Xandra, the Hustler 32 owned jointly by Derek Willshire and Jim Haylock, romped away with the Crouch Yacht Club's Red Insurance Nutcracker Trophy on Sunday.

She scored her third successive victory to maintain her 100 per cent record in the series, a feat unmatched by any other yacht, in the final race, which brought dry but breezy conditions.

It was a highly commendable performance from Xandra, who, on corrected time, finished two minutes ahead of Frank Curtis and Crazy Horse, who was attempting a hat-trick of Nutcracker victories.

This year, however, Crazy Horse had to play second fiddle to Xandra, who also won the Squib Trophy as the top Class 2 yacht.

Stella Peacock, helmed by John Hodsdon, was third and also won the Black Arrow Trophy for Stella classs yachts to add to her Class 4 success in the recent Autumn Trophy series.

Mike Nash and Mick Willett in Polaris snatched second place from Rangitira (Noel Stanbury).

Ron Williams and Neil Pitman, who these days seem to spend more time on the mud than above, saw their hopes of an overall top three place disappear when they grounded soon after the start.

While they were disappointed to figure so poorly in the Nutcracker Trophy, especially after throwing away a possible winning position in the Autumn series, they can take heart from the fact that if they ever decided to take up land yachting they would be difficult to beat.

Despite last week's hiccup, Pat and Nick Elmore in Twist & Shout made sure they did not make the same mistake as they did in the Autumn Trophy, when they faded after a promising start and scored their second victory in three races to win Class 1 and the Sigma 38 Trophy.

Ian Hart's Ace of Hearts was runner-up for the second successive week to take second overall, which must have pleased the sponsors John Tuckwell, who sailed on board as one of the crew. Burnham Week's Joint Clubs Committee have decided after much discussion not to change the format of next year's regatta.

It was thought the date of the Week might be changed or that the week itself might be shortened.

Instead, the JCC decided the continue as last year, even though overall numbers were down.

However, several sub-committees have been set up to look more fully into certain aspects of the Week and to ensure its smooth running. Results: Crouch YC Red Insurance Nutcracker Trophy - Race 3, Class 1: 1 Twist & Shout (P & N Elmore), 2 Ace of Hearts (I Hart), 3 Mr Bridger (P Jackson & S Chapman). Class 2: 1 Xandra (D Willshire & J Haylock), 2 Crazy Horse (F Curtis), 3 Stella Peacock (Aylen, Hawkes, Mounsey). Stellas: 1 Stella, Peacock, 2 Polaris (M Nash & M Willett), 3 Rangitira (N Stanbury).

Overall: Class 1 (Sigma 38 Trophy): 1 Twist & Shout, 2 Ace of Hearts, 3 Mr Bridger). Class 2 (Squib Trophy): 1 Xandra, 2 Crazy Horse, 3 Stella Peacock. Black Arrow Trophy: 1 Stella Peacock, 2 Polaris, 3 Rangitira.

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