Nick Craig and Toby Lewis sailed into the history books by winning the 2008 Endeavour Trophy, the ′Champion of Champions’ race for the UK’s top amateur dinghy sailors. Craig and Lewis joined 29 other teams for the weekend’s action, with each crew piloting a Topper Topaz XENON in the prestigious event.

A total of six races were held over the weekend of 10-11 October in Burnham in glorious conditions but with light winds on the Sunday. For the third year in a row, Topaz Xenon had been selected as the boat of choice for the event. A total of 30 boats (the maximum entry) contested the title. Winners Craig and Lewis were representing the B14 dinghy class, and this year’s win was Craig’s fourth Endeavour Trophy success, undoubtedly cementing his place as one of the UK’s best ever dinghy racers.

The strictly one-design Topaz XENON provided each team with exceptional control and maneuverability, ensuring racers could focus on tactics and sailing acumen in their quest for victory in testing sailing conditions. Rick Reading, Topper’s sales director, felt the race proved an engaging spectacle. "We were delighted to see some real strategic sailing on display across the weekend.

The Topaz XENON can be sailed extremely quickly, but even in the lighter conditions it continued to excel and it’s pedigree handling and control made for a high quality tactical battle. For sailing aficionados, there’s nothing better to watch!" Prior to the 2008 event, sailing advice from leading coach Adam Bowers enabled each team to maximise the performance of their Topaz XENON on raceday. And this was evidenced by the quality of the racing.

Following the success of yet another Xenon event, the Topaz XENON’s selection by the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club for the 2009 and 2010 Endeavour Trophy events has now been officially confirmed and rubber-stamped. 2010 will be the fifth consecutive year the Topaz Xenon has been chosen and it will also be the 50th Anniversary of this classic event.