between the John Merricks Sailing Trust (JMST) and RYA OnBoard. Posted on 27 Nov 2020
Youmans Studio Cup Racing 1456x180 BOTTOMTNI Pindar SW Ads_728x90px-1 BOTTOMC-Tech 2021 (Spars-QFX Racer) 728x90 BOTTOM