Selden 70th Merlin Rocket Championships at Whitstable

Selden 70th Merlin Rocket Championships at Whitstable - Day 3

by Tim Fells 25 Aug 2015 17:13 BST 22-28 August 2015

Day 3 of the Selden Merlin Rocket Nationals at Whitstable © Alex Cheshire

With bright sunshine and a healthy southwester blowing down the Swale estuary, conditions were looking glamorous for race 3 of the Selden Merlin Rocket championships at Whitstable. As the fleet hit the water the breeze picked up to give a scorching reach out to the starting area, with a few teams getting a refreshing early swim in.

The fleet was augmented by the return of defending champion Stu Bithell from Rio and he soon set about reminding the fleet of his talent by storming up the first beat to take the early lead. Nick Craig and Alan Roberts rounded second and, in an act of bravado, popped their kite when everyone else was two sailing, allowing Stu and Tom to get clear away.

As the race progressed a number of rain showers passed over the course pulling the breeze around, meaning that, while the left was a the banker option there was enough out on the right to keep people interested.

Stu and Tom had extended a big lead by mid distance and went into protection mode, allowing Nick and Alan to close but never really challenge.

Behind these two, third to tenth was closely contested. At the line Ben and Roz McGrane just did enough to hold off Roger Gilbert and James Stewart by a nose. Battling through to fifth were Tim Fells and Oli Wells who in so doing have done enough to take the overall lead and the dubious privilege of wearing the yellow jersey.

Day 3 of the Selden Merlin Rocket Nationals at Whitstable - photo © Alex Cheshire

Race one winners Chris Jennings and Pete Horn bounced back from their yellow jersey 35th to cross in sixth place. Ben Saxton and George Yeoman will be pleased to see the back of the 'jersey of doom' after a shredded mainsheet and a gybe mark swim left them battling into the teens.

Day 3 of the Selden Merlin Rocket Nationals at Whitstable - photo © Alex Cheshire

Wednesday is looking big with two races scheduled and gusts of over 30 knots in the forecast.

Results after Day 3:

Pos	Sail No	Boat Name	Helm	Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	Pts
1	3764	Fancy Liquor	Tim Fells	Oli Wells	Salcombe	3	6	5	14
2	3742	Speed Machine	Ben Saxton	George Yeoman	Grafham Water	2	4	13	19
3	3759	Red Mistress	Sam Pascoe	Megan Pascoe	Castle Cove	5	10	7	22
4	3753	Appetite for destruction	Simon Potts	Luke Shaw	Burghfield	4	8	11	23
5	3673		Chris Gould	Sam Barker	Midland	13	3	10	26
6	3722	Stealth	Roger Gilbert	James Stewart	Frensham Pond	9	14	4	27
7	3739	Dory	Ben McGrane	Roz McGrane	Netley	6	20	3	29
8	3743	Pokin the Turtle	Matt Biggs	John Hackett	Blithfield	8	1	25	34
9	3707	Monkey Business	Alex Jackson	Phil Dalby	Hampton	12	16	8	36
10	3756	Robert	William Warren	Mark Okey	Shoreham	15	13	9	37
11	3658	Bernard	Chris Jennings	Pete Horn	Burghfield	1	35	6	42
12	3770	Shiny	David Hayes	Jonny Ratcliffe	Hayling Island	14	15	16	45
13	3774	Panther	Jon Turner	Richard Parslow	Lyme Regis	27	12	12	51
14	3676	Hot Totty	Tim Harrison	Frances Gifford	Ranelagh	25	9	22	56
15	3766	The Bear	Andy Dalby	Sally Townend	Hampton	17	7	37	61
16	3752	The Empire Strikes Back	Will Rainey	Andy Douglas	Shoreham	28	24	14	66
17	3763	Dancing Brave	Mark Barnes	Phillippa Daniels	WYC	22	11	36	69
18	3746	Point‑n‑Squirt	Dan Willett	Pete Nicholson	Brighlingsea	23	26	21	70
19	3539	Gangstar Paradise	Dan Alsop	Jennie King	Lyme Regis	10	18	44	72
20	3685	The Black Pearl	Sophie Mackley	James Warren	Shoreham	16	31	26	73
21	3657	Revolution	Caroline Croft	Rhos Hawes	RYA	11	42	24	77
22	3749	Stanley	Nick Craig	Alan Roberts	Frensham & Burghfield	BFD	5	2	78
23	3645	Blue Velvet	Steve Hall	Simon Haighton	Burnham	32	25	23	80
24	3768	Boat name	Rob Cage	Hattie Cage	Thames	19	22	41	82
25	3641	Puff the magic dragon	Mark Waterhouse	Mat Currell	Parkstone	24	19	42	85
26	3656	Wild Card	Olly Turner	Hamish Kilburn	Salcombe	BFD	2	15	88
27	3651	Jupiter	Colin Brockbank	Charlotte Cotter	Wembley	29	28	33	90
28	3684	Keyser Soze	Andy Davis	Alex Warren	Blithfield	7	RET	17	95
29	3675	White Saucerer	Mike Fenwick	Penny Fenwick	Weymouth	26	32	39	97
30	3672	Bola Bola	John Cooper	Hilary Bradshaw	WYC	20	30	49	99
31	3564	Avalon Sunset	Rob Kennaugh	Abi Spurr	Midland	30	43	27	100
32	3709	Wild at Heart	Tom Lonsdale	Ben Hollis	Upper Thames	21	54	29	104
33	3712	Okey Dokey	Ian Sharps	Ally Martin	Burghfield	BFD	17	20	108
34	3773	No 34	Alan Warren	Bill Carroll	Shoreham	35	45	28	108
35	3758	Bazinga	Jasper Barnham	Graham Sexton	Snettisham Beach	BFD	21	19	111
36	3547	Moon Dance Assassin	Tim Male	Rebecca Male	Blithfield	37	23	51	111
37	3751	Strings Attached	Mark Barwell	Louise Johnson	Lymington town	34	40	38	112
38	3731	Mayhem	Andy Jones	Maddie Jones	Burghfield	42	36	35	113
39	3690	General Lee	Tim Harridge	David Reid	Hampton	33	55	32	120
40	3765	Three Dee	Dickie Dee	Phil Scott	Midland	46	29	47	122
41	3754	Didley Pokey	Jon Gorringe	Nicola Bass	Parkstone	BFD	34	18	123
42	3772	Velella	Phil Emery	Karen Emery	WYC	38	51	40	129
43	3719	Fluff n Stuff	Jeremy Deacon	Alex Pausey	Cookham Reach	40	38	53	131
44	3735	Clones Wars	Julian Parry	Bekka Jones	Hollingworth	BFD	27	34	132
45	3740	Why Ask	Pat Blake	Jilly Blake	Cookham Reach	18	44	RET	133
46	3648	Bang Tidy	Antonio Wright	Jamie Wright	Shoreham	44	49	43	136
47	3683	Bluebird	Ben Jones	Helen Hilditch	Shoreham	41	47	50	138
48	3767	One Love	Sam Thompson	Ben Archer	Parkstone	BFD	37	31	139
49	3692	Nemo	Steve Mitchell	Julie Nuttall	WYC	31	39	DNC	141
50	3775	Night Fury	Stuart Bithell	Tom Pygall		BFD	DNC	1	143
51	3653	Artemis	Andy Chapman	Melissa Chapman	Netley	39	33	DNC	143
52	3730	Blood Sweat and Beers	Paul Hollis	Liese Scott	Blithfield	36	60	48	144
53	3706	Monkey Puzzle	Charles Anderson	Ani Ridley	Hampton	49	46	52	147
54	3697	Too Dark‑n‑Stormy	Richard Page	Peter Page	Hampton	48	56	45	149
55	3734	The Black Boat	Philip Ashworth	Alison Ashworth	Weymouth	45	52	54	151
56	3744	Mylo Xyloto	Chris Martin	Joe Tosh	Midland	BFD	53	30	154
57	3518	Smoke Salmon	Julian Harms	Timothy Harms	Midland	47	41	DNC	159
58	3771	Skip	Laurie Smart	Richard Pausey	Upper Thames	43	50	DNC	164
59	3769	Disciple	Graham Cranford‑Smith	Fiona Cranford‑Smith	Salcombe	BFD	48	46	165
60	3574	Holy Grail	John Donoghue	David Collier	Sully	52	59	56	167
61	3319	Absolute Madness	Richard Ledger	Tom Bruton	WYC	53	61	57	171
62	3644	Marlene	Jonathan Bloice	Philippa Bloice	WYC	54	63	55	172
63	3555	Light Fantastic	Ian Mackenzie	Luke Tucker	Blithfield	55	64	58	177
64	3625	Point Break	Richard Bramley	Leanne Hibberd	Shoreham	51	62	RET	184
65	3624	Stab in the Dark	Phil Mason	Jamie Mason	Blithfield	50	RET	DNC	192
66	3402	Hot Goblin	Issie Bruton	Tom Bruton	WYC	56	65	RET	192
67	3463	Smoke on the water	Abbey Zambinski	Donna Hender	WYC	BFD	57	DNC	199
68	3424	Purple Hayes	Mark Fagg	Ian Hender	WYC	57	RET	DNC	199
69	3607	The Fifth Element	Mark Bugler	Rimer Bugler	Weymouth	RET	58	DNC	200
70	3351	Gnome	John Boorman	Paul Fincham	WYC	RET	DNC	DNC	213