Sharps Doom Bar Salcombe Merlin Rocket Week - Day 6

So the final day and what a final day!! Competitors woke to a novel sound – rustling leaves. The forecasted moderate nor-easter had arrived and we could all look forward to some exciting racing.

Race 11 – Red v Black flights. North Easterly Force 3-6. HW 15.30. Course 3,0,7,1,3,1

This was the race Richard and Sarah Bines needed to win to take the title. Started in a gusty hiking breeze it was a clean start with the exception of Jon Turner & Richard Parslow who just jumped the gun.

With all the leading teams at the front of the fleet, the run was a key changing point with big gusts and it getting windier the further down we went. The leading boats of Matt Biggs, Jon Gorringe, Simon Potts and Richard Whitworth became absorbed in their own battle and totally failed to spot mark 0, sailing at high speed out to sea. Tim Fells and Chris Downham, who had cunningly capsized to let the leaders race off on their own, used their local knowledge to find the mark first and head off up tide with a big lead. Like the Pied Piper they led the middle to back of fleet after them with the original leaders faced with a wall of beating boats as they tried to recover from their mistake.

Over the next breezy couple of laps Tim and Chris battled with local Lifeboat man Chris Winzar and Esther Mclarty who also knew where mark 0 was. On the final run, Tim and Chris were taken out by a big gust leacing Chris and Esther to come home as very popular local winners. Tim and Chris recovered to take second ahead of Richard and Sarah who had done brilliantly to recover not only from their navigational difficulties but also a capsize. Chris Jennings and Ally Martin took fourth ahead of Ben Hollis and Ben Hendon who kept ahead of Ben's old skipper Matt Biggs with John Hackett in sixth.

Race 12 – Green v Blue fleets, NE Force 2-4, Course 4,5,6,7,1,3,1

So, with Richard and Sarah sitting on 9 points (1,1,1,3,3) the door was opened to Dave Winder and Pippa Taylor and Simon Blake and Chris Dodds to take the title by finishing in the top two.

With a large and expectant spectator fleet watching every move, both protagonists managed good starts on a line which had 7 miscreants. Up the long beat to Yalton Frankie Rowsell and Liam Dempsey held the lead but were pulled out as OCS. Dave and Pippa pulled into the lead on the run back chased hard by the real Tom Stewart and Phil Dalby. Simon and Chris rapidly moved up into third and the crowd on the club house terrace anticipated a grandstand finish. When the leaders re-emerged into the town, Dave and Pippa had consolidated their lead and although Tom and Phil were pressing hard it was clear Simon and Chris would not spoil their party.

So at the gun, Dave and Pippa took their second consecutive Salcombe Week title, a magnificent performance given the mainly light and variable conditions and the massive depth of competition in the fleet. Simon and Chris's third place meant they slipped into third overall behind Richard and Sarah.

Another notable performance by Alan Warren and William Carroll in sixth gave them 12th overall, a position we would all be pleased with in our later years.

So ended a fantastic Sharps Doom Bar Salcombe Merlin Week 2013. A record entry of 120 boats, wall to wall sunshine and high temperatures, T shirt and shorts sailing, a frightening level of competition, great socials and camaraderie and three teams who were a class apart and took the title to the last race. It really couldn't be better!

Overall Results: