Please select your home edition
Edition
Henri-Lloyd Dynamic Range

Spitfire Premium Ale Concours dElegance Trophy 2010

by Mark Jardine 10 Mar 2010 02:46 PST 6 March 2010
Stephen Beresford, winner of the Spitfire Premium Ale Concours d’Elegance trophy, together with Steve Gray, RYA Marketing Manager © Mark Jardine / Y&Y

Judging for the Spitfire Premium Ale Concours d’Elegance trophy took place on Saturday 6th March during the RYA Volvo Dinghy Show. All boats that had been sailing at least once were eligible. The judging panel was made up of David Townshend of Shepherd Neame, Mark Jardine of Y&Y, Steve Gray of the RYA and Alex Geddes.

The presentation and standard of all the boats on show this year was exceptional. Clearly the inaugural presentation of the trophy last year had made people put that extra bit in to make their boats shine.

After two hours of looking over all boats, the judging panel had a shortlist of five boats (GP14 ‘Sniper’, International 14 1541, Merlin Rocket 3626, National Redwing 249 & National 12 341) to choose a winner from. A second inspection of these resulted in the unanimous decision to award the 2010 Spitfire Premium Ale Concours d’Elegance trophy was awarded to Stephen Beresford’s National Redwing sail number R249.

On winning the trophy Stephen Beresford said, “We're thrilled and delighted to win the Concours d'Elegance trophy. It's a real confirmation of Good Wood Boats intent to build beautiful and eye catching classic racing dinghies that not only race successfully, but also win the admiration of others both on and off the water.”

The boat was completed just prior to the Redwing nationals in August 2009. Construction took just over a thousand man-hours and includes 1,782 hand crafted copper rivets.

Steve Gray, RYA Marketing Manager said, “The variety of classes and their standard of presentation was outstanding this year, making the ultimate decision extremely difficult.”

As well as claiming the coveted trophy the lucky winner will also have the choice of either one night’s stay for two people (dinner, bed and breakfast) at a Shepherd Neame Managed House or ten cases of Spitfire Premium Ale.

Related Articles

Team Be Water Positive The Ocean Race Europe crew
Scott Shawyer will skipper Team Be Water Positive in the fully crewed offshore challenge this summer Canada Ocean Racing - Team Be Water Positive today announces its 2025 The Ocean Race Europe crew led by Canadian skipper Scott Shawyer and featuring five other accomplished names in offshore sailing. Posted today at 11:54 am
31st Block Island Race Week Day 4
Round The Island Race on Mount Gay Rum Race Day Mount Gay Rum Race Day featured everyone's favorite race of Block Island Race Week: the Regatta Craft Mixers Round The Island Race. The breaking of the recent heatwave made for a fast and furious counter-clockwise lap. Posted on 26 Jun
SailGP's return to Auckland for Season 6 confirmed
ITM is the NZ's Grand Prix's Title Partner, marking a fourth year supporting Black Foils. After a record breaking debut, the ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix Auckland has been confirmed to be returning in 2026 and is set to be bigger than ever. Posted on 26 Jun
Rolex SailGP Championship 2026 dates confirmed
Including a return to fan-favorite destination, Auckland SailGP has released further details of forthcoming 2026 Season, including the return of fan-favorite locations, multi-year hosting agreements secured across all regions, and an evolved regional structure to raise the stakes for athletes and fans alike. Posted on 26 Jun
44Cup Marstrand 2025 day 2
Aleph Racing takes the lead after glorious four race day The 44Cup is nothing but surprises. Day two of competition for the one-design owner-driver RC44s at the 44Cup Marstrand was forecast to be light but in fact provided further magnificent conditions, with sunshine and flatter seas than yesterday. Posted on 26 Jun
Pip Hare Announced as Patron of WORLDSTAR 2026
A meaningful return to her roots with the Royal Western Yacht Club of England The Royal Western Yacht Club (RWYC) is absolutely delighted to welcome solo ocean racing legend Pip Hare as the Patron of WORLDSTAR 2026—our flagship round-the-world sailing event. This is more than a title; it's a homecoming. Posted on 26 Jun
Kieler Woche Day 7
British mixed dominance in dinghy and catamaran After the second day of the Sailing Grand Slam in the Olympic mixed classes, Martin Wrigley and Bettine Harris are leading the 470 class even more dominantly than John Gimson and Anna Burnet in the Nacra 17 on Thursday (June 26). Posted on 26 Jun
29th Superyacht Cup Palma day 1
Cervo and Open Season take opening day honours The Superyacht Cup Palma 2025 swung into action today, with captains and crews across the varied and inspiring fleet seizing the opportunity to take the measure of the competition out on the racecourse. Posted on 26 Jun
J/70 Mixed-Plus Worlds at Lake Garda Day 1
Yupi leads after a perfect opening day in Torbole Lake Garda delivered its finest conditions for the opening day of the first-ever J/70 Mixed-Plus World Championship: three races completed in a steady, warm Ora breeze peaking at 20 knots. Posted on 26 Jun
Tschüss 2 - Transatlantic Titans
Line Honours for Christian Zugel's Volvo 70 in the Transatlantic Race 2025 Volvo 70 Tschüss 2 (USA), owned by Christian Zugel and co-skippered by Johnny Mordaunt, has taken Line Honours in the West to East Transatlantic Race 2025 in an elapsed time of 07 Day 15 Hrs 29 Mins and 10 Secs. Posted on 26 Jun
PredictWind - Routing 728x90 BOTTOMZhik 2024 DecemberAllen Dynamic 40 Footer