LIKELY to be one of the summer's best-supported national dinghy championships, the blue sails of the Enterprise fleet descend on the South East Cornwall holiday resort of Looe, at the end of this week.

The event is being sponsored by Purple Sails, run by well-known Enterprise competitors Jim Hunt and Greg O'Brien, with local support from Stuart Hutchins and Ross Windmill's Sola Wetsuits as well as Bradleys, the former Marshall's Estate Agents whose personnel include Francis Marshall, one of the host club's successful Enterprise men over recent seasons.

Race Officer Roger Hocking, yet another former Enterprise ace, is expecting around 80 boats for the week-long series in the bay.

Sailmakers, themselves, are expected to dominate the on-the-water activities with Hunt, Richard Estaugh and Ian Pinnell starting favourites to add to the National crown to their already-bulging trophy cabinets, although people like Mike Holmes can never be discounted.

Defending champions are Pinnell and Ben Field, of Northampton Sailing Club, who won their title 12 months ago when the Mount's Bay Club in West Cornwall hosted almost 100 dinghies for a combined World and National week.

The two-man Enterprise dinghy has long been a club favourite at Looe but it is some years sing the likes of Paul Martin, Mick Marshall, Robert Newton, Dave Pengelly and Roger Hocking made their mark on the National stage.

The class was designed by Jack Holt in 1956, since when nearly 23,000 boats have taken to the water, including 40 new ones last season.

The Sailing Club HQ will be the centre of the weeks social activities, including Commodore Steve Sargent's reception, as well as accommodating the championship briefing on Saturday. Sargent, himself, will be one of the local club's best hopes of ratting the 'big boys' along with the ever-consistent Francis Marshall who has an new 13ft dinghy this season.

Assisting Hocking with race office duties will be Janet Darlington, the rear commodore, and Brian Carvey, the president, while vice-commodore Barry Darlington and secretary Paul Sedgbeer will keep shoreside activity ship-shape, while beach master will once again be Bill Tambling.

There will be eight races in all - one on the Sunday and one on the Friday, plus two every other day except Wednesday which is a lieu day.

Meanwhile, probably Looe's best hope of National success this summer will be in the Redwings, the class which the late Uffa Fox specifically designed for the Buller Street Club whose championship week will be held at Fishguard in Wales next month.

Looe remains a popular resort for championships with the Larks, National 12s and the prestigious International 14s, Merlin Rockets and the Redwings, Scorpions and finally the return of the Enterprises in the summers up to and including 2006.

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FIVE yachts started TORPOINT Mosquito sailing club's 2B and they had a course that took them to Capitol Ship buoy. However with the wind rapidly dying away and the tide on the ebb only Pete Cooper in Florence finished the course, the rest resorting and using their engines as due to the long race, their beer supply had run out and they were unable to finish in time.

Result - Florence (P Cooper) only finisher.

Race five in series two sponsored by South West Yacht Brokers Group saw nine 2A yachts take part in the fifth race of the series. With a variable wind, a course was set to West Mud, Capitol Ship and round the cans.

Tim Burn in Pipsqueak had a flying start by keeping close to the dockyard wall and was ahead of Steve Wassell in Dogs Jorrocks as they began their run up the river. However on the downward leg the positions had changed and on corrected time Dogs Jorrocks was a clear winner. With a new handicap Krackerjack helmed by Alan Blackmore came second beating Tim Burn in Pipsqueak by one second.

Results - Dogs Jorrocks (S Wassell), Krackerjack (A Blackmore), Pipsqueek (T Burn).