2023 Burnham Squib Gold Cup
25 entries, with 6 visiting Boats and some ‘ringers’ added in for a bit of spice.It was particularly good to see the great Stuart Mears (and Tristan Hutt) racing in Nenuphar, kindly loaned by Andrew Carley.
At last, we had some sunshine to smile about ! The wind forecast for the two days was pretty consistent, with 8-15 knots of gentle breeze. Edwin and ‘Team Pheobe’ were the race officers, immediately popular for setting some excellent windward/leeward courses.
Race one, didn’t get under way for at least an hour as the wind died to under 5 knots. Once it was under way, Day One saw some consistent results from Jono and Chris. (1st, 2nd, 1st, and 5th) They had exceptional boat speed, so combined with with good starts., once ahead they were very hard to keep up with.
Ray and Petru had a win in race two, with Micky and Alex always in contention. Visitors Stu Rix and Steve Warren Smith took the fourth in Aquabat, after which the essential post-race post-mortem filled the Corinthian’s sunny balcony, the perfect starter to an evening’s serious socialising.
Day Two saw much of the same breeze. Racing got under way on time with race five again won by Jono and Chris. Then they took race six. Boring!
Nigel and Jack Grogan had a better day, changing the scene a bit with a good win in race seven. Race eight was won by RCYC Commodore Phil and crew Dave, these two having a better day.
Chris and Jono took the Gold Cup without having to start the last race. Well done to them, for an exceptional weekend of clever, consistent sailing..The prizegiving dinner saw the Gold Cup presented to Jono Brown and Chris Aggar Second overall were Micky Wright and Alex Porteous, with Nigel and Jack Grogan in third. Dan Henderson tied with Stuart Rix for fourth place, just one point off the podium. The silver fleet winners were David Lloyd and Munch from Portsmouth.
After the presentation Munch stood up to present the Dick of the Day trophy to Scarlett Anderson. I am darned to tell you why she won it, but could she be the first lady to win this prestigious award?
