Merlin Rocket Silver Tiller at Lymington Town Sailing Club

by Alex Warren 6 Sep 2017 16:20 BST 2-3 September 2017

Merlin Rocket Silver Tiller event at Lymington © Steve Harvey

Tim Fells and Fran Gifford win the Merlin Rocket Silver Tiller event at Lymington © Abby Keightley-Hanson

Arriving at Lymington on the Saturday morning, the Merlin and Scorpion sailors were blessed with superb sailing conditions once the sea breeze kicked in. The sailors were also supplied with ice cream just before the first start which was a surprising delight for everybody.

The first race kicked off and leading the pack of 33 Merlins were the Hendersons, followed by Jon Gorringe and Nicki Bass and then the Warren duo, which ended in this way.

The second race went underway and with the sea breeze building it was still key to keep to the right of the course to stay out of the romping tide. Tim Fells and Fran Gifford finished first, followed by Will and Alex and then Mike and Jane, who were hot on their heels. Unfortunately the Hendersons got caught the wrong side of the inner distance and had to retire.

In the third race the Warren pair were dominating for the majority of the race. However, a poor judgement call meant they tried to finish one lap early, allowing Tim and Fran and Will and Mary to get through, this meant Tim and Fran lead the first day followed by Will and Alex, then Mike and Jane.

Day 2 of Lymington commenced with a few bruises to show after some quality bar games the night before.

Mike and Jane lead from the start to win race four, followed closely by the Warrens and then the Hendersons, with Tim and Fran finishing in fourth.

The last race went underway and it was all to play for between four boats! A close battle was fought throughout the entire race, but coming out on top were Tim and Fran to secure their third race win, followed by Mike and Jane and then Chris Gould and Chris Kilsby.

The final results were Tim and Fran 1st, Mike and Jane Calvert 2nd and the Warrens in 3rd. A fantastic weekend of sailing and an extremely well run event from all of the Lymington Team.

Overall Results:

Pos	Boat	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Pts
1st		3764	Tim Fells	Fran Gifford	Salcombe YC	6	1	1	4	1	7
2nd	Quick Fix	3691	Mike Calvert	Jane Calvert	Axe Yc	5	3	4	1	2	10
3rd	Robert	3756	William Warron	Alex Warron	Shoreham Sc	3	2	3	2	13	10
4th	Arwen	3726	Will Henderson	Mary Henderson	Salcombe YC	1	RAF	2	3	5	11
5th		3735	Alex Jackson	Pippa Taylor	Shoreham	4	6	12	6	4	20
6th	Daves Boat	3778	Chris Gould	Chris Kilsby	Midland	11	9	5	5	3	22
7th	Dancing Brave	3763	Mark Barnes	Alex Hornock	Whitstable Yc	13	5	6	11	6	28
8th	Paradime Shifty	3710	Jon Ibbotson	Nick Copsey	Burfield	10	4	7	12	11	32
9th	Salmon en Croute	3702	Duncan Salmon	Harriet Salmon	Wembley	8	7	10	15	15	40
10th	Quicksilver	3787	Chris Martin	Sam Bailey	Midlands	7	10	15	10	DNC	42
11th	Black Pearl	3685	Sophie Mackley	Tom Ballantine	Shoreham Sc	18	12	8	14	10	44
12th	Headcase	3650	David Lens	Gareth Griffiths	Ltsc	17	16	DNF	7	8	48
13th	Gangsta Paradise	3539	Dan Alsop	Jennie King	Lyme Regis SC	15	13	DNF	13	7	48
14th	General Lee	3690	Tim Harridge	Maddie anderson	Ltsc	9	20	14	8	19	50
15th	NKS	3732	John Cooper	Becci Wigley	Ltsc	14	17	9	18	14	54
16th	Pocket Rocket	3566	James Wells	Jenny Bennett	Starcross	16	19	11	9	DNC	55
17th	The Oddie	3673	Caroline Croft	Kat Colvin	Bartley	12	14	13	23	DNF	62
18th	Strung Along	3784	Mark Barwell	Louise Johnson	Ltsc	22	15	21	19	9	64
19th	M............Pleasure	3634	Richard Coulter	Chris Hill	Fisher Green	21	11	20	16	DNF	68
20th	Fluffy	3719	Rob Martin	Jan Martin	Ltsc	20	18	18	17	16	69
21st	Rogue One	3791	Jon Gorringe	Nicki Bass	Parkstone Yc	2	8	DNF	DNC	DNC	77
22nd	Outnumbered	3745	Paul Dean	Nicki Dela‑Porter	Wembley	23	24	16	22	17	78
23rd	After Hours	3585	John Fildes	Charlotte Fildes	ASC	29	28	19	20	18	85
24th	White Tiger	3748	Nigel Brooke	Suzie Brooke	Ltsc	19	22	17	DNC	DNC	92
25th	Fat Boy Slim	3567	Martin Smith	Karen Beston	Blithfield	25	30	23	24	20	92
26th	Factory Maid	3704	Jemma Huges	Simon Worsfold	Thames Sc	27	23	26	26	21	96
27th	Diddly Squat	3754	Dave Gorringe	Sylvia Weger	Ltsc	30	27	22	21	DNC	100
28th	Time Machine	3780	Nev Herbert	Mark Fowler	Ltsc	DNC	DNC	DNC	25	12	105
29th	The Black Boat	3734	Phil Ashworth	Ali Ashworth		31	25	24	DNF	DNC	109
30th	She's a Cracker	3550	Robin Milledge	Abby Keightley‑Hanson	Ltsc	28	21	27	DNC	DNC	110
31st	Shiny Happy People	3695	Pete Slack	Amy Hazlehurst	Blithfield	24	26	28	DNC	DNC	112
32nd	Mistral	3587	Henry Mason	Belinda Mason	Blithfield	26	31	29	27	DNC	113
33rd	Shadow Play	3586	Kieran Mason	George Mason	Blithfield	32	29	25	DNC	DNC	120