Oscar Cawthorne
Published 18:58 on 7 Oct 2022
RCYC Endeavour Trophy.
It has been a nerve-wracking weekend for Jon Cawthorne! Oscar was sitting in second at the end of day one of racing, adrift by one point. Day two ended with then sitting in 4th. A huge congratulations from everyone at the club to you both. Fingers crossed you get an invite back next year!
A little bit of History
The Royal Corinthian Yacht Club hosts the Endeavour Trophy. The connection has its origins in the challenge for America’s Cup in 1934 by Tommy Sopwith’s Endeavour. A pay dispute with the professional crew, sailmakers, shipwrights and artisans all based on the East Coast had resulted in their dismissal and the need to find a replacement crew at short notice.
Sopwith contacted ‘Tiny’ Mitchell, the Commodore at the time, and it was he who helped to round up the team of eager amateurs, all members of RCYC. The series of races against Rainbow turned out to be full of controversy. Endeavour won the first two races but lost the series; the closest England has ever got to win the coveted America’s Cup.
Years after America’s Cup Challenge, Robin Judah had a conversation with Beecher Moore. Robin Judah, a respected RCYC member, who represented the UK in Dragons at the Acapulco Olympics, was anxious to establish a series of races for dinghy sailors to discover the ’Champion of Champions.
Beecher Moore, one of the Endeavour crew, had purchased a beautiful scale model of Endeavour,
offered to donate it as the trophy for the proposed event and the idea was born. The first race took
place in 1961 and the entrants, by invitation only, were all Champions of various National classes.
The winner was Peter Bateman, representing the International Cadet Class, crewed by Keith Musto,
and they carried off the scale model as the prize.
Photo credit to Jon Cawthorne
Last updated 11:24 on 24 January 2024