There was not a hint of rain and very little wind as the 107th Prime Clean Burnham Week got underway last weekend, but Chris and Jackie Goodfellow found another pot of gold at the end of their rainbow.

The reigning Squib Gold Cup champions, sailing Trophoblast, retained their title over the Bank Holiday weekend, their victory over their closest rival, Robert Coyle, and Mark Rawkinski, in Patrick, on Monday ensuring the coveted prize, which had previously only been won by the 1998 national champion Peter Marchant in Blood, Sweat and Tears.

Marchant, whose new Squib is not race-ready, borrowed What's The Story and might well have figured in the final reckoning had he not gone aground when leading in one race and deemed to have been over the line at the start in another in which he finished First.

Trophoblast, which perhaps should be renamed Trophyblast, has proved a powerful force over the last two years, winning the Gold Cup last year with two victories, and Burnham Week by four points, with four wins and a second.

Last year they used their distinctive vertical cut rainbow-coloured spinnaker - the only one on the river, if not the east coast.

Because of the design, the sailmakers, Hyde, have to make this type of spinnaker in pairs, so offered the second one as a Gold Cup prize.

The only way the Goodfellows could prevent someone else owning an identical spinnaker was to win the event, which is precisely what they did.

Even without such incentive this time, Trophoblast proved hard to catch.

In yacht classes with more than four boats in the fleet, three competitors remained undefeated after three days.

They were David Lenz (Red Jacket) in the Contessa 32s, Mike Holmes and Tony Allen (Hat Trick) in the Dragons and Mick Willett (Polaris) in the Stellas.

Though many classes suffered a reduction in entries, the Dragon class had a bigger entry than last year, many of them taking the opportunity of Burnham Week as a final warm-up before their craft after shipped out later this month for the Dragon World Championships in Martinique in December.

There was no Snipe class this year - the Week clashes with the Snipe worlds and junior worlds - and no Etchells, who are at the European championships in France, where Poul Richard Hoj-Jensen, in Danish Blue (RBYC) followed up his domination of Cowes Week last month by becoming champion, with a first, two seconds and three thirds.

The Burnham Week winners of the first three days were: Saturday (Day 1): Houghton Cup: Twist & Shout 9 (P & N Elmore). Class 1, 2, 3 and 4 (Airlie Trophy): Mr BoJangles (E Breavington).

Contessa 32: Red Jacket (D Lenz). Sportsboats: Mr Bridger (P Jackson). Hunter 707: Emu Excursion (N Wood).

Dragon: Hat Trick (T Allen & M Holmes).

Class 6 and Classic Boats: L Egalitie (J and L Elliott). Sonata: Parady (M Iszatt). West Solent OD: Arrow (P Plumtree). Stella: Polaris (M Willett). Class 7: Sushii (E Maggs). Class 8: Growler (B Southgate).

Flying Fifteen: Fantastically Fit (N. Heath).

Squib: Buccaneer (J Mears). RBOD: Amanda (R Lonton). RCOD: Coryphee (R Threlfall). Sandhopper: True Blue (W Wright).

Dinghies - Race 1: Cancelled, lack of wind. Race 2- Two Man Dinghy A: RS916 (J. Hughes).

Phantom: Optical Illusion (J Torrance). Laser: 112146 (S Williams).

Two Man Dinghy B: Dapsters (C. Medhurst). One Man Dinghy: 4040 (N Oswald).

Sunday (Day 2): Class 1: Independent Bear (K Hobday & T Louis). Class 2: Excalibur of Ramsgate (P Woodward). Class 3: Mr BoJangles (E Breavington). Class 4: CT (I Murdoch). Contessa 32: Red Jacket (D Lenz).

Sportsboat: Mr Bridger (P Jackson). Hunter 707: Baby Beluga (J Lewis). Dragon: Hat Trick (T Allen & M Holmes). Sonata: Parody (M Iszatt).

West Solent OD: Arrow (P Plumtree). Stella: Polaris (M Willett). Flying fifteen: Fast Forward (R Tait). Squib: Patrick (R Coyle).

Class 6: Eclipse (C,C and D Mylroie). Class 7: First Knight (R Sutton). Class 8: Growler (B Southgate).

RCOD: Coryphee (R Threlfall). RBOD: Amanda (R Lonton). Sandhopper: Sandstorm (K Clarke).

Dinghies Race 3 - Two Man Dinghy A: Buffy (C Staniland). Phantom: Optical Ilusion (J Torrance).

Two Man Dinghy B: Acma (A Wallace).

One Man Dinghy: 4040 (N Oswald). Race 4 - Two Man Dinghy A: Acma (A Wallace).

Phantom: Optical Ilusion (J Torrance). Laser: 156417 (P Carless).

Two Man Dinghy B: Lock Up Your Daughters (A Kaczor-Warry). One Man Dinghy: 4040 (N Oswald).

Monday (Day 3): Class 1: Out of time. Class 2: Shoot the Bar (C Mills). Class 3: Ace of Hearts III (I Hart). Class 4: Jiminy Cricket (M Harrison).

Contessa 32: Red Jacket (D Lenz). Sportsboat: Delerious (N Gundy). Hunter 707: Emu Excursion (N Wood).

Dragon: Hat Trick (T Allen & M Holmes).

West Solent OD: Arrow (P Plumtree). Sonata: Parady (M Iszatt). Stella: Polaris (M Willett).

Class 6: Eclipse (C, C & D Mylroie). Class 7: First Knight (R Sutton). Class 8: Factor 8 (G Reynolds).

Squib: Trophoblast (C Goodfellow). RBOD: Jade (M Smith). RCOD: Coryphee (R Threlfall).

Sandhopper: True Blue (W Wright). Flying Fifteen: Miffystoffeles (J Wolsoncroft).

Dinghy - Two man dinghy A: Lock Up Your Daughters (A Kaczor-Warry). Phantom: Optical Illusion (J Torrance). Laser: 113345 (C Gibbons).

Two man dinghy B: 48955 (F Gill). One man dinghy: 4040 (N Oswald).

By the left . . two competitors keep their yacht steady at the start of Burnham Week.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.