Bourne End Week

 

Bourne End Week Sailing Regatta

One of the biggest and best sailing Regattas on the Thames. The is the annual competition for the Queens Cup and lots of A-Rater sailing. But in addition there are the Merlin Rocket Association Races - River Championships, and the OK River Championships. In addition there were Handicap Races.

​There were four full days of events. My son, Paul, did all four days and spent his time either in the Safety Boat or helping the judge spot infringements of Rule 42 in the Judge's boat. So he was swamped. He also, with my wife, organized and created the stand showing off the 140th Anniversary goods. They set up a display in the Marquee and then in the Club. All the goods are available to purchase online. Setting this up used much of my company resources, from the T-shirt printer, to the Cup printing, and the A1 printing and dummies for the T-shirt displays.

Other things going on

Queens Cup 2024

 Osprey Wins the Queens Cup

Starting in a Thunderstorm, Osprey took an early lead and despite some of the other boats looking like they might be catching up at times. Paul, the Helm of Osprey collected the Trophy. 

Queens Cup Race Short

A-Rater Race

 Thames A-Raters Racing

Thames A-Raters at Bourne End Week

The Thames A-Raters are some of the most beautiful sailing dinghies designed specifically To race like thoroughbred race horses on the River Thames. These are some really old boats, many are a hundred years old, lovingly restored and maintained with also some of the newest technology. The Thames A-Rater is the fastest river sailing boat in the world with a very tall mast to catch the wind high above the trees.

Racing the A-Raters

Racing at Bourne End near Marlow at the Upper Thames Sailing Boat Club Regatta

Much of the history of the Thames A -Raters is found at The Rater Association websiteThe Rater Associations website

The A-Raters are commonly raced at the Thames Sailing Club in Surbiton and at the Upper Thames Sailing Club near Marlow. On Tuesday evenings in Surbiton and on Wednesday Evenings at Bourne End, these boats are out, and on Sundays, the boats are racing. 

The main regatta for the A-Rater class is the Bourne End Week. This started in 1887 to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee.  Initially, a different club ran the racing daily, but now it is run annually by the Upper Thames Sailing Club. The main trophy is the Queen’s Cup, which was presented to UTSC in 1893 by Queen Victoria.