Selden 70th Merlin Rocket Championships at Whitstable

Selden 70th Merlin Rocket Championships at Whitstable - Day 2

by Tim Fells 24 Aug 2015 18:58 BST 22-28 August 2015

Day 2 of the Selden Merlin Rocket Nationals at Whitstable © Alex Cheshire

Merlin Rocket competitors woke to rain with a forecast of more rain followed by lots of rain as a prelude to a full blown monsoon, thunder, lightning with a hint of Armageddon thrown in. For once the forecasters had it spot on. As far as the wind was concerned, it was going to play a minor role and could best be described as confused. During a 30 minute postponement wind readings of between 90deg and 150deg were registered, often within a few minutes of each other.

Following the first day's excitement, a black flag on the second start brought the fleet to order and they were away cleanly in a marginal hiking breeze. With the breeze swung left, the smart move was to start near the pin and get on to port early. Local legend Mark Barnes crewed by Philippa Daniels showed that there is life in ageing B14 sailors to hit hard right and round first ahead of his older B14 sparring partner Tim Fells (again ably directed by Oli Wells).

Tim and Oli soon took the lead and were chased by Matt Biggs and John Hackett, renowned for their ability in the light and sniddly. With the wind first swinging hard right on the second beat and then hard left on the third, Tim and Oli defended assiduously to keep their noses in front. However, it all came undone on the second triangle where, with the wind all but disappearing, they were unable to lay the gybe mark and were rolled by Matt and John and the chasing pack.

Day 2 of the Selden Merlin Rocket Nationals at Whitstable - photo © Alex Cheshire

Matt and John escaped down tide and were able to take a comfortable win as the PRO shortened, probably because he had no idea where the wind would go next.

In a demonstration of young talent coming through the class, Olly Turner and Hamish Kilburn clawed their way through to take second ahead of Chris Gould and Sam Barker. Equally young guns Ben Saxton and George Yeoman, still apparently finding their feet in the Merlin, took fourth to take the overall lead and the yellow jersey from Chris and Pete who were prominently visible not having their best day.

Day 2 of the Selden Merlin Rocket Nationals at Whitstable - photo © Alex Cheshire

Nick Craig and Alan Roberts recovered from their BFD to get their first counter of the week ahead of the slightly disconsolate Tim and Oli.

More Alex Cheshire photos can be found here.

Results after Day 2:

Pos	Sail No	Boat Name	Helm	Crew	Club	R1	R2	Pts
1	3742	Speed Machine	Ben Saxton	George Yeoman	Grafham Water	2	4	6
2	3743	Pokin the Turtle	Matt Biggs	John Hackett	Blithfield	8	1	9
3	3764	Fancy Liquor	Tim Fells	Oli Wells	Salcombe	3	6	9
4	3753	Appetite for destruction	Simon Potts	Luke Shaw	Burghfield	4	8	12
5	3759	Red Mistress	Sam Pascoe	Megan Pascoe	Castlecoe	5	10	15
6	3673		Chris Gould	Sam Barker	Midland	13	3	16
7	3722	Stealth	Roger Gilbert	James Stewart	Frensham Pond	9	14	23
8	3766	The Bear	Andy Dalby	Sally Townend	Hampton	17	7	24
9	3739	Dory	Ben McGrane	Roz McGrane	Netley	6	20	26
10	3539	Gangstar Paradise	Dan Alsop	Jennie King	Lyme Regis	10	18	28
11	3707	Monkey Business	Alex Jackson	Phil Dalby	Hampton	12	16	28
12	3756	Robert	William Warren	Mark Okey	Shoreham	15	13	28
13	3770	Shiny	David Hayes	Jonny Ratcliffe	Hayling Island	14	15	29
14	3763	Dancing Brave	Mark Barnes	Phillippa Daniels	WYC	22	11	33
15	3676	Hot Totty	Tim Harrison	Francis Gifford	Ranelagh	25	9	34
16	3658	Bernard	Chris Jennings	Pete Horn	Burghfield	1	35	36
17	3774	Panther	Jon Turner	Richard Parslow	Lyme Regis	27	12	39
18	3768	Boat name	Rob Cage	Hattie Cage	Thames	19	22	41
19	3641	Puff the magic dragon	Mark Waterhouse	Mat Currell	Parkstone	24	19	43
20	3685	The Black Pearl	Sophie Mackley	James Warren	Shoreham	16	31	47
21	3746	Point‑n‑Squirt	Dan Willett	Pete Nicholson	Brighlingsea	23	26	49
22	3672	Bola Bola	John Cooper	Hilary Bradshaw	WYC	20	30	50
23	3752	The Empire Strikes Back	Will Rainey	Andy Douglas	Shoreham	28	24	52
24	3657	Revolution	Caroline Croft	Rhos Hawes	RYA	11	42	53
25	3645	Blue Velvet	Steve Hall	Simon Haighton	Burnham	32	25	57
26	3651	Jupiter	Colin Brockbank	Charlotte Cotter	Wembley	29	28	57
27	3675	White Saucerer	Mike Fenwick	Penny Fenwick	Weymouth	26	32	58
28	3547	Moon Dance Assassin	Tim Male	Rebecca Male	Blithfield	37	23	60
29	3740	Why Ask	Pat Blake	Jilly Blake	Cookham Reach	18	44	62
30	3692	Nimo	Steve Mitchell	Julie Nuttall	WYC	31	39	70
31	3653	Artemis	Andy Chapman	Melissa Chapman	Netley	39	33	72
32	3656	Wild Card	Olly Turner	Hamish Kilburn	Salcombe	BFD	2	73
33	3564	Avalon Sunset	Rob Kennaugh	Abi Spurr	Midland	30	43	73
34	3751	Strings Attached	Mark Barwell	Louise Johnson	Lymington town	34	40	74
35	3709	Wild at Heart	Tom Lonsdale	Ben Hollis	Upper Thames	21	54	75
36	3765	Three Dee	Dickie Dee	Phil Scott	Midland	46	29	75
37	3749	Stanley	Nick Craig	Alan Roberts	Frensham & Burghfield	BFD	5	76
38	3684	Keyser Soze	Andy Davis	Alex Warren	Blithfield	7	RET	78
39	3731	Mayhem	Andy Jones	Maddie Jones	Burghfield	42	36	78
40	3719	Fluff n Stuff	Jeremy Deacon	Alex Pausey	Cookham Reach	40	38	78
41	3773	No 34	Alan Warren	Bill Carroll	Shoreham	35	45	80
42	3712	Okey Dokey	Ian Sharps	Ally Martin	Burghfield	BFD	17	88
43	3690	General Lee	Tim Harridge	Daved Reid	Hampton	33	55	88
44	3518	Smoke Salmon	Julian Harms	Timothy Harms	Midland	47	41	88
45	3683	Bluebird	Ben Jones	Helen Hilditch	Shoreham	41	47	88
46	3772	Velella	Phil Emery	Karen Emery	WYC	38	51	89
47	3758	Bazinga	Jasper Barnham	Graham Sexton	Snettisham Beach	BFD	21	92
48	3771	Skip	Laurie Smart	Richard Pausey	Upper Thames	43	50	93
49	3648	Bang Tidy	Antonio Wright	Jamie Wright	Shoreham	44	49	93
50	3706	Monkey Puzzle	Charles Anderson	Ani Ridley	Hampton	49	46	95
51	3730	Blood Sweat and Beers	Paul Hollis	Liese Scott	Blythfield	36	60	96
52	3734	The Black Boat	Philip Ashworth	Alison Ashworth	Weymouth	45	52	97
53	3735	Clones Wars	Julian Parry	Bekka Jones	Hollingworth	BFD	27	98
54	3697	Too Dark‑n‑Stormy	Richard Page	Peter Page	Hampton	48	56	104
55	3754	Didley Pokey	Jon Gorringe	Nicola Bass	Parkstone	BFD	34	105
56	3767	One Love	Sam Thompson	Ben Archer	Parkstone	BFD	37	108
57	3574	Holy Grail	John Donoghue	David Collier	Sully	52	59	111
58	3625	Point Break	Richard Bramley	Leanne Hibberd	Shoreham	51	62	113
59	3319	Absolute Madness	Richard Ledger	Tom Bruton	WYC	53	61	114
60	3644	Marlene	Jonathan Bloice	Philippa Bloice	WYC	54	63	117
61	3769	Disciple	Graham Cranford‑Smith	Fiona Cranford‑Smith	Salcombe	BFD	48	119
62	3555	Light Fantastic	Ian Mackenzie	Luke Tucker	Blythfield	55	64	119
63	3624	Stab in the Dark	Phil Mason	Jamie Mason	Blythfield	50	RET	121
64	3402	Hot Goblin	Issie Bruton	Tom Bruton	WYC	56	65	121
65	3744	Mylo Xyloto	Chris Martin	Joe Tosh	Midland	BFD	53	124
66	3463	Smoke on the water	Abbey Zambinski	Donna Hender	WYC	BFD	57	128
67	3424	Purple Hayes	Mark Fagg	Ian Hender	WYC	57	RET	128
68	3607	The Fifth Element	Mark Bugler	Rimer Bugler	Weymouth	RET	58	129
69=	3351	Gnome	John Boorman	Paul Fincham	WYC	RET	DNC	142
69=	3775	Night Fury	Stuart Bithell	Tom Pygall		BFD	DNC	142