Brighlingsea hosted the Tornado catamaran nationals this weekend, it was a real coming home for the class as my father Reg White designed the Tornado only yards from the club back in 1967. Over the years it’s grown in stature and eventually became an Olympic class for the 1976 Montréal games.  My father and uncle dominated the year with the world title and took gold with a race to spare.

Dad already had a world title under his belt, but that was in a Hornet, and while he designed the tornado the title had proved elusive, he had to settle for second seven times before the games. Dad was selected for to represent England at the games, but my brother Robert was a close second and went as the backup training boat. My father has always been determined and with my brother to tune against pushed hard to take the worlds prior to the games.

Go to Montréal and his name is listed along with all the other medallist, but the gold doesn’t go do justice to there win. During one race the harness broke dropping his brother in law John overboard, they not only recover that race, but dominated the week to such an extent that they were able to sit back and watch the last race with the gold safely in there hands.

After another taking the Tornado to another world title in 1997 Robert took over the mantel and represented England in the next four Olympics, just missing out on a medal, but he manage to add the White name a few more times to the list of Tornado World Champion’s.

Last year Dad took sixth in the Spitfire National which isn’t bad for seventy, and I’m sure he would have been in single figures had he race this week, but is under going treatment for prostrate cancer so didn’t join in. I wouldn’t bet against competing next year.

You may wonder where the windsurfers fit in to the weekend. The UKWA held the Essex round of there race series at Clacton-on-sea, I popped over to see the guys and snap off a couple of shots. There was a good fleet on the water, but as if to prove the long board isn’t dead, I arrived to see a couple crossing the line. There was a good sea running, so hats off to those guys who hadn’t made to more to easier and faster shortboard