Burnham Week 2025 - Day 1

by Petru Balau 23 Aug 22:58 PDT 23-30 August 2025

The weather gods smiled upon Burnham-on-Crouch and the 2025 edition of Burnham Week started with perfect sailing conditions, with more than 120 boats taking part in the first day of racing.

The first class to start the racing, from the Pile House line, were the RS Elites, with Bill Blank's Blind Squirrel taking the first win, Roger Martin's Excalibur in second and Joey Thompson' Serious Moonlight in third place. For the second race, Blind Squirrel and Serious Moonlight swapped places, leaving 3 boats overnight with 4 points each, separated on count back.

The fleet of 707s from Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, recently refurbished by Allen, was joined by Cezanne GBR7107N for a 6 boats strong fleet. The two races were won by the RCYC boat 5, aptly renamed A Tiller the Hun, crewed by sailors from all over the Dengie Peninsula, skippered by Rory Munro from somewhere in the boat. In the second place overnight, the RCYC boat 3, renamed Hookers Afloat - something to do with rugby no doubt, scored a 3rd and a 2nd, with the skipper, Scarlett Anderson, deciding the best place to lead is from the bow. On third, with a second place and a fifth, lies Cezanne, with the skippering duo, Charles Kruse and Michael Hollington representing the two royal clubs in the town.

The next to start were the Squibs, yet again the largest fleet in Burnham Week, with a healthy mix of local boats, visitors and chartered boats. Top of the table are Spoof, Micky Wright and Alex Porteous, with a win and a 4th, while the last year's winners, Ray Apthorp and Ian Simmons, Chequemate, finished the day in second place, with a hard fought 4th and a win.

The multihull race was an easy affair for Nick Wood's Origami, while Nigel Stevens' Triassic finished in second place.

Things got a bit hectic with the next start, as the classes 1 & 2 and 5 & 6 all shared a course and the start time. Dan Wastnage' Santa Evita won the class 1 & 2, while Phil Collard's Cobra won the class 5, a 12 boats strong fleet.

The International Dragon were next, with Mark Wade's Avalanche taking the win, Ian Gray's Still Crazy in second place and Andy Moss's Hands Off in third.

9 Ospreys entered this year's regatta and their only race of the day was won by Roger and Jamie Blake from Great Moor Sailing Club, while David and Steve Carroll, Naivasha YC, took the second and Robert Shaw and Ian Little, representing Kielder Water SC and Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, in third place.

Richard Nurse, representing Northampton SC, leads the 9 Phantoms overnight, after two races with a second and a win. Mark Spruce, from Lee on Solent SC, is in second place, with a win and a 4th, while Stuart Brewer, from Creeksea SC, finished the day in third place, with a fifth and a second.

The 9 Royal Corinthian One Designs had a relatively simple course and Justin Waples' Cormorant emerged as the winner, followed by Clive and Graeme Page's Corpo Santo and Paul Buckley's Coryphee.

After a planned delay, to allow for the second start for the classes that had scheduled two races, the Royal Burnham One Design had their race, with the 10 boats fleet being won by Stephen Herring's Red Jacket, with Simon Hollington's Beryl in second place and James Dallimore's Whimbrel in third.

The last start from the Pile House line was the East Coast One Design race, with 6 boats registered. The first two spots were taken by the Royal Burnham Yacht Club boats, Wizard helmed by David Smith and Widgeon, helmed by Ian Wilson, while Rufus Whiteford, sailing on Gigi and hailing from Waiheke Boating Club finished in third place.

At the other end of the town, on the Burnham Sailing Club line, two cheerful dinghy fleets had 3 races scheduled each.

The other big Burnham fleet, the ILCA/Laser fleet, with 13 boats entered, saw the usual suspect, James Hutton-Penman, ILCA 6/Laser Radial, take 3 bullets. Keith Gilmore, sailing an ILCA 6/Laser Radial is second overnight, with a 3rd and 2 seconds, while last year's Dinghy Town Cup winner, Duncan De Boltz, ILCA 7/Laser, sits in 3rd, with a 2nd, a 3rd and a 7th. Special mention has to be made for Lucie Prior, ILCA 6/Laser Radial who managed to beat her dad, Adam Prior, ILCA 7/Laser in the last race.

This year's Dinghy Fast Handicap fleet saw an eclectic mix of boats, from an RS Feva to an Albacore and a Dart 15. The Albacore, sailed by Richard Smith and John Barnes, leads overnight, with two 2nds and a win, followed by two RS200's from Burnham Sailing Club, Alice Davis and Jemma Cook in second and Jo Tribe and Marcus Collingbourne in third. The day started perfectly for Robert Coyle, H2, who managed a 3rd and a win, but decided to call it a day and did not compete in the 3rd race, being bumped to 5th place.

On the shore side, the programme could not be busier. The Royal Burnham Yacht Club hosted a cocktail party on the barge moored on the pontoon, followed by a dinner party and dancing in the courtyard. The Royal Corinthian Yacht Club hosted their usual Burnham Week Saturday drinks, along with an oversubscribed Mediterranean Evening. There were also rumours of a BBQ hosted by the Osprey class.

Full results at www.burnhamweek.com/results-2025