63rd Endeavour Trophy Day 1 - 2000 sailors take overnight Endeavour lead

63rd Endeavour Trophy Day 1: Oliver Groves and Esther Parkhurst (2000), overnight leaders © Sue Pelling

Star performance from Oliver Groves & Esther Parkhurst on opening day

With a clean sweep of podium positions (1,2,2,3) Oliver Groves (27) and Esther Parkhurst (25) representing the 2000 class are the overnight leaders of the 63rd Endeavour champions of champions event.

Although this pair of talented young sailors from Beaver SC, North Yorkshire, put together a consistent set of results today in the first four of eight races, they certainly didn't have it all their own way in the tricky, shifty conditions. In fact it was Waszp sailors Sam Whaley and Jess Hammett with three wins and an 11th place in race two, who are another pair to watch in the final showdown tomorrow. There are now just six points between these top two teams and, once the discard race is applied (after race five), the scoreboard situation may well change.

Chatting about their tactics today which put them at the top of the scoreboard, Groves commented: "We had some bad starts but then I think we made some really good decisions getting on the right shifts upwind, and a couple of good decisions downwind by seeking out the best of the pressure."

Esther Parkhurst at the front end of the boat said it was one of the most enjoyable day's sailing: "I loved it; it was a great day of racing. We came here expecting to be mid fleet at best, so no matter what happens tomorrow, we are very happy."

Whaley and Hammett's three wins were impressive today, particularly in the third race when, in the lively 20kts this afternoon, they were able to pull out a gigantic lead downwind over Groves and Parkhouse, crossing the finish line one minute 10 seconds ahead.

Whaley commenting on todays' outcome said: "As long as we get one more race in tomorrow and then hopefully get rid of our 11th place as the discard we'll be happy. Today was all about getting good starts, and then sailing fast and playing the shifts. The key today for me was to keep in my head the priorities, and the vision of where I wanted to go, and follow my plan. Thankfully it seemed to work."

63rd Endeavour Trophy Day 1: Sam Whaley and Jess Hammett (Waszp) took three wins today - photo © Sue Pelling

While the wind conditions piped up to more than originally expected in the afternoon, for some of the heavier weight teams, including reigning Endeavour champions NIck Craig and Toby Lewis (OK champ), and former Endeavour Trophy winners Christian Birrell and Luke Patience (Merlin Rocket champ), it was not their day. Even their many years of experience of Burnham's tidal nuances was not enough to fight the good fight in the relatively light/medium airs, and they finished in 6th and 11th place respectively.

Another team who put in a good performance today to place them firmly in 3rd position overnight were Edd and Thomas Whitehead (RS400). They were among those who took the favoured right-hand side of the course out of the tide, up the River Roach in the first couple of races, which paid dividends and they ended the day with a consistent three 5th places and 3rd overall.

63rd Endeavour Trophy Day 1: Close racing at the leeward mark - photo © Roger Mant Photography

Mention should also be made of Topper 5.3 champion Jessica Powell, sailing this year with Rob Henderson whose best result of the day was a 4th, which put them in 4th overall going into the final race. Although they finished the day in 8th place, Powell sounded positive and says she's keen to get back on the water again tomorrow: "It was quite shifty out there with a fair amount of pressure this afternoon, so it was a case of ensuring we stayed in the best of the wind. We had a few iffy starts but we were able to play the shifts well, and managed to get back in the groove. Tomorrow is all about improving on what we did today, plus it will be slightly lighter airs all round, so we're hoping we can do more of the same."

Back in the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club this evening competitors, members and guests were treated to the formal annual Endeavour dinner in the club's historic trophy room. Although it stays under lock and key until the prize-giving tomorrow, the presence of the solid silver Endeavour Trophy of the J-Class yacht on display in the clubhouse is very much part of what makes tonight's event so special.

Commodore Mary Makey in her welcoming speech this evening reminded guests of its particular significance this year as the America's Cup currently unfolds exactly 90 years on since an amateur crew from the Royal Corinthian YC competed in the America's Cup on the J-Class Yacht Endeavour.

The concluding four races to determine the 2024 Endeavour Trophy champion of champions take place tomorrow with the first race scheduled for 1030.

Results after Day 1:

Brief history of the Endeavour Trophy

The Endeavour Trophy is a solid silver scale model of the J Class yacht Endeavour presented annually to the Champion of Champions at the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, Burnham-on-Crouch.

The origin of the trophy stems from Tom Sopwith's J Class yacht Endeavour, America's Cup Challenge in 1934. Following a pay dispute and dismissal of his east coast-based professional crew, Sopwith teamed up with 'Tiny' Mitchell, the Commodore of the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club at the time, to recruit amateur members of the club to form a crew.

Although Endeavour won the first two races against Rainbow, and lost the series, this was the closest England ever came to winning the coveted America's Cup.

In recognition of this achievement, the late Robin Judah - respected member of the RCYC - established a series of races for dinghy sailors to determine the overall dinghy champion of champions from the UK's most popular dinghy racing classes. Beecher Moore, former Endeavour crew, and marketing man behind the successful dinghy designer Jack Holt, joined Judah in his quest to run this event and presented for the overall winner, his solid silver scale model of the yacht.

The first invitation-only race took place in 1961 and the winners were Peter Bateman and Keith Musto, representing the International Cadet class. The event is now recognised as one of the ultimate achievements in British dinghy racing.

The competition is exceptionally challenging and those who qualify through winning their own class championship, are given the opportunity to race equally talented sailors in this unique, highly demanding two-day event on the river Crouch.

Given the diverse entry, which includes singlehanded, doublehanded, heavy and lightweight crews, and to ensure the racing is as fair as possible, carefully selected, strict one-designs are chosen for the event. The original idea back in 1961 was to use the club's own fleet of 15 Royal Corinthian One-Designs but they were considered too specialist and would have placed a perpetual limit on the number of entries. The first event was, therefore, sailed in Enterprises.

Since then, numerous one-design classes have been used for the event including the GP14, Laser 2, Lark, Enterprise, RS400, Topper Xenon, and the Topper Argo. The 13ft (4m) Phil Morrison-designed RS200 - a smaller version of the RS400 - has been the chosen class for the Endeavour Championship since 2015. It weighs in at 78kg and is an ideal choice to suit a wide crew-weight range.

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