Merlin Rockets at the 54th Hamble Warming Pan

54th Hamble Warming Pan © Trevor Pountain

54th Hamble Warming Pan © Trevor Pountain

Event sponsored by McCarthy & Stone
Silver Tiller series sponsored by Craftinsure

With a less than favourable forecast 12 Merlin Rockets arrived at Hamble River Sailing Club on the morning of the 12th March for the 54th Hamble River Warming Pan. The sailing season was under way but it was still flipping cold! Bacon sarnies all round, then a very thorough briefing from the race officer: "there's no wind... let's wait a while". Time for a cuppa and a well needed boat-bimble.

At 12:45, the decision was made to give it a go and a dash was made to the changing rooms to squeeze into those winter steamers.

Day 1 - Race 1:

With less than 5 knots of wind blowing up the river, and a fast flowing tide running in the same direction, a decision had to be made: Hamble or Warsash side. The majority of the fleet decided to start at the Warsash side, beating up in the shallows until the marina. This then led to the next decision which was: to cross or stick it out... The majority chose to cross, leaving a few boats steadfastly ignoring the fact that the Hamble side was looking better by the minute, but increasingly difficult to get to! Unfortunately I have no idea what happened for the remainder of that race, with the exception that we stayed glued to pontoon B14 for a lot longer than desired. However, I am reliably informed that Caroline Croft and Beka Jones won the race, with Mark Barnes and Charlotte Jones in second and Will and Rob Henderson in third. Time for lunch!

Day 1 - Race 2:

Mentally bruised, we made our way to the start line, this time aiming to sail forwards for at least the majority of the race. The wind had filled in and the tide had turned allowing for an easier beat up the centre of the river. Crafty Croft and Jones led to the windward mark, followed by Richard Whitworth and Pippa Taylor in second, and Chris Gould and Chris Kilsby in third. In the end, Croft / Jones smashed another bullet, despite having gotten caught in a mooring buoy. Gould / Kilsby took second and Whitworth / Taylor third. Time to watch England – Wales (with heart in mouth for the last ten minutes).

Hamble Warming Pans - photo © Trevor Pountain

Day 2 – Race 3:

Day two of the Hamble River Warming Pan was also the first Merlin Rocket Silver Tiller of the season, and three additional boats turned up to compete in this restricted water event. The wind had filled in to approximately 10 knots and the race officer had laid a course which included a sail out of the river, four times round a 'windward-leeward' course and then a dash back to the finish. With a running start and an incoming tide, the start was not going to be easy. Gould / Kilsby managed to poke their nose in front, leading out of the river, with Tim Fells and Fran Gifford second and Croft / Jones third. At the first mark it became clear that the wind had shifted 30 degrees to starboard, meaning the 'windward-leeward' was now a 'fetch-broad reach' without much opportunity to overtake. Gould / Kilsby took the win, with Fells / Gifford in second and Croft / Jones in third.

Day 2 – Race 4:

It was still all to play for, with Gould / Kilsby having to take the race win to take the Warming Pan away from Croft / Jones. The course was the same as previously, but with longer (and truer) windward- leeward sausages. Croft / Jones led to the mouth of the river with Fells / Gifford and Gould / Kilsby hot on their heels. By the first mark, Fells / Gifford found an opening and charged through, taking some distance on the rest of the fleet, with Gould / Kilsby in second and Croft / Jones in third. Despite pressure, Fells / Gifford took the win from Gould / Kilsby with (a rum fuelled) Tim Harridge and Lou Johnson third, Andy and Melissa Chapman fourth and Croft / Jones fifth, having decided to get up close and personal with a fisherman's tackle during the final beat.

54th Hamble Warming Pan - photo © Trevor Pountain

Warming Pan results for Merlin fleet:

Hamble River 'Restricted Water' Silver Tiller event results:

54th Hamble Warming Pan - photo © Trevor Pountain