Endeavour preview

We take a look at the Endeavour Trophy, going from strength to strength

Taking place this weekend under the flag of the Royal Corinthian YC at Burnham, the Endeavour Trophy is the UK's ‘champion of champions’ competition and uniquely brings together most of UK National Champions from a variety of different classes.

In past years numbers had been dropping significantly at the Endeavour however, two years ago the Royal Corinthian YC, along with Topper International and Holt breathed new life into the event in a number of ways. This year 30 National Champions will race for one of the most stunning trophies in domestic dinghy sailing– a silver replica of the J-Class Endeavour.

Firstly, one of the biggest changes to come was the adoption of a new class to sail the event in. For the previous eight years the competition had been sailed in RS400s and this obviously gave a natural advantage to not only the RS400 sailors but also the heavier teams. Besides this it was also difficult for potential contenders to get their hands on a boat, having to beg, borrow or steal from friends. Two years ago, Topper International agreed to supply brand new boats for use at the event. These were the Topper Xenon (see our thoughts following a test sail, here.) The boat, although not an out and out racer, provides the opportunity for all sailors at the Endeavour to start off on an even footing with a boat of equal age. Generally the new class has been a success with teams commenting on the relative fairness of the event now compared to previous years.

Second was the offer by Holt of a £1000 pound cash prize to be split between the winning team and the John Merricks Sailing Trust. Both of these additions have turned the event from being a lot of time, effort and money to compete in, into an easy and exciting prospect for any National Champion. This ease is reflected in the steadily rising entry numbers. 30 teams is a significant increase on last year’s 23.

Once again this year the format is due to stay the same with a training afternoon on Friday - for those who want an opportunity to get to grips with the boat - and four races apiece on Saturday and Sunday.

However, although these many changes to the trophy have made a significant difference in terms of numbers and the look of the event, one thing they have not been able to do is remove an obdurate Nick Craig from his throne as Endeavour victor. Last year Craig won his third consecutive Endeavour title and will be returning once again this season to try for his fourth. When you consider for a moment quite what it takes to win the Endeavour Trophy three years running you realise what a fantastic achievement this is. Firstly to even qualify for the Endeavour Trophy Craig must win a National Championship every year – something he makes a little easier by sailing multiple classes throughout the course of the season. Then when he has won the National Championship in a class he must attend the Endeavour Trophy and beat on average 25 other National Champions from the rest of the UK. Simply, this achievement is phenomenal and if he were to make it four it would be even more impressive again.

This year Craig will be attending the event representing the OK fleet and will be sailing with Steve Dunn. He stresses a fourth win is no way assured. “With the weather looking at it is I think we might struggle. We have been lucky over the last couple of years with it being pretty breezy but this year I think we would be lucky to get seven knots by the looks of things. Last year there were a couple of lighter races and we managed to hold on by starting well and going the right way.” The present forecast shows a seven knot northerly on Saturday followed by a 13 knots easterly on Sunday. Although this means the event may not be a completly light wind affair previous years have seen the wind generally hovering closer to the 20 knot mark. In relative terms then, 'light winds' are the conditions being discussed by most sailors.

In terms of competition Craig acknowledges that RS200 and Merlin Rocket champion Roger Gilbert would appear to be his main threat commenting that both he and his crew are always going to do well and be a tough team to beat. He also states that the International 14’s Rob and Pete Greenhalgh will clearly be a challenge though, like him, their weight may make the light winds an issue. “I think we might see some wild card lighter sailors at the front this weekend. There are a few different teams who could do well. I think Graham [Camm] and Zoe [Ballentyne] – representing the National 12 class – are likely to be quick in the lighter winds for example.”

Besides Craig this year there are of course a number of other teams quite capable of winning the Endeavour Trophy. As Craig says Roger Gilbert is perhaps his main competition but this is not a new thing this year. In fact Gilbert has been competing in the Endeavour Trophy for many years now - winning once before. Last year he was second to Craig at the event. Just recently at the RS400 Inland National Championships Gilbert displayed his will to win at the Endeavour Trophy, beating Nick Craig in the event. Modestly Gilbert still says he is partly expecting to be beaten again this year and does not think too much of his victory at the RS400 Inlands last week. “It is always nice to beat Nick [Craig] but he has not been sailing the 400 much this year, perhaps twice. Granted I have only sailed it once but you don’t really forget how to sail boats.” Craig also feels this is not too telling: “We sort of gave that one away to Roger [Gilbert]. We made a couple of big mistakes and that is something you can’t do with Roger and James [Stewart],” he says.

Gilbert is one of those infuriatingly talented sailors who will be attending the Endeavour this year on a double ticket, as it were, being National Champion in both the RS200 and the Merlin Rocket. Having gone to the Endeavour last year as the RS200 representative – being crewed by his sister Katrina – Gilbert this year chose to represent the Merlin Rocket class. “I thought I would go on the Merlin ticket this year along with my crew James Stewart – himself a previous Endeavour winner sailing last year with Nick Craig – although now, looking at the weather I am starting to wonder whether a 200 crew might have been a safer bet,” Gilbert muses.

Rob Greeenhalgh sailing with his brother Peter will be the most high profile entry in this year’s Endeavour. Aside from their International 14 win this year, the Greenhalghs are a very talented pair with Rob having previously won the I14 Worlds, the 18ft Skiff Worlds (the JJ Giltinan Trophy), the Volvo Ocean Race (sailing onboard ABN AMRO One) and has recently been announced as the strategist for Team Origin taking part in the 2009 – possibly – America’s Cup.

Rob’s crew and brother is far from a bad sailor either having been involved with a full time 49er campaign for a number of years crewing for Alistair Richardson. Accompanying Rob as a part of his winning 18ft Skiff team, Peter is one of the top skiff crews going at the moment. Between them Rob and Peter certainly bring a professional element to this event. The question is how well will they do? Undoubtedly they are both great sailors and will finish well but with Gilbert and Craig both having sailed the Xenon before and both sailing asymmetric hikers as opposed to full-on skiff-type trapeze boats they clearly have more experience at this level than the Greenhalghs.

Of course it will not just be these three teams that are likely to take a victory in the event. There are a number of returning teams and obviously - being as they are all National Champions - many top class sailors. As has already been mentioned by Craig, Graham Camm and Zoe Ballentyne may well be a tough act in the lighter winds, an opinion echoed by Gilbert. “Graham and Zoe are really good sailors and stand a good chance anyway. If it is light, who knows how well they might do,” he comments. In addition to this National 12 pair both Gilbert and Craig flag up the RS400 representatives, Paul Hilliar and Stu Jagger, as potential winners, though we feel like many their weight could be an issue. Third place last year is also returning again this year in the shape of Hector Cisners representing the Mirror fleet. Cisners slighter build could well see him at the very front of the fleet in the lighter wind conditions of the weekend.

For the first time in many years the Endeavour Trophy is set to take place in lighter winds. As a number of regulars have noted, it is hard to remember the last time the event took place in anything other than breezy weather. Perhaps, then, this represents the most likely year to topple Nick Craig from his position as the ‘best of the best’. The question is though, who might it be that manages this?

Results:

Class	Helm	Crew
Firefly	Steve Tylecote	Toby Lewis
Laser 2000	Rob Burridge	Amy Hulley
Hornet	Richard Garry	Matt McGrath
Lark	Steve Cumley	Eluned Jones
National 12	Graham Camm	Zoe Ballantantyne
RS400	Paul Hilliar	Stu Jagger
RS VAREO	Andy Temple	Tim Seward
RS FEVA	Barry Parkin	Sue Parkin
Solo	Andy Davis	Andy Thompson
Topper	Andrew Brown
Laser	Mark Powel	Dan Ward
OK	Nick Craig	Steve Dunn
Fireball	Tom Jeffcoate	Mark Hogan
Cadet	Joshua Pistol	Benjimin Pistol
Musto Skiff	Rick Perkins	Simon Reynolds
B14	Mark Barnes	Peter Nicholson
ISO	Lloyd Walker	Graham Sexton
Merlin Rocket	Roger Gilbert	James Stewart
Mirror	Hector Cisners	Graham Williamson
Comet	Ian Coppenhall
Europe	Chris Gill	Jon Gill
British Moth	Richard Wilder
GP14	Ian Dobson
International 14	Rob Greenhalgh	Peter Greenhalgh
Scorpion	Dave Wade
RS500	Micheal Saul	Sophie Hartley
RS600	Ian Marshall	Andy Heissig
Supernova	Steve Broom	Clive Evans
Kestrel
Vortex	Keith Escritt