Merlin Rocket Open at Blithfield Sailing Club

Thirty-seven boats, including a strong visiting contingent, came to Blithfield SC to battle for the GKN trophy. The forecast was for a gusty wind from the south-west, though on arrival a fairly benign force three with broken sunshine greeted the fleet.

PRO Bill Watson got the first race off on time, the use of the black flag kept the fleet somewhat line shy! Those who started on port were in the pound seats at the windward mark, a rather risky port tack approach paying dividends for some. The shifty nature of the breeze at the top end of the lake kept everyone on their toes and there were plenty of places to be gained and lost. Richard Whitworth & guest crew Toby Lewis won the race with Jasper Barnham and guest crew Ben Hollis second and Chris Jennings with another guest crew in the shape of Mike Senior third.

After lunch two back to back races were scheduled. The first of these got away cleanly in a lighter breeze with larger shifts than the first race. This lead to snakes and ladders most of the way round and a new set of faces at the front of the fleet! Matt Biggs with regular crew John Hackett came in first, Simon Potts and regular crew Luke Shaw second and Jen Taylor with regular crew Chris Dodds in third - a regular partnership can prove fast after all!

Race three again started cleanly in a bit mire breeze which became rather gusty as the race went on - this caught out more than one boat at the top of the lake. The results were wide open after the first two races so all was to play for. Simon Potts and Luke shaw took the race and the trophy, Matt Biggs and John Hackett came in second taking second overall and Andy Davis and Tom Pygall took third, and again third overall.

Thanks top everyone who helped run the event, we look forward to seeing good contigent at the Barrel in two weeks time.

Overall Results: