Craftinsure Merlin Rocket Open Meeting at Hayling Island Sailing Club

Merlins at Hayling © Gerald New

Merlins at Hayling © Gerald New

Merlins at Hayling © Gerald New

The sixth Merlin Rocket Craftinsure Silver Tiller open meeting was held at Hayling Island SC on Saturday April 26. A lively F4-6 SSE wind greeted the 36 teams eager to tame the beast that is sailing at Hayling.

A strong ebb tide was thrown into the mix as well, meaning thinking hats on for all concerned, and it was Tom Stewart and Phil Dalby who came out on top in race one, finding a form that has eluded them in recent months, they were followed in by Jon Gorringe and Toby Lewis, who revelled in the puffy conditions and the demands the cramped channels made on their boat handling. Third place went to a relative newbie to the Merlin fleet; the current class champion Nick Craig, who was ably abetted by Matt Mee.

The breeze strengthened for the second race and a brace of general recalls meant the fleet eventually started under the black flag. A broken centreboard forced a boot-faced Tom Stewart to retire, opening the door for Craig/Mee to establish a strong lead over Richard Whitworth and Abby Croft who were second, narrowly beating Tom Jeffcoate and Ben Rayner to the finish.

The third race had been billed as a 'harbour tour' however the low tide meant the race officer set the third triangle/sausage of the day in an increasingly restricted sailing area. The wind was still strong and very gusty, Craig/Mee enjoyed it, and came back from a poor start to establish a convincing lead over Gorringe/Lewis who were being chased hard by Jeffcoate/Rayner in third place.

As these three were finishing, a vicious 35knt gust swept into the harbour, upsetting the applecart of half the fleet, and turning the race as well as 50% of the fleet upside down. Boats were swiftly righted and they finished the last race of the day in a F2, bathed in glorious sunshine.

Nick Craig and Matt Mee had won overall despite a shaky start, and Jon Gorringe and Toby Lewis sailed a trademark consistent open to come second whilst Tom Jeffcoate showed his increasing command of the boat to take third place in what were some very challenging conditions.

Conditions that, unfortunately, were deemed too dangerous to sail in on the Sunday by the excellent HISC race team headed up by RO Zeb Elliot, meaning that there was class racing in the harbour, but that the 'Sea' category Craftinsure Silver Tiller event was cancelled.

Open Meeting Results:

During the sailing season, up-to-date results for Merlin Rocket traveller series overall(Silver Tiller, Midland Circuit, De May vintage racing, etc) are available here: www.merlinrocket.co.uk/reports