Club Championship Weekend at Upper Thames Sailing Club
by Roy Burnham 14 Jul 2009 09:36 PDT
11-12 July 2009
Long-haul sailor wins the biggest prize
The Club Championship weekend at Upper Thames Sailing Club in Bourne End was dominated by a club member who had flown in from his home in Melbourne, Australia! Graham Pearce won both the Gold Cup and The Silver Burgee Trophies in his single-handed OK dinghy, beating all other club members who were sailing a range of boats from Toppers to Merlin Rockets. The other major trophy sailed for during the Club championship weekend was for the Hugh Davis vase, won for the second year running by John Meadowcroft from High Wycombe and ably crewed by Lizzie Markham a cadet member of the club. The weekend weather proved perfect for river sailing with a light south-westerly breeze creating excellent conditions on this wide reach of the Thames between Bourne End and Marlow.
On Saturday the club, founded in 1884, celebrated its 125th Anniversary with a Hog Roast and a Caribbean evening complete with a steel band at its riverside clubhouse, where over 100 members joined in the fun. Commodore Roy Burnham spoke about the importance of recognising the club’s successful 125 year heritage and history and noted that the first Commodore of the Club was Sir Roger Palmer from Maidenhead who served in the Crimea and also took part in the Charge of the Light Brigade!
Racing at UTSC continues throughout the year and features a new Series in August covering Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. New members are always welcome and can receive training if necessary from the clubs experienced Dinghy Instructors. More details can be found on the website at www.utsc.org.uk or by calling Tony Ketley on 01628 472389.