Craftinsure Silver Tiller Merlin Rocket Open at Castle Cove Sailing Club

Mike and Jane Calvert win the Merlin Rocket Craftinsure Silver Tiller at Castle Cove © Fran Gifford

Castle Cove Sailing Club, with its amazing views and gentle force 2-3 was looking to be a very pleasant but tricky sailing day indeed on Saturday 1st September for the Merlin Rocket Craftinsure Silver Tiller. All of the members from the club greeted the Merlin Rockets with plenty of smiles and bacon butties, which created a perfect start to the day.

The first race got under way. With the threat from the race officer with the use of a black flag, surprisingly all of the 23 Merlin's started behind the line. Most of the racing took place within the top right corner of the course where there were some funny wind bends occurring from Portland. Mike and Jane Calvert took advantage of this and managed to get into the lead, closely followed by the very calm and collected Ian Sharps and his wife Ellie. Despite their best efforts Andy Davis and Alex Warren couldn't manage to overtake the lightning fast duos and ended up in third.

The second race started, which saw Alex Jackson and Pippa Kilsby take a very early lead. They extended this further throughout the race and were a mere blimp on the horizon by the end of the race. Battling it out for second place Mike and Jane managed to hold onto this spot from Tim Fells and Fran Gifford who finished third.

Going into the final race of the day and with all the crew's knees starting to ache from crouching, the race officer got the Merlin's going with very efficient starting. Mike and Jane again managed to get an early lead and held this all the way to the finish giving them a very nice 1, 2, 1 after the first day. Tim Saxton and Jodie Green sailed very well to secure second with Alex and Pip ending in third.

Castle Cove sailing club provided some exceptional fish and chips that evening, and all of the competitors enjoyed some beverages on the very beautiful balcony overlooking the harbour.

Day two got under way at 10:30am and with slightly more breeze, the crews could be heard letting out sighs of relief knowing they could stretch out their legs. Race four started and with a similar wind direction saw similar sailing tactics, which Sam and Megan Pascoe took full advantage of. After winning the committee boat end and banging the right corner they gained a very comfortable lead, which they saw through to the finish. Taxi and Alex finished in second, with Alex and Pip closely nibbling at their heels in third.

In race 5 Sam and Megan, starting at committee boat end again, managed to hit the right corner and went into a very comfortable lead. They were closely followed by Alex and Pip who took second with Mike and Jane finishing in third.

With the points very close at the top between Mike and Jane and Alex and Pip, it was down to the final race. Mike and Jane got to the windward mark first and hot on their heels were Alex and Pip followed by Tim and Fran. Mike and Jane managed to cover Alex and Pip incredibly well throughout the race and went on to win the race and the event. Alex and Pip finished the event in second with Andy Davis and Alex Warren in third.

A massive thank you from all the competitors for such a wonderful event at Castle Cove Sailing Club and we look forward to seeing you next year.

Next up the Craftinsure Silver Tiller heads to Parkstone Yacht Club on 29 – 30 September 2018.

Tickets are also on sale for the 2018 Silver Tiller Prizegiving at Lymington Town Sailing, where additional prizes are being awarded for the first time by the class clothing partner Magic Marine. Further details about the event can be found at ltsc.co.uk/event/silver-tiller-merlins-dinner

Overall Results: