Cadet Class Clemenson Nautillus Trophy at Royal Corinthian Sailing Club, Burnham

Cadet Clemenson Nautillus Trophy at Burnham © Tim Hampton / www.timhampton.uk

Cadet Clemenson Nautillus Trophy at Burnham © Tim Hampton / www.timhampton.uk

The UKNCCA was delighted to return to Royal Corinthian Sailing Club, for so many years the spiritual home of the Cadet Class not just in the UK but around the World.

The forecast for the weekend didn't look too inspiring so Arky our PRO made it clear that if he could he would get four races in on Saturday in anticipation of some rather sketchy conditions on Sunday.

Things got under way up near the confluence of the Roach and the Crouch with the tide initially quite slack and then increasing in strength as the afternoon wore on as evidenced by the spreader mark refusing to stay where it was told. Race 1 saw Amelia Mayhew and Hettie Thorogood come to the fore in the main fleet taking the win from Ines Green and Tom Krailing with silver fleet pairing Monty Hampton and Tash Davidson coming through ahead of many gold fleet sailors in third. In the coached bronze fleet Josh Davidson and William Hancock secured their first race win.

Race 2 had Mish Collingridge and Rhona Enkel out in front from Evan Harris and James Vellacott with Robbie Stewart and Dylan McArdle (again a silver fleet boat) in third. Josh and William showed their first in regatta fleet was no flash in the pan with their second win of the weekend.

By the start of race 3 the tide was ebbing strongly and several boats found themselves in trouble at the start whilst others went back unnecessarily. This time Ines and Tom took the lead and held it to finish in front of Amelia and Hettie with a great third place taken by yet another silver fleet boat - Gwen Thorogood and Primrose Denny Pickles. In regatta fleet a change in the running order saw Ava Roberts and Ines Figueiredo pick up their first race victory.

By race 4 the tide was starting to slacken somewhat but it remained a tough decision whether to stay in clear wind and on the rhumb line downwind or whether to head inshore for tidal shelter but accept some blanketing from boats to windward. Mish and Rhona managed to figure it out best and closed the overnight gap to 2 points on Amelia and Hettie who were second followed by Toby Bush and Kemmel Thorogood. At this point, with little prospect of there being enough wind on Sunday, Mish and Rhona were somewhat rueful of having twice returned on the start when neither time actually OCS. Race 4 in regatta fleet was taken by Ava and Ines who ended the day equal on points with Josh and William, split only in their favour by countback.

Sunday dawned flat calm but Arky is never easily defeated (at many things!) so out the fleet went in search of some tiny zephyrs. Tiny they were indeed and so after some drifting around the fleet were ordered back in on the last of the flood tide. Strangely no abandonment flags were shown on the committee boat - did Arky have a hotline to those on high? It seemed so... with half the fleet more or less back at the Corinthian and the others drifting slowly or larking about on the way back suddenly Marks 1 rib was reporting 5 knots, then 6, then even 7 and 8. Wind right across the river. So around everyone turned and a new course was hastily rearranged part way back towards the Roach. Game On!

Cadet Clemenson Nautillus Trophy at Burnham - photo © Tim Hampton / www.timhampton.uk

Race 5 was hotly contested. Mish and Rhona were ahead but had Toby and Kemmel and Robbie and Dylan chasing them hard down to the final leeward mark whereupon they came off badly from a 3 way luffing match just outside the zone and had to do turns. This left Robbie and Dylan who initiated proceedings to nip round the last mark and take the win form Toby and Kemmel with Sofia Sfaxi and Elliot Chapman taking third. Back in regatta fleet it was Josh and William's turn to nudge themselves ahead by a single point with one race left to go.

Race 6 saw Toby and Kemmel lead from Amelia and Hettie and with Mish and Rhona allowing Brandon Barker and Kali Karaskas to overtake them on the final downwind this left Amelia and Hettie to take a deserved overall victory by 1 point from Mish and Rhona. In regatta fleet the points were closer still. Ava and Ines took the final win and so finished with identical scorecards to Josh and William and were only split by virtue of having prevailed in the last race.

Cadet Clemenson Nautillus Trophy at Burnham - photo © Tim Hampton / www.timhampton.uk

So that was that - a huge thank-you to Royal Corinthian for hosting us. We always either seem to get too much or too little wind when we visit but the welcome is always a warm one and we are reminded that the club does the best cheesy chips on the circuit so for that reason (and many others) we will be back. Prize giving was wrapped up just in time before a downpour of biblical proportions took hold - presumably as Arky called upstairs to tell him he could turn the taps back on.

Overall Results:

Regatta Fleet Results: