The 25th British Open Crabbing Championship

25th British Open Crabbing Championship Unfortunately our coverage of the 2005 championship was curtailed just before the weigh in by the unscheduled soaking of our not so intrepid reporter who was caught in a heavy shower on the far side of the course! Miss XANTHE LARDNER BURKE mounted the top step of the rostrum to receive the unique accolade of being crowned the 25th British Open Crabbing Champion. Xanthe, aged 6, from Great Shelford, Cambridge, received the Champions Trophy, A prize of £50, and a replica gold medal from Ben Fogel, presenter of the BBC's Country File Programme. Her prize-winning crab weighed in at 4.25 ounces. Runner-up, silver medal winner and receiver of a cheque for £30 was MEGAN BAINES, aged 10 from Clacton who landed a crab weighing in just over 3.5 ounces. Third prize bronze medal winner was TASMIN KENT, aged 10, from Lowestoft, with a crab of exactly 3.5 ounces.
The ladies of the RNLI refreshment stall sold a mouthwatering selection of homebaked cakes as well as sandwiches and cold drinks. They had come armed with a huge supply of cakes and cookies which must have taken them many hours to make!			As this was a special event - the twenty fifth British Open Crabbing Championship the media were out in force. Here we see Ben Fogel (from BBC Country File) crabbing for the cameras. I am not sure that the people either side had actually noticed - the cameras were a little way away!
I know it was a rather damp day but I suspect that the water in this young competitor's boot was sea water! However he seems quite happy about it - much more fun than waiting for the crabs to bite.			Some competitors tried their luck in the slightly quieter backwaters behind the red sector. The red sector usually does quite well and has more than its fair share of winners. This photo was taken near the end when the tide was at its highest.
The sea lavender was in bloom in the foreground and in the distance the sun was shining on the Common in Southwold. However the crabbers in the middle were concentrating on catching crabs and trying not to feel too cold in the wind and showers.			One competitor was determined to get a result - even going to the lengths of offering his own feet as live bait! Our reporter never found out if it paid off.
As usual the lower bridge was popular as it offered a dry and relatively clean spot with good access to open water. A few times the sun broke through the clouds but the weather was not on our side today.			Once a crab had started to nibble on the bait the trick was to transfer it to the holding bucket before it realised that there is no such thing as a free lunch. By the way I love these wellies - did they buy them specially for the British Open? Perhaps the organisers could look at stocking a range of special "Crabbing Wellies"!
The British Open is a great chance for skills developed over the last quarter century to be handed down to the next generation of rising champions. This competitor is clearly studying his father's technique very carefully.			Sadly this reporter had clearly misjudged those clouds and found himself at the furthest point of the course from any cover as the wind rose and rain fell in quantity. He got back to the car park just as the weigh-in started but felt far too cold and wet to stay any longer!
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