Summer Regatta Results and Report 2026

SUMMER REGATTA

Was held Saturday 11th - Sunday 12th July 2026

Definitely my favourite EACC event, the Summer Regatta this year had the additional spice after racing on Saturday of a 90th birthday celebration for none other than the great East Anglian Cruising Club itself - founded in 1936 and still going strong.

Saturday racing, as ever, was the fun challenge of the Thurne Roundabout course, great for nervous racers as it avoids the horror of split starts (I know most enjoy the battle for the line, but some of us really don't) and with the gun starting at 11:00 and finishing at 16:00 there was plenty of time to have multiple helms doing the course. Dave Hopwood was OOD with Susie his able number 2, and due to the upcoming party in the afternoon they ran the day from Thurne mouth. There were 39 completed rounds in 16 boats altogether, and I was lucky enough to have Jimmy James take the helm of Sun Glory 2 for a round. As many of you will know, she was Bishybarnaby then before Cally and I bought her and reverted to her original name. He helmed her beautifully of course. It was great to see Marty Thompson on the course in Shark, a very distinctive (and quick) river cruiser indeed, helm Henry Whip convincingly beating the time of her owner and his crewmates, and winning the Saturday honours by 3 seconds from Swallowtail helmed by B. Pond, but the Cooke Cup was taken by Colin Chettleburgh who brought Bewitched in in 3rd place, the fastest EACC member to finish.

So after an excellent days sailing it was time for a birthday party, and in classic birthday tradition there was a mouth-watering buffet of sandwiches and bites of all kinds, lots of cake and plenty of bubbly to wash it all down with. The racers were joined by many others at the clubhouse, and a very jolly late afternoon we had of it, with memories shared and tales told, and so much food that the BBQ was never lit, the sandwiches and other repast lasting until lunch the following day. Thanks have to go to Jamie, Phil and Cally for their efforts in putting it all together.

The Summer Regatta often coincides with a World Cup or European football championship, and on this Saturday of the world cup England were playing Norway in the quarter final. Much excitement amongst the footy aficionados! Around 21:00 hours Tin-Tin the safety boat duly ferried us over to the Lion to watch the game, kick off 22:00 hours. How we hoped it wouldn't go to extra time! Of course it did, and the rest in history (of sorts) and buoyed with our success we were ferried back to the club site to take our rest and prepare for the Sunday racing.

As OOD for the Sunday I had been stressing a bit and swatting up on Liz Ollier's power-point presentation from the OOD course she ran last year. What a lot there is to think about! But I had Roger Everett as my number two so I knew all would be under control, and so it proved. With a freshening wind from the NNE and the start at the club site, we decided on a downwind start rather than have the boats tacking up to Coldharbour, rounding the C mark and meeting the other starts coming up, which could have proved messy. We set a fairly long course, and with the wind strengthening throughout the morning the seven starters had a proper challenge. Sabrina 2 found her way up the bank at the C mark, and was forced to retire, but the other 6 boats all finished with Dave Thompson in Evergreen taking the Roy Pike trophy.

We still had food from the previous days party left over, so everyone lunched well and pretty much all the buffet was consumed. The wind was still strengthening and veering a little more easterly as the afternoon got under way with Bewitched withdrawing and six boats starting. All finished a slightly shortened course within four minutes of each other on corrected time. It proved a great weekend for Dave Thompson and Evergreen as they added the Filibuster cup to their morning trophy pipping Catspaw and Sabrina 2 on handicap.

All in all it was a really terrific weekend, great wind and weather, lots of chums old and new, some great racing and a 90th birthday celebration to be proud of.

Jo Edye

Sun Glory 2

Photos below: Sue Hines

Saturday Sailing 1 Saturday Sailing 2