Endeavour Trophy
Diamond champions of champions Tough conditions made the battle to become the ultimate dinghy champion as challenging as it’s ever been, as the Endeavour Trophy celebrated its 60th edition. Sue Pelling reports
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ight winds and extremely strong spring tides threatened to disrupt the opening day of the 60th anniversary Endeavour Trophy. Instead, four races took place in difficult, shifty conditions, with 31 top teams racing RS200s over windward-leeward courses. This unique event, hosted by Royal Corinthian YC, is strictly invitation only, with entries being offered to hand-picked national champions of a select number of dinghy classes. Its reputation has stood through six decades as the ultimate ‘champion of champions’ event. So it was little surprise when day one brought a different podium ranking in every race. Thames A Rater national champions – Ben Palmer and Amy Seabright – just emerged as overnight leaders
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thanks to a consistent set of results, including three seconds, sitting just one point ahead of five-times Endeavour champ Nick Craig crewed by Katie Burridge (RS400). A string of top tens put Arran Holman crewed by eight-times past winner Toby Lewis (RS200) in third. After a tense day on the water, competitors and guests enjoyed the grand 60th anniversary Endeavour dinner with special guest speaker Keith Musto Olympic silver medallist at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and winner of the first ever Endeavour Trophy in 1961 - joining forces on stage with Stuart Bithell, gold medallist from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Day two dawned, and after a three-hour postponement waiting for the breeze to fill in, the fleet enjoyed the two final races of the Investec-sponsored Endeavour
DECEMBER 2021 Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting
ABOVE Champions from 31 classes made the lineup for this year's event RIGHT Aaran Holman and past-winner Toby Lewis (RS200) finished fourth overall
Trophy. An 8-9kt northerly breeze was just enough to allow for a decent windward-leeward course but the strong spring tide was, once again, the dominating factor. Winning the start was top priority.
