Burnham Week 2026 - Day 5
by Petru Balau 3 Sep 11:28 PDT
23-30 August 2025
The second day of the Midweek Series and fifth day overall brought increasing winds and threats of rain, yet the fleets fought tooth and nail for their spots.
Slingshot, Tabitha & Nicholas Plank, after sharing a start with class 5, won the class 1 & 2.
In class 5, Dan Wastnage and Doug Duce, Flashheart, went for another bullet, ahead of Daryl Mylroie's Eclipse.
In class 6, Mantra - Phillip Harbott, won the day, followed by Avalanche Too - Mark Wade and Fifi - Ian and Michèle Langston.
Things are getting complicated in the East Coast One Design fleet, with Rufus Whiteford's Gigi winning the day, to move top of the table, followed by Nicholas Cottrell's Nancy, second on the day and second overall, while Ian Wilson's Widgeon finished the race in third place. However, due to a win in the first day of the Midweek series, Beccs Polden's Delphine holds strong into the third overall position.
In the Royal Burnham One Design fleet, James Dallimore took the first place of the day from Stephen Herring's Red Jacket, and moved top of the table on countback, with Simon Hollington's Beryl on third overall.
Justin Waples' Cormorant won the day and moved top of the table, followed by Robert Campbell's Coram and Clive and Graeme Page's Corpo Santo, with no boat suffering an underwater experience.
In the Squibs class, Micky Wright and Alex Porteous - Spoof, took the win from Ray Apthorp and Ian Simons - Chequemate, while Robert Coyle and Mark Rawinsky - Humphrey, took advantage of the last puff of wind to get the third place, ahead of Malcolm and Jax Hutchings - Lady P, with Chequemate leading overnight.
The river saw the return of Simon Griffin, which caused some mayhem in the Squib fleet, whilst sailing an RBOD on this occasion.
One of the most anticipated events of Burnham Week is the John Torrance Memorial Trophy, hosted by Burnham Sailing Club and meant to pit together an eclectic group of dinghies, in memory of one of the most beloved sailors of the river Crouch.
At 6pm, on the dot, no less than 19 dinghies took the start for the Fast Handicap Fleet, and the chaos on the line was just a sneak peek of what was to come at the first mark rounding, with the tide and wind combination proving quite a challenging hurdle to overcome.
Not a day for ILCA/Lasers - despite more than 10 being present, and a few boats emerged as race leaders, Lucie and Adam Prior - Osprey, Ben and Lucy Harden - Merlin Rocket, Ben Hutton-Penman and Frederick Brown - RS200 and the last year's winner and current Blaze National Champion, Charlie Matthews.
Despite winning the line honours, the margin was not large enough to secure a win and Lucie and Adam dropped to 7th on corrected time.
Charlie retained his trophy and was followed by Ben and Fred, with Ben and Lucy coming on third.
Despite trying to start with the faster boats, Harry Cunningham and Molly Mears - Feva XL, had to contend with winning the Slow Handicap Fleet, while Seb Mears won the Oppie race, making sure the Mears family won't run out of tea mugs for some time.
The night ended with a live band at the BSC, jazz echoing from the Royal Burnham Yacht Club and a sumptuous fleets dinner at the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club.
There is more sailing to be done this week, with the day boats heading up the river on Thursday, with starts from the BSC line, while the big boats are still down the river.
Full results at www.burnhamweek.com/results-2026