The 26th British Open Crabbing Championship

26th British Open Crabbing Championship. The 2006 British Open Crabbing Championship took place on a lovely sunny afternoon on August 13th. This year's 718 entrants, some previous crabbers, some very new to it all, came to Walberswick from all over the country, with attendant familes, pushchairs, bicycles and dogs. The pungent smell of bait wafted over them all. Mums, Dads and family members sat back in their picnic chairs to enjoy the fun while children of all ages sorted out the logistics of bucket, line, bait and weight. Bait varied from fish heads, bacon and whole fish to unidentifiable lumps of 'something tasty' - tasty to a crab that is. While waiting for the tide to recede there were lots of stalls to visit, including the RNLI stall and delicious RNLI cakes for sale, the raffle, ice creams, Uncle Ben's crabbing necessities stall, and of course, the unique 'I Caught Crabs in Walberswick' souvenirs. At the big bang of the maroon the Championship was underway. Many contestants were fishing in bare feet - a good idea in the muddier places as long as a passing crab didn't mistake a toe for bait. There were indeed lots of passing crabs, many of which paid for their 'free meal' of proper bait by spending time in a colourful bucket. All too soon the competition ended with each entrant encouraged to select their one biggest crab to the officials to be weighed. The experienced and dedicated officials braved the playful nipping of the crabs to determine this year's winners of the coveted Championship prizes: First - Rosie East aged 13 of Nazeing, Essex, with a crab of 5ounces in weight Wins a silver commemorative trophy, a replica gold Medal, £50 and the opportunity to spray the crowd with well-shaken Champagne Second - Jacob Baldwin aged 10 of Wangford, Suffolk, with a crab of 4.5 ounces in weight Wins a replica silver Medal and £30 (and a memorable almost-birthday) Third - Oliver Church aged 12 of Chalfont St.Peter, Bucks, with a crab of 4.25 ounces in weight Wins a replica bronze Medal and £15 Congratulations! All competitors completing the championship received a pot of Shippam's Crab Paste.
Three boys with the impressive big crab they caught before the 2006 competition started so they had to put it back! The British Open Crabbing Championship only starts after the maroon has been fired. Entrants have time beforehand to be registered and to settle into their place, and maybe practice a little bit.			There was an unusually high tide immediately before the Championship started and much of both banks of the Dunwich river were underwater. For a while this footbridge was almost marooned!
The water is still high but definitely now receding with the tide. Some entrants wore wellies, some went barefoot, but all had bucket, bait, weight and line. Supplies were on hand to buy for just a few pence if anything had been forgotten.			The Big Bang marks the start of the Twenty-sixth British Open Crabbing Championship on a lovely August afternoon in 2006.
Accompanied by the dulcet strains of music from the Public Address system crabbing proper gets under way. No time to take in the wonderful view or the blue sky, or to worry that you're on a muddy outcrop, but instead it's watch out for opportunist seagulls and cast your bait carefully.			A Nearly-Famous Crab on the weighing scales at the end of the competition- not a winner but very close! And what a handsome chap!
At the weigh-in another Nearly-Famous Crab. This beauty just missed the prizes being 4th by weight. A proud and happy competitor nevertheless.			Mud, glorious mud! All part of the fun of this enjoyable afternoon.
Rosie East, aged 13, watches anxiously as her crab is weighed at the end of the competition. She needn't have worried though. At five ounces her crab weighed much more than the other contenders - and with 718 entrants this year that's a lot of other crabs.			Waiting for the scales to declare whether you are a winner after a hard afternoon catching crabs at Walberswick.
The weigh-off for second and third places was very, very close with the officials taking their deliberations very seriously.			In 2005 this wonderful event benefitted The Mission to Seafarers and today a cheque for one thousand pounds was formally presented. The 2006 event will benefit both the RNLI and Marie Curie Cancer Care.
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26th British Open Crabbing Championship.