Merlin Rocket Silver Tiller at Starcross Yacht Club

by Olly Turner 29 May 2017 10:44 BST 27-28 May 2017

The 20th and 21st of May saw 21 Merlin Rockets racing at Starcross Yacht Club for the 2017 Exe Sails Silver Tiller. Once greeted by club members, sailors had a briefing with PRO Russell Gibbs who informed everyone of the windward-leeward course for the 3 races of the day.

Out on the race course, competitors found the conditions distinctly changeable. Pressure ranged from 5knots up to 25 knots in the squalls and the wind was shifting unpredictably from the WSW with the occasional outburst of blue sky sunshine, swiftly followed by heavy downpours making everyone's sailing kit of choice correct at some point-be it a drysuit or long john wetsuit! This was great for the windward-leeward course as it provided plenty of opportunity to overtake with many people taking different lines and angles downwind to stay in pressure and on shift. Upwind was much harder with boats finding gains on all corners of the course, making it tough for leaders to cover and any break away from the fleet a risky one.

In testament to the sometimes wacky conditions of the day and the close racing that is ever present in the Merlin Rocket Class, there were three different race winners, each having a different winning tactic and story to tell that night.

The overnight leaders were Sam and Megan Pascoe, of International 14 and 2.4 Metre fame.

Saturday evening the fleet enjoyed an Indian takeaway and plenty of drinks at the well stocked and cheap bar. Outside games were planned but everyone was found to be somewhat tired and weary after a hard day's racing.

Sunday dawned and greeted everyone with blue skies, sunshine and 15knots of breeze from the South-it doesn't get any better at Starcross! Glamour! With two races in a stable wind and against tide, speed and grunt was the order of the day. Having moved the race course to another part of the river, a "P" course was set, making for conditions vastly different to that of the day before.

Given the change of conditions, numerous new faces were seen contesting at the front of the fleet, including birthday Boy Will Henderson, another 14 name of fame. However, there was only one boat who dominated the day. Chris Gould and Chris Kilsby won both races in emphatic style and by quite some distance, clearly faster upwind and never appearing to put a foot wrong. This gave them the win and the hard earned Craft Insure Silver Tiller Series points!

A special mention has to be made to SYC members-James and Liz Wells who finished a fantastic second in the last race in their 17 year old wooden Merlin Rocket.

At the prize giving, bottles of Prosecco were given to:

• Furthest travelled-Dan Willet and Pete Nicholson of Brightlingsea
• Closest to 30 points-Chris Martin and Jared Lewis
• Lucky dip-Sam and Megan Pascoe

A new Exe Sails Jib was also raffled to all competitors, presented by Sam Woolner of Exe Sails and was won by Dan and Pete again, a good haul given the long distance that they travelled.

Chris Gould and Chris Kilsby thanked SYC, its galley team, race management and rescue boats for putting on a great event at this idyllic Yacht Club.

Overall Results:

Pos	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Pts
1st	3778	Chris Gould	Chris Kilsby	Bartley SC	‑4	4	1	1	1	7
2nd	3759	Sam Pascoe	Megan Pascoe	Castle Cove SC	1	2	‑5	4	4	11
3rd	3691	Mike Calvert	Jane Calvert	Axe YC	6	1	3	‑7	7	17
4th	3754	Jon Gorringe	Nikki Bass	Parkstone YC	5	‑8	8	2	6	21
5th	3746	Dan Willett	Pete Nicholson	Brightlingsea	‑9	3	4	5	9	21
6th	3673	Caroline Crodt	Beka Jones	Bartley SC	3	5	2	‑14	12	22
7th	3656	Olly Turner	Miss Holly Scott	Starcross YC	2	6	7	‑9	8	23
8th	3787	Chris Martin	Jared Lewis	Midland SC	‑12	7	6	12	5	30
9th	3566	James Wells	Lizzie Wells	Starcross YC	11	9	‑12	10	2	32
10th	3726	Will Henderson	Arthur Henderson	Salcombe YC	14	‑17	13	3	3	33
11th	3763	Mark Barnes	Alex Horlock	Whitstable YC	7	10	9	8	‑11	34
12th	3711	Sam Thompson	Theo Harris	RNSA	8	12	11	(DNF)	10	41
13th	3784	Mark Barwell	Louise Johnson	Lymington Town SC	10	13	‑14	13	13	49
14th	3718	Mark Elkington	Sarah Roberts	Starcross YC	13	11	10	(DNF)	DNC	56
15th	3779	Dave Lee	Juliet Pealing	Starcross YC	15	16	15	11	(DNC)	57
16th	3721	Nick Turner	Carly Gurr	Starcross YC	16	‑18	16	15	14	61
17th	3734	Phil Ashworth	Ali Ashworth	Weymouth SC	‑17	14	17	17	15	63
18th	3713	Steve Harling	Eleanor Thomas	Starcross YC	18	15	‑19	16	16	65
19th	3777	Simon Potts	Alex Jackson	Burghfield SC	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	6	DNF	72
20th	3693	Colin Lee	David Parry	Starcross YC	‑20	19	18	18	18	73
21st	3576	Vyv Game	Mike Tuckett	Starcross YC	19	‑20	20	19	17	75