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Events

Merlin Rocket Craftinsure Silver Tiller Event – Hayling Island 28th & 29th April 2012.

April 30, 2012 by superuser Leave a Comment

For those competitors who enjoyed the relative calm and tranquillity of last weekends restricted (river or estuary) Craftinsure Silver Tiller at Cookham Reach, Hayling Island’s 2 day event (the eighth so far in the series) proved to be physically more demanding – at least on the first day!
Saturday’s racing, an open water (reservoir lake or harbour) event held within the wide expanses of Chichester Harbour tested skill and determination as race one kicked off in a force 4 gusting force 5. With the north easterly creating wind over tide conditions, skilful sailing again ensured a minimum of start line incidents as the fleet of 33 boats finally sheeted in for the first beat after only one general recall!
In the lead at the windward mark William Warren and Chris Robinson in 3685 succumbed to the strong pressure from Colin Smith and Graham Williamson who themselves were acutely aware of Britain’s 2012 Olympic 470 contender Stuart Bithell crewed by Christian Bithell being only too close for comfort! As the fleet powered away down the first reach with much position changing in the fast planing conditions it was Stuart and Christian who were in the lead by the bottom mark, a position which they continued to hold to the flag, marking what appeared to be a very successful repeat guest appearance in the Merlin Rockets!
However slightly further down the fleet Jon Gorringe & Toby Lewis in 3712 were making a late charge happy to settle for second place whilst keeping a weather eye on Matt Biggs and Ben Hollis in 3722 coming up for third.
The twist in the tale – joy for some disappointment for others – Stuart and Christian black flagged at the start so the results were:

1st – 3712 – Jon Gorringe /Toby Lewis
2nd – 3722 – Matt Biggs /Ben Hollis
3rd – 3736 – Colin Smith/ Graham Williamson
4th – 3728 – Judith Massey / Harvey Hillary
5th – 3734 – David Hayes / Jonny Radcliffe
6th – 3723 – Simon Potts/ Holly Scott

With no sign of the wind abating, the start of race two saw ten competitors black flagged and head home for an early shower. Now the reduced fleet were left to battle it out for “first to the windward mark” and Mike Calvert and Ian Garwood in 3691 made best use of the toestraps on the beat to get the pole position and be first to hoist on the reach!
Fired up after their win in race one , Jon and Toby were now determined to make it their weekend and some slick spinnaker work saw their second place position turn into that of lead boat as they roared down the harbour on another exhilarating three sail reach ! Working hard to maintain the position they were finally rewarded with the welcome sound of another “first to finish gun” despite a tough challenge from Mike & Ian who being both hunter and hunted did consistently well to secure second place. Matt Biggs and Ben Hollis sailing with “Blood Sweat and (no) Beers” finished in third.
It’s amazing what a hot shower can do and revived competitors headed first to the bar and then to an excellent HISC Mexican dinner , plenty of time then to contemplate the day’s events and what tomorrow’s similar forecast would have in store?
Sunday morning again dawned with torrential rain in the bleak and cold conditions and no sign of the force 5/6 north easterly slackening towards more acceptable sailing weather.
Eventually after a slight lull and with the wind swinging more toward the east, the race team decided to proceed and crews were despatched to rig and prepare. However conditions on the water from the committee boat proved less than satisfactory and wisely (though disappointingly for some) the meeting was abandoned.
So Jon & Toby held onto their well-deserved two first places and were declared the overall winners of this year’s Hayling Island Silver Tiller event!
Next stop Rutland Water May 6th. With the training event taking place in advance and new skills to be tested on the water in the race it promises to be an exciting weekend. Let’s hope for some sunshine for this one!

Report by – Steve Storey

 

Hayling Island Silver Tiller Results 2012-1

Filed Under: Events, News

Merlin Rocket Craftinsure Silver Tiller Event – Cookham Reach Sailing Club – 21st/ 22nd April 201

April 25, 2012 by superuser Leave a Comment

Merlin Rocket Craftinsure Silver Tiller Event – Cookham Reach Sailing Club – 21st/ 22nd April 2012
With Salcombe Yacht club’s excellent Silver tiller now some weeks ago and Banbury Sailing Club’s Restricted meeting being cancelled (due to low water levels in the reservoir), helms and crews were eagerly looking forward to another event and the different challenge of a purely river competition !
Hosted this year by Cookham Reach S.C. in its picturesque location on a wide sweep of the Thames between Maidenhead and Bourne End, Cookham’s neatly cut lawns and delightful views complement the great hospitality extended to all competitors and visitors alike.
Sundays Craftinsure series of three Silver Tiller races for the Cookham Shield – two to count – was preceded on the Saturday afternoon by a warm up for some of the keener competitors, with a trial race in the Guy Pearce memorial trophy. Helms and crews had a foretaste of Sunday’s event with the freshening westerly breeze blowing across the wide expanse of the Berkshire banks making for some exciting racing. The beautifully restored vintage boats dominated in the generally light conditions throughout the day and it was a particular privilege to see Jack Holts original Merlin – sail number 1 of 1944 vintage being vigorously campaigned by Mervyn Allen and young Jack Tosh who, in the early stages of Race 1 gave some of the newer designs a good run for their money!
With Sundays forecast promising a north westerly increasing from force 3 to force 4 by end of racing, the race team elected to set a fairly long course between upstream and downstream marks to give the fleet plenty of sea room. Viewing for the keen bankside spectators was further enhanced by the careful positioning of a windward mark which, having to be passed to port by all boats before they proceeded further downstream caused more than one experienced competitor a few anxious moments during the day!

Race one finally got underway after two general recalls and only after the imposition of the black flag rule (boats are disqualified if over the line at the start when this flag is flying). Both “ Passing Cloud” designs 1079 and 1097 made impressive starts with “ Hot Totty” crewed by Pat & Jilly Blake in hot pursuit finally taking the lead on lap 3 and holding this to the finish on a shortened course of 4 ½ laps.
A short break for lunch preceded the start for race two, where in the increasing breeze, undaunted helms again tested the race officers resolve with another general recall, before a repeat of the black flag rule had the necessary calming effect!
3676, 3347 & 3707 in succession made an early break from the pack finally resulting in both Simon and Anna Blake and parents Pat & Jilly making it once again a true “Family Affair” by finishing one/ two behind 3347 the beautifully sailed Laurie Smart built NSM 2 of David Vines crewed by Fran Gifford.
With some competitors now heading for an early bath after a particularly nasty cloudburst during race 2 – a reduced field of just 11 boats contested race 3 in frequently rainy and squally conditions gusting, at times, to 15 knots.
3347 unusually had problems getting up to race pace ensuring the Blake magic could continue with the early lead being taken by 3676. In almost a repeat of race two, Simon and Anna stormed through to dominate for a second home win although not without a very strong challenge from David Vines who, having finally found the fast forward button for race 3, harried 3676 “Monkey Business “ all the way to the finish line!

Report by Steve Storey
Photographs by kind permission of Demelza Mitchell

 

Cookham Reach Results 2012

Filed Under: Events, News

Club Racing at Papercourt Sailing Club

April 16, 2012 by superuser Leave a Comment

Club dinghy racing, handicap pursuit race at Papercourt Sailing Club. Sunday 15th April 2011.

 

Filed Under: Events, News

East Lothian Yacht Club Open Regatta

April 10, 2012 by superuser Leave a Comment

East Lothian Yacht Club Open Regatta

2nd June 2012

North Berwick

Yacht & Dinghy Racing

 

RS400 Scottish Championship

RS200 Scottish Championship

Phantom Scottish Championship

Streaker Scottish Championship

Laser 200 Alba Cup

Laser Granprix series

Radial Grandprix Series

Dinghy Handicap

Scottish Skiffs

Entry limited 140  Online Entry: www.elyc.org.uk

 

 

Filed Under: Events, News

Sharps Doom Bar Craftinsure Merlin Rocket Silver Tiller

April 4, 2012 by superuser Leave a Comment

Sailing for the Audrey Petit Memorial Trophy – March 31st-April 1st 2012

It was with great anticipation of the new Open Sailing season that forty seven Merlin’s arrived in Salcombe with balmy weather for the Craftinsure Silver Tiller Open meeting. Phil Dalby – often seen at the sharp end of many a winning Merlin- turned forty and the weekend proved a great celebration. Saturday dawned and the easterly wind had brought cooler weather but for those on the water the challenges of sailing in Salcombe gave plenty of reasons to get hot!

In Race 1 Dave Winder & Pippa Taylor went flying off the blocks and together with David Hayes & Jonny Ratcliff it looked like these two boats had the race won. But they sailed into a hole and Matt Biggs & Ben Hollis were quick to catch up, although Dave Winder went on to take line honours.

The Home fleets of Salcombe were now on the water for Race 2. Jon Ibbotson was leading comfortably and then got “bagged in the notorious Bag” on the way up to Gerston (a strange area of local wind that has at times been the downfall of many a race winning crew). The Bag was chaos with boats changing places with each shift. Tom Stewart & Steve Hall however came out on top and then held their lead to win the race. Jon Gorringe & Toby Lewis gained several places close tacking up the Town shore on the final beat against the tide to come second.

Tom Stewart & Steve Hall buoyed up from Saturday were clearly on form and they won Races 3 & 4 on Sunday too. In both races Jon Gorringe & Toby Lewis pushed them hard but could not get past.

The Race Box was alarmed at one point to see a man overboard, and 20m from their boat (3574), John Donahugh and Amiee Cleaves managed to recover the situation themselves and carry on.

Salcombe Yacht Club is really looking forward to welcoming the Merlin’s back in July for Merlin Week. This event is normally limited to just a 100 boats but at this stage there are still just few spaces remaining so contact the club and enter if you haven’t already done so. The mixture of fine sailing and fun socializing is not to be missed!

info@salcombeyc.org.uk

1st 3733 Tom Stewart & Steve Hall
2nd 3712 Jon Gorringe & Toby Lewis
3rd 3735 David Winder & Pippa Taylor
4th 3722 Matthew Biggs & Bengy Hollis

Report & Photographs by: Jayne Morris

 

Filed Under: Events, News

Craftinsure Merlin Rocket Silver Tiller at Chichester Yacht Club, 24th March 2012.

March 28, 2012 by superuser Leave a Comment

Chichester Yacht Club, 24th March 2012

Spring at Chichester Harbour: a beautiful day in a beautiful place. Nick Colborne, PRO, is concerned at how slowly the spring tide is filling Chichester Lake; the high pressure of the last few days has kept the water level down – 10mm per millibar. We are educated….
Nature takes its course, and with only a short delay to ensure water across the whole course Race One begins in a gentle Eastish breeze. Three boats quickly form a breakaway group; ‘Faithless’ Richard Whitworth & Sarah, the Monkey Business boys Si Blake & Alex Jackson and Matt Biggs & Ben Hollis in Stealth. Snakes & ladders ensue when Monkey Business takes the lead and Stealth & Faithless swap places before settling on Blake 1, Whitworth 2 and Biggs 3. The following pack is lead by ‘Miss Aigletinger’ (David & Fiona Sayce) ahead of plenty of other Merlin Rocket Names.
Race Two: breeze is building slightly with the rising tide. The Monkey Business boys again hit the front at the first mark ahead of the White Saucererer Nick Craig & James Stewart. Stealth found a nice line of breeze to overtake Metachrosis (Colin Smith & Graham Williamson) on the run and these four held their positions to the finish, ahead of Quick Fix (Mike Calvert & Ian Garwood).
Race Three: tide now on the ebb causing some compression at the committee boat. Lots of shouting and Quick Fix going round the end to restart. Faithless and Metachrosis lead the breakaway with Dan Willett and Pete Nicholson in pursuit ahead of local boat Sublime (Martin & Vicky Jones).
Final outcome: win for Monkey Business 3707 (Shoreham SC), 2nd for Faithless 3703 (Parkstone YC), 3rd to Metachrosis 3736 (Hayling Island SC).
A brilliant day’s sailing; proper regatta tea with cake, scones and everything! Thanks to all at Chichester for a warm welcome and a very well run event.
Report by Graham Williamson
Photographs by Ian Payne – Chichester Yacht Club

Filed Under: Events, News

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