From seasoned sailing competitors to budding youngsters, a River Thames-based club welcomed dozens of people during the annual Bourne End regatta.

The five-day Bourne End Week competition, organised by Upper Thames Sailing Club, gave sailing enthusiasts the chance to test themselves against the best and allowed children and teenagers to hone their skills on the water.

As one of the biggest River Thames regattas, many people also went down to the banks and Bourne End Marina to witness the parade.

Commodore Alan Markham said: “We had splendid weather every day and were pleased to welcome all our visitors to experience the best few days of river racing that we’ve had for several years.

“This year we had generous sponsors including Squire Furneaux Volvo dealers, Aberdeen Asset Management, Andrew Milsom estate agents, and sailing kit specialists Creation Covers and Virtual Rigger.”

As well as competitive dinghy sailing – in recognition of the Bourne End Week tradition which started more than 100 years ago – the National Championships also took place for the “historic and graceful” Thames A Raters.

The series of Rater races was won by the vintage wooden boat “Vagabond”, but the modern boat “Adventurer” had the advantage in the final long distance race for the Queen’s Cup presented to the club by Queen Victoria in 1893.

The main regatta was followed by the youngsters’ version, Junior Bourne End Week, which was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Bourne End and Cookham. The three days involved fun and games, tuition, and some serious sailing for trophies for the experienced racers.

For more information, visit www.utsc.org.uk