Craftinsure Merlin Rocket Silver Tiller Round 1 at Burghfield Sailing Club
by Ian Sharps 10 Mar 2020 11:16 GMT
7 March 2020
Andy and Maddie Jones on a tight reach during Merlin Rocket Craftinsure Silver Tiller Round 1 at Burghfield © Mike Proven
Another year starts for the Merlin Rocket Craftinsure Silver Tiller, first up was Burghfield Sailing Club.
The recent storms had thankfully stopped, and we were left with a nice 10 - 15 mph SSW. As always, the Merlin sailors were keen to get the season started with the majority turning up early to ensure all their work on their boats was up to standard.
All the boats were looking good (I might be biased though!). There are some nice little fettles across the fleet this winter. Of note Andy Davis/Pip Kilsby were sailing with a new mast and boom combo, which did not slow them down, and may be worrying for the rest of us.
The race officer James Anderson and team did an excellent job of setting a mix of windward-leeward, and "around the cans" courses. To be honest the racing was a blur to me, I remember beating, running and reaching. There was a lot of place changing with ever changing wind shifts and pressure.
The highlights from my point of view were as follows:
- Andy / Pip sailed very well and consistently throughout the day to take the overall win.
- Chris Gould / Caroline Croft seemed to get better and better, especially in the afternoon taking a win in the last race, for a 2nd overall.
- Fran Gifford / Pete Nicholson sailed an excellent day showing a dangerous mix of speed and tactical nouse.
- James Wells / Hannah Burt (3746) won the silver fleet. They seemed to really get to grips with Burghfield in the second half.
- Joe Mclaughlin / Sean Roberts (3724) won the bronze fleet
In addition, we were sampling the delights of being tracked by SailRacer. This meant there is really is nowhere to hide. Lots of people reviewed the tracks saying, "why did I tack there?"
Over the four races the furthest distance sailed went to Jon Steward / Russel Hall (3770) at 16 Miles. The fastest 20 second average speed in the morning was Chris Martin / Oliver McClellan (3787) at 7.78 KTS and Richard Coulter / Nick Yan (3774) at 7.26 KTS in the afternoon.
Thanks to Burghfield and the Merlin Rocket title sponsors Craftinsure. Thank you also to Mike Proven for the fantastic photographs.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Fleet | Helm | Crew Name | Sail number | Boat | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | Gold | Andy Davis | Pippa Kilsby | 3735 | Keyser Soze | Blithfield SC | 1 | 1 | 1 | ‑2 | 3 |
| 2nd | Gold | Chris Gould | Caroline Croft | 3803 | Black Swan | Blithfield SC | 4 | ‑5 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| 3rd | Gold | Ian Sharps | Alex Warren | 3712 | Oakey dokey | Burghfield SC | 5 | 2 | 4 | ‑7 | 11 |
| 4th | Gold | Matt Biggs | Tom Pygall | 3801 | | Blithfield & Whitstable SC | ‑7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 13 |
| 5th | Gold | Frances Gifford | Pete Nicholson | 3676 | Hot Totty | Ranelagh SC | 6 | 3 | ‑11 | 4 | 13 |
| 6th | Gold | Simon Potts | Holly McArthur | 3802 | Khaleesi | Burghfield SC | 2 | ‑9 | 5 | 8 | 15 |
| 7th | Gold | Roger Phillips | Chris Kilsby | 3736 | Metachrosis | Burghfield SC | ‑9 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 17 |
| 8th | Gold | Jon Gorringe | Mimi Gorringe | 3791 | Didley Squat | Midland SC | 8 | 6 | ‑14 | 6 | 20 |
| 9th | Gold | Chris Jennings | Chris Martin | 3658 | Bernard | Burghfield SC | 3 | 11 | 7 | (DNC) | 21 |
| 10th | Gold | David Winder | Pete Horn | 3781 | | Hollingsworth SC | 15 | 10 | 6 | (DNC) | 31 |
| 11th | Gold | Richard Whitworth | Katherine Kimber | 3703 | | Parkstone & Hollingworth Lake SC | ‑12 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 33 |
| 12th | Gold | Rob Henderson | Alice Markham | 3709 | Wild at Heart | LTSC | ‑17 | 8 | 13 | 13 | 34 |
| 13th | Silver | James Wells | Hannah Burt | 3746 | Point N Squirt | Starcross YC | ‑20 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 34 |
| 14th | Gold | Chris Martin | Oliver McClellan | 3787 | Quicksilver | Midland SC | 11 | ‑15 | 12 | 14 | 37 |
| 15th | Silver | Paul Hollis | Paula Mason | 3730 | Blood Sweat & Beers | Blithfield SC | 10 | 13 | ‑18 | 16 | 39 |
| 16th | Gold | Steven Leney | Gill Leney | 3716 | Carbonfootprint | Blithfield SC | 14 | ‑19 | 15 | 10 | 39 |
| 17th | Silver | Chloe George | Ben George | 3683 | Blue Bird | LTSC | 13 | 14 | (DNF) | 12 | 39 |
| 18th | Silver | Andrew Jones | Maddie Jones | 3731 | | Burghfield SC | 16 | 18 | 16 | (DNC) | 50 |
| 19th | Bronze | Joe McLaughlin | Sean Roberts | 3724 | Sublime | Tamesis | 19 | 20 | ‑24 | 15 | 54 |
| 20th | Silver | Mark Waterhouse | Anna Aylward | 3641 | Puff The Magic Dragon | Parkstone SC | 21 | 17 | ‑22 | 17 | 55 |
| 21st | Bronze | Jon Steward | Russell Hall | 3770 | Gertcha | Fishers Green | (DNC) | 23 | 17 | 18 | 58 |
| 22nd | Silver | John Cooper | Becci Wigley | 3732 | | LTSC | 18 | 22 | 21 | (DNC) | 61 |
| 23rd | Silver | Mark Barwell | Louise Johnson | 3784 | Strung Along | Lymington Town SC | 23 | 21 | 19 | (DNC) | 63 |
| 24th | Bronze | Richard Coulter | Nick Yan | 3774 | | Fishers Green | ‑24 | 24 | 23 | 19 | 66 |
| 25th | Bronze | Matt Smith | Aimee Allsopp | 3442 | Armed Forces | Midland SC | 22 | (DNF) | 20 | DNF | 69 |
| 26th | Bronze | John Green | Patricia Hickey | 3717 | Vulcan | ? | 25 | 25 | (DNF) | DNC | 77 |