Merlin Rocket Silver Tiller at Carsington Sailing Club

Carsington Sailing Club was pleased to welcome 24 Merlin Rockets for the Midland Circuit and Speed Sails Silver Tiller event on Sunday 13th June. The Race Officer, John Poulson, got the first race off at the first attempt under a grey sky with light and shifty winds, favouring those starting at the port end of the line.

Pat and Jilly Blake made the best of the advantage to round the windward mark first, closely followed by Jen Taylor & Chris Dodds, with Matt Biggs & Ben Hollis in third. The wind increased a little, enough to allow us to stretch our legs with a bit of hiking, but continued to be shifty. Matt & Ben managed to overtake on the 2nd run, as did Andy Davis & Tom Pygall, and the close racing continued. With the wind continuing to shift round to the east, Andy & Tom took the lead, finishing in first place, with Matt & Ben coming in second and David Winder & Pippa Taylor coming in third.

The first start sequence for the second race had to be abandoned due to a big wind shift to the East, making it impossible to even cross the line on Starboard. A nifty bit of mark moving by the race team meant that we were soon underway again with another clean start. Matt & Ben were first round the windward mark this time, with Rich Adams & Rob Kennaugh second and Pat & Jilly Blake third.

The places at the front of the fleet didn’t change, but further down the fleet places were being won and lost regularly, with some making more of the wind shifts than others. The wind continued to shift to the East, until on the last ‘triangle’ lap it became too tight to fly the spinnaker to mark 2. We all persevered through the rain and variable winds, finishing with Matt & Ben taking first place, Rich & Rob second and Pat & Jilly Blake third.

Lunch provided a welcome break, but the wind continued to die off being replaced by rain. The third race, due to start at 3:30pm, was postponed in the hope that some wind might return. Unfortunately, the wind did not return and racing was abandoned at 3:45pm with Matt & Ben taking the first prize, Rich & Rob second with Andy & Tom third. Prizes were awarded to the top seven boats and spot prizes, provided by Winder Boats, were awarded to the first old boat (3339 – Tim Male and Rebecca Aldread in 14th position) and first female (Jilly Blake).

Overall Results: