Merlin Rocket Silver Tiller 2020 announcement

Craftinsure Merlin Rocket Silver Tiller at Wembley © Rob O'Neill

The Merlin Rocket Silver Tiller was first awarded in 1950, and for the first time in the history of the class, it's with great reluctance that the M.R.O.A. Committee has decided not to award the Craftinsure Silver Tiller in 2020.

To qualify for the Silver Tiller, helms, and their crew, must complete in a minimum of five events from a possible 18 across the year, including one sea, one open and one restricted category event. In March, both Burghfield and Wembley Sailing Club's managed to host their respective events but since then all events have been cancelled, meaning too many have been lost, and we will not have a Silver Tiller Champion this year.

"Whilst it's a great shame we have had to cancel Silver Tiller status, it's the responsible thing for us to do," comments Caroline Croft organiser of the series. "We are looking at alternative events for the rest of the year, and we have some exciting new developments coming in 2021, that we will be announcing soon."

The M.R.O.A. hopes that the sailing clubs who have events planned for the remainder of the year will continue to host a Merlin Rocket Open event and those who are able to attend with the Government Guidelines at the time, can do so.

Please see www.merlinrocket.co.uk for the latest updates on the events.