Craftinsure Merlin Rocket Silver Tiller at Upper Thames Sailing Club

Craftinsure Merlin Rocket Silver Tiller at Upper Thames © Richard Pausey

Craftinsure Merlin Rocket Silver Tiller at Upper Thames © Richard Pausey

A Silver Tiller event, sponsored by Craftinsure, was held on Sunday 29th June 2014 at Upper Thames Sailing Club. The club, in Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, is fortunate to have the widest section of the non-tidal Thames and has been promoting sailing for 130 years on the river. The class is flourishing, with a respectable fleet of both vintage and modern Merlins.

The forecast was for the wind to fill to Force 2-3 from the North West as the day progressed and by the start of the first race, the wind was driving down the Berkshire bank, the sun was trying to break through, and our Race Officer, Bruce James, opted to use the club start line. A fleet of 20 boats lined up and unusually, were clear away first time. With the windward mark being nearly three quarters of a mile upstream and the leeward gybe mark being near the clubhouse, the race of three laps would prove to see some exciting tussles. The trees were, as always, troublesome to some of the competitors during the day, as they decided where to position themselves on both legs of the course.

Lawrence Tosh got clear away off the line, but slipped a few places during the short-tacking duels up the bank towards Ferry Cottage, between Richard and Harry Harris in Passing Cloud, Laurie Smart and Vanessa Pilon in Flipside and Martin and Jacques Hunter in Quiver.

Reading the lifts and headers created by the deflection off the trees proved crucial and Passing Cloud reached the windward mark first, closely followed by Flipside, with Tosh and Alex Pausey in Smart Cookie in third. By the end of the first lap, Fran Gifford and Chris Downham in Hot Totty had made up a lot of ground to round in third, having found clear air during the run back to the club.

Flipside continued to hound Passing Cloud, taking the lead on the downwind leg of the second lap, but Passing Cloud refused to give up the fight and it was a closely fought battle right to the line. Flipside put in a gybe just before the finish and took the gun by less than half a boat length.

The second race saw two general recalls, as many were too eager to head for the Berkshire bank, but on the third attempt, our Race Officer opted to use Flag Z as the preparatory signal. Fortunately, he had briefed the competitors that it might be used in preference to the Black flag earlier in the day and this had the desired effect for most, although three were scored OCS and didn't return to the line.

A difficult beat up the bank saw Hot Totty come out on top at the windward mark, followed by Passing Cloud, Pat and Jilly Blake in Why Ask, and Flipside in fourth. On the run back past Spade Oak Wharf, Passing Cloud elected to hoist their spinnaker late, which proved to be wise as they slipped ahead of Hot Totty, who had floundered a little in the wind shadow from the big Copper Beech. Little did they know they had both been scored OCS as they rounded the gybe mark and continued to battle their way back up the bank.

Meanwhile, Flipside picked up a lift from the trees at Ferry Cottage and slipped ahead of Why Ask, and by the last lap had managed to reel in the two OCS boats to gain another bullet.

The final race after lunch saw an additional mark laid mid-stream to prevent a procession up the Berkshire bank and with a clean start, apart from two called OCS, yet again Hot Totty came out on top at the windward mark. Flipside managed to reel them in, slipped past them on the downwind leg, and continued to extend their lead on the beat back up the river.

Why Ask and Passing Cloud fought relentlessly, with Passing Cloud managing to get ahead and then overtake Hot Totty on the final lap. Flipside extended their lead over the following pack to take their third bullet of the day comfortably. There were many similar battles in the middle of the fleet, which provided an entertaining day for the many spectators on the bank.

Our thanks go to all the competitors for attending the meeting, the race team, safety boat crews and Chris Simon, our on-the-water judge, whose services proved unnecessary in the difficult shifty conditions. The Galley team kept everyone fed, a good time was had by all, and the club looks forward to welcoming the fleet back next year.

Overall Results: