Merlin Rocket Open at Shoreham Sailing Club

Shoreham delivers fantastic conditions as usual © Warwick Baker / www.warwickpics.com

Shoreham delivers fantastic conditions as usual © Warwick Baker / www.warwickpics.com

Shoreham delivers fantastic conditions as usual © Warwick Baker / www.warwickpics.com

Twenty-six boats, including nine club boats turned up at an initially bright Shoreham on Saturday morning to be met with a good F3-4 southerly, greying skies and waves! Anyone who had their fingers crossed that the rain would make a special diversion from the south coast was going to be disappointed! With a monsoon on the way, race officer Alan Chaplin and his team were keen to get this combined Merlin/Phantom open underway.

Race one got going after one general recall and a black flag catching out Smart Tart. The Black Pearl (Warren/Robinson), fresh from its victory in Salcombe took up the lead, closely followed by Faithless (Whitworth/ Townend), Business as Usual (Truswell/mighty Olly), Quick Fix (Calvert/Downham) & Slippery When Wet (Rainey/Miller). With the first five boats putting some distance between them and rest of the fleet, there was limited place changing. After three laps and the breeze tracking west, the race finished with Will Warren proving his prowess with a 1:1 mainsheet getting his and Robinson’s first bullet of the weekend.

Race two saw the course pulled in and the monsoon well and truly arrived! Conditions became more challenging with the windward mark well out of sight on the horizon. Another general recall and eventually the race got underway with a few less boats. Smart Tart made up for its OCS, by battling for the lead up the first beat, with Faithless, Quick Fix and The Black Pearl all in contention for the top spot. Three laps later, and with Stomper (Bax/Dempsey) having an intimate moment with the gybe mark (twice!), victory belonged to Faithless, with The Black Pearl and Quick Fix finishing second and third respectively.

The rain eased up eventually which made way for the annual egg throwing competition and a very welcome curry, which included almost 2 barrels of beer and some guest visitors to help drink it!

Sunday and it was all change! Clear blue skies, plenty of sun and a building F3 south-westerly were coupled with islands of weed to make the course that bit more exciting! Another general recall and then the pack got away with The Black Pearl taking the lead at the windward mark with Monkey Business (Whitehouse/Bremer) in second and Stomper, Business as Usual and Quick Fix in hot pursuit. Stomper sailed over The Black pearl to take the lead at the wing mark but disaster struck the Bax/Dempsey duo for the second time of the weekend when the outhaul broke, leaving the remaining pack to battle in out. The Black Pearl took its second bullet of the weekend, followed by Quick Fix in second, and Business as Usual in third.

Race 4 and the wind had really picked up to a steady F4. The race got underway (just as The Black Pearl’s mainsheet unfortunately decided to untie itself!) with a slightly depleted fleet and a black flag from the start. With the wind tracking further to the west, the fleet split with the right hand side of the course just about giving the advantage. The first run saw some causalities including a spectacular attempt at pitch-poling by Quick Fix which saw them retire leaving Business as Usual, Faithless and Smart Tart to battle it out. Three laps down and we didn’t look tired enough, so round for a fourth lap we went with Business as Usual in the lead until becoming embroiled in a tussle with a weed island. This saw the brakes come on and so Faithless took the lead to claim their second victory and with it the weekend overall (on count-back from The Black Pearl). Business as Usual had to settle for second (securing third overall), with Smart Tart in third.

Overall Shoreham reliably delivered on a bit of ‘real sea sailing’ and some tight competition – thanks to all the many people who managed to make this a great event and keep this as one of the highlights on the Silver Tiller calendar! Thanks also to Speed Sails for sponsoring the circuit.

Results

1st Richard Whitworth & Sally Townend
2nd William Warren & Chris Robinson
3rd Glen Truswell & Olly Turner
4th Mike Calvert & Chris Downham
5th Simon Blake & Phil Dalby
6th Matt Biggs & Rob Kennaugh