Mersea Week 2024: Celebrate Coastal Culture, Activities, and Community Events
Mersea Week 2024
18-23 August 2024
2024 marks the fiftieth year of Mersea Week, an event that began as a modest regatta and has evolved into one of the largest annual regattas on the East Coast.
This year, the organizing committee, under the chairmanship of Fran French, made special efforts to commemorate this significant milestone. The first day featured mainly light winds, with substantial wind shifts presenting tricky conditions. However, strong breezes prevailed for the next two days. After a lay day on Wednesday, unseasonal gales forced the cancellation of Thursday’s races, and strong winds on Friday resulted in delays, leading to cancellation for three classes. Despite these challenges, the week was deemed a success, both on the water and onshore. Generous sponsorship allowed for low entry fees and provided free moorings for visiting Smacks and yachts, making Mersea Week a highly enjoyable experience.
The week enjoys a diverse range of classes for racing, including IRC yachts, Smacks, Locally Handicapped Cruisers, Sonata one designs, Classic Yachts, Gaffers, White Sail Cruisers, Mersea Fisherman’s Open Boats (MFOBs), and a variety of dinghies. This year saw a total of 138 boats participating, marking the highest entry in several years.
While the IRC class saw just five boats, they showcased high caliber racing, with the week also serving as the IRC East Coast Championship. The top-rated Oystercatcher 36, Richard Matthews’s Corby 36, emerged as the overall winner, while the Archambault A31 Aztec and Corby 29 Entropy secured second and third, respectively.
A strong fleet of 16 Smacks vied for dominance, with Phil Plumtree’s MN69 Martha II clinching the top spot. The remaining top four positions were filled by Connor Wey’s CK318 Alberta, Kent’s CK469 Yet, and last year’s champion CK395 Puritan, helmed by Charlotte Cock. In the Slow division, the victory went to Nick Purdie’s CK46 Gracie.
Sonata racing doubled as the East Coast Championship, with the visitor Tim Ashworth’s Blackjac achieving a perfect score of firsts, narrowly beating Stephen Phillips’s Obsession, which secured second place.
In the Local Handicap cruisers category, the ‘A’ group saw a fierce competition between Mike Banks’s Hustler 32 Tramp and Jack Trollope’s Sigma 33 Starfall 2, with Tramp winning by a single point. Richard Holroyd and James Sanderson’s MGC27 Tearaway claimed victory in the ‘B’ Division.
The Classic Yachts & Gaffers class also featured A and B divisions. In the A division, Julian Lord and Mike Allpress’s Nordic Folkboat Gremlin emerged victorious, while Nancy Harrison’s gaff cutter Nesta topped the B division.
In the White Sail Cruisers class, Steve Johnson’s Beneteau First 211 Bear and Bob Mercer’s Hustler 25.5 Ufo were neck and neck throughout the week, with Johnson taking the overall title.
Dinghy racing was lively, with classes including Performance, Fast, Medium, and Slow. The Performance class was notably competitive, dominated by local RS700s with Jack Grogan taking the lead. In the Fast dinghy class, WMYC Secretary Tim Wood’s Wayfarer emerged victorious.
The MFOB fleet, consisting of 25 entries, was the strongest in several years. Oliver Grogan’s Spray achieved a flawless score to win the overall prize, while Angus Milgate showcased his versatility by winning the Slow MFOB fleet with Boy George.
Looking ahead, Mersea Week 2025 is scheduled to take place from 10th-15th August. For full results and additional information, visit merseaweek.org.
Oliver Hayes, a seasoned sailor and marine journalist from Southampton, has a profound love for the sea that has shaped his career. Holding a degree in Marine Journalism from the University of Portsmouth, Oliver is celebrated for his compelling and insightful storytelling. His work vividly captures the excitement of sailing and the rich maritime heritage of the United Kingdom, making him a respected figure in the sailing community. When not writing, Oliver enjoys exploring the British Isles’ diverse coastlines and participating in local regattas, always on the lookout for his next nautical adventure.