Merlin Rocket Silver Tiller Open at Blithfield Sailing Club

by Tim Male 18 Oct 2005 12:58 BST 16 October 2005

Action from the Merlin Silver Tiller at Blithfield © Don Stokes

Those turning up on Blithfields hallowed shores may have been forgiven that the misty start to the day would lead to sedate sailing conditions. However, the shelter of the clubhouse gave a false sense of security - once out in the racing area, it was a proper sitting out breeze, and a real test of Man and Machine. There were a few breakages and a few capsizes to keep the safety team on their toes.

It is a true testament to the Merlin Association that so many boats turned up to fight it out at Blithfield. Not only was the turnout brilliant, but the standard of the competitors was truly outstanding. As ever, the facilities off and organisation on the water on were outstanding, and the racing was extremely close throughout the field of almost 40 boats.

Race 1 got under way with a clean start with locals Peter and Nicky Smith taking the early lead in their 8 year old 'Let it Ride' only to be overhauled by another LIR of marginally younger vintage, crewed by Glen Truswell and Paul Davies. They extended their lead to the finish while David Winder and Jilly Blake crept up to second in their plastic fantastic. Team Smith held third pipping Al Warren to the line. Afterwards lunch was taken in the clubhouse and the competitors were able to evaluate their rivals and tweak boats/sails.

Then, everyone was back out on the water for more racing. The wind had piped up significantly and Glen and Davo were beginning to enjoy themselves winning by over a leg as they powered around the course. Pat Blake and Alex Jackson took second managing just ahead of Dave and Jilly (Pat's better half). A short break between races 2 & 3 allowed food and water to be replenished as appropriate. When the sailing's that hard work, a quick respite is VERY welcome!!

Although having won the open with two bullets Glen and Davo returned to the water to battle it out for the last race. The wind abated slightly and this time Dave and Jilly made the most of the conditions to squeeze Glen and Davo to second, Richard Whitworth and Elena Bremer took third with fellow Hollingworth lake sailors Jules Parry and Pippa Taylor fourth. At the end of the day, the battle was comprehensively won by Glen and Davo in their (quite old) wooden boat - proving that you don't need to sail the latest plastic (carbon) fantastic to win! With prizes going down to 6th place, the home boat of Peter and (the ever suffering) Nicky (also sailing in wood) deserve a mention for taking a prize home, especially as they don't regularly compete on the circuit.

As ever the event wouldn't have been possible without the army of volunteers who were critical to the success of the day - Christine Price in the galley and Steve Hendon on the water with their respective teams. Thank you. It all looks very promising for a Storming Merlin Inlands in 2006!

Overall Results:

Pos	Boat Name	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	Pts
1	RONG NUMBER	3573	GLEN TRUSWELL	PAUL DAVIES	SALCOMBE YC	1	1	2	2
2		3662	DAVID WINDER	JILL BLAKE	HOLLINGWORTH LAKE	2	3	1	3
3	DELIRIUM	3637	RICHARD WHITWORTH	ELENA BREMER	HOLLINGWORTH LAKE	9	5	3	8
4	ZENO	3659	J PARRY	PIPPA TAYLOR	HOLLINGWORTH LAKE	5	7	4	9
5	SMART TART	3640	PAT BLAKE	ALEX JACKSON	COOKHAM REACH SC	12	2	8	10
6	UNFINISHED BUSINESS	3549	PETER SMITH	NICKY SMITH	BLITHFIELD SC	4	13	6	10
7	MOIST	3643	WILLIAM WARREN	GRAHAM WILLIAMSON	SHOREHAM SC	7	6	5	11
8	GANGSTA PARADISE	3539	DAN ALSOP	JENNIE KING	LYME REGIS	6	10	7	13
9	GOLDEN SNITCH 2	3616	ALAN WARROW	LIAM DEMPSEY	SHOREHAM SC	3	11	11	14
10	ARTEMIS	3653	JUDITH MASSEY	PHIL DALBY	PAPERCOURT SC	16	4	14	18
11	POACHED SALMON	3644	DUNCAN SALMON	RACHEL WILLIAMSON	WEMBLEY	11	12	9	20
12	PHANTOM MENACE	3611	ROGER TAYLOR	DEBBIE TAYLOR	HOLLINGWORTH LAKE	14	9	13	22
13	NEARLY ALL OVER	3617	MATT BIGGS	DAVE CROCKETT	BLITHFIELD SC	17	8	15	23
14	NEEDLEMAKERS	3610	MIKE CALVERT	JANE CALVERT	LYME REGIS	13	14	10	23
15	AMBIENCE	3602	RICHARD DEE	CHRIS MARTIN	MIDLAND SC	8	Rt	16	24
16	NICE AND SPICY	3590	MATTHEW WINDER	CHRIS ROBINSON	HOLLINGWORTH LAKE	10	21	17	27
17	CARBONATOR	3639	STEVE LENEY	GILL LENEY	BLITHFIELD SC	15	16	12	27
18	STEPPEN WOLF	3542	DAVE FOWLER	CHRIS GOULD	RYA	23	15	18	33
19	STUD MUFFIN	3554	DAVID LAPES	GERALDINE MARKS	WEMBLEY	19	17	Rt	36
20	SMART COOKIE	3559	PETER SCOTT	HOLLY SCOTT	SHUSTOKE SC	18	18	Rt	36
21	MAID OF PLY	3525	JEREMY CHILD	PAUL CARR	SCAMMANDEN SC	20	19	19	38
22	BAH HUMBUG	3598	JIM HOPTON	PETER HOPTON	SHUSTOKE SC	21	20	Rt	41
23	SLAP + TICKLE	3515	TOM CHADFIELD	ANDY CHADFIELD	BLITHFIELD SC	24	22	20	42
24	TIME ZULU	3569	STEVE WATSON	JEREMY WILLIAMSON	MIDLAND SC	Dq	24	21	45
25	MOONDANCE	3547	PETER MALE	CHRISTINE MALE	BLITHFIELD SC	22	23	24	45
26	PROLOGUE	3581	MIKE ANSLOW	NICK BARLOW	MIDLAND SC	28	28	22	49
27	WHYTE MISCHIEF	3437	DAVID HOMER	CHRIS HOMER	MIDLAND SC	31	27	23	50
28	THE FLAME	3339	TIM MALE	REBECCA ALDRED	BLITHFIELD SC	26	33	25	51
29	BLOW JOB II	3316	BRIAN COBB	ROSS NICKOLS	RUTLAND SC	36	26	26	52
30	HEAVY ARTILLERY	3482	GUY BROWNE	ROB SLOANE	TRENT VALLEY SC	29	25	Rt	53
31	SIR TOPAZ	3530	MIKES COLLES	LAURA BARRANCE	MIDLAND SC	34	30	28	58
32	WHITE WHALE	3389	JON EMBREY	JENNY JONES	BANBURY SC	30	29	Rt	58
33	WET SPICE	3541	NORMAN PRICE	NADINE COETZEE	BLITHFIELD SC	35	32	27	59
34	LOVE ON THE ROCKS	3489	RICHARD TURNER	ERIC BANNING	BANBURY SC	32	31	Rt	62
35		3281	PAUL KEELING	MICHELLE SIMPSON	BLITHFIELD SC	25	Rt	Rt	64
36	MYTRAL	3587	FRANK FERN	JENNY PARSONS	EARLSWOOD SC	33	Rt	Rt	71
37	SEVENTH HEAVEN	3296	ROGER ELLIS	SARAH THOMAS	BLITHFIELD SC	Ns	34	Rt	73
38	TIR MA NOCH	3445	BRENDAN O'CONNELL	JANET O'CONNELL	MIDLAND SC	Rt	Rt	Rt	78