Macpherson Cup series at Henley Sailing Club

Graeme Kerr, from High Wycombe, skippered his aging wooden Albacore dinghy Chorus Girl to sailing success in the first competitive sailing of the new season on the Thames at Henley Sailing Club.

In a tightly fought competition that went to the final race of the series of eight to decide the winner it was Graeme’s judicious use of different crew members plucked from his family of five that won the trophy. Swapping in his tiny lightweight but competent children, Pip and Finn on slack winds and exchanging them for his more agile (and slightly heavier) wife Amelia on days with gusty easterlies proved to be a winning tactic.

In second place was the seasoned competitive helm and crew combination of Twyford based Stephen Gent and Viv Roberts sailing their sleek new carbon fibre National 12 Treebore. Although much faster in all respects, particularly in the strong winds blowing on the last weekend of the series in mid-April, it proved difficult to overcome the personal handicap rankings used in the Macpherson Cup scoring system and the technical sailing tactics of the lead Albacore.

In third place was Tilehurst schoolgirl Emma Cadwallader crewed by her father Alan in a club Enterprise who was leading the entire field until the final two races of the series. In the strong and gusty easterly winds at the weekend it proved difficult to maintain the helm in a race that saw two experienced boats capsize and sadly forced an early retirement from the Cadwallader team.

The final scores were Graeme Kerr 30 points, Stephen Gent 29.5 points and Emma Cadwallader 28.5 points.

Commodore Tim Saunders said, “Despite the official drought there is still plenty of wind and recently we have sailed the Macpherson Cup race series in all types of conditions from dead calm to raging easterlies accompanied by hail, rain and sunshine. We are delighted that the family sailing tradition is alive and kicking here on the Thames justly proven by the success of Graeme and Amelia’s family team in the first race of our sailing season. I hope it encourages other families to come and join us down by this beautiful stretch of the river.

"Our club, which is one of the oldest recreational sailing clubs in the world, founded in 1896, is wholly run by volunteers but is aiming to become one of the liveliest places on the river. Even if you just want to watch, everyone is welcome to enjoy the river and the sailing activities; club membership is open to all. We have a superb social events list and excellent Sunday afternoon teas on the lawn. Come down to the club on any Sunday afternoon from April to November or contact us through our website.“