The Sonata is Victorious Again at the Endeavour Keelboat Trophy

Published 10:08 on 16 Mar 2026

Reigning National Champion Joe Cross and his Duette crew made the trip East to the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club in Burnham-On-Crouch for the 2026 Endeavour Keelboat Trophy where teams from each Keelboat class in the UK are invited to come and race onboard Hunter 707s over two days to crown the Endeavour Keelboat Champion of Champions.

Joe Cross's words below.

I'm pleased to say, following two intense days of competition at the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, the Duette crew representing the Sonata class came away as the winners in a very close run Keelboat Endeavour 2026.

The first day started in light and shifty winds progressing to 15-18knots. We completed 9 races, counting multiple 1sts & 2nds along with a 3rd and a 5th with an average score of 3.78 (high score series) over 9 races. This left us slightly behind the 707 team (3.9 from 10 races). Sunday dawned windy. Following an eventful 3rd in the first race (Matt is heading to the dentist after a disagreement with the spinnaker pole) we hit our stride winning the next two races. With conditions worsening the race team made the decision to abandon racing for the rest of the day. On returning to the club we learned that our results had boosted our average to 3.92 from 12 races with the 707s staying on 3.9 from 10 and the Elite team improving to 3.8 from 10, giving us the win by just 0.02 points. As a team we would like to thank the race team and other competitors, the event is very well run and the competition fierce but fair. Also the Sonata Association for their support. Final thanks from me is to Matt, Tim and Russell for making us go so fast consistently over a tough series.

Full Results HERE

Last updated 13:08 on 16 March 2026