Please select your home edition
Edition
Rooster 2025

Salcombe Yacht Club Winter Postponement Race - Sunday 5th December 2021

by John Burn & Simon Dobson 6 Dec 2021 10:18 GMT 5 December 2021

To be fair to all competitors, Sunday's race didn't count towards the Winter Series, due to it being postponed by 24 hours.

  • The Race officer - Julian Meek
  • The Course - 7,3,7,X,3,2
  • The Tide - out, then out some more
  • The Wind - rubbish, then great, then rubbish again..!
  • The Race - Just for fun

Handicap Fleet Race - by John Burn

In typical North Westerly fashion, nailing the start was going to be tricky, Simon Ballantine found himself stuck in a hole on the line whilst the rest of the fleet rode a gust heading off towards Snapes. Unfortunately, once Simon eventually got going the damage was done and he was unable to pull back that initial deficit.

The wind in the bag was best described as blowing old boots.

The 505 of Peter Colclough and Alister Morley, who was now able to get on the trapeze, started to pull away fast. However, with that huge kite, it was on the downwind leg where they really got going, they were absolutely flying and managed to take 3rd place.

Tim Fells had a good start in his Aero 7 but a little wobble as he rounded Snapes allowed the Merlin Rocket and Phantom to close him back up. Tim, and Olly Alexander (in the Phantom), had a close race all the way round but Tim held Olly off and in the end beat the Phantom over the water by some 40 seconds and took 2nd on corrected time.

You know its windy when you see BOTH Ross Borne and John Burn hanging over the side of the Merlin. They were finally able to put their distinct weight advantage to good use, the conditions certainly suited the pair and they took the race win.

A special shout out to Edward Alexander who took on the tough conditions in his Tera Pro. As there is no Junior racing through the winter months he joins in with the handicap fleet and continues to shine.

Handicap Fleet Results:

PosClassSail NoHelmCrewPY
1stMerlin Rocket3682Ross BorneJohn Burn980
2ndRS AERO 71505Tim Fells 1065
3rd5058050Peter Colclough 903
4thRS AERO 71746Simon Ballantine 1065
5thPHANTOM1417Olly Alexander 1004
6thRS TERA PRO2749Edward Alexander 1364

Solo Race - by Simon Dobson

The north westerly breeze presented its usual dilemma for the 8 competitors in the Solo race; start in the middle of the line in the hope of reaching the wind blowing down Batson Creek first or, choose the Portlemouth shore where the wind was more consistent.

The adverse tide probably decided things in favour of those on the Portlemouth shore with Billy Jago taking the lead followed by Chris Cleaves. These two, together with Tim Law and Paul Ellis, had managed to break clear from the rest of the fleet by the time they rounded Snapes.

Jago lead until he got too close to Tosnos which allowed Cleaves to pass him and the latter extended his margin on the beat up to Gerston as the breeze freshened towards 20 knots.

The fleet enjoyed a spectacular broad reach back to Crossways and then, on the second beat back to Gerston, Ellis began to move through the fleet, first getting past Law and finally Cleaves to take the lead. The final leg back to the finish line saw some more great downwind sailing followed by a few dicey moments in the wind shadow of Snapes but the running order in the top three remained unchanged at the finish.

Solo Fleet Results:

PosSail NoHelmPts
1st5574Paul Ellis1
2nd5879Chris Cleaves2
3rd5966Tim Law3
4th5898Simon Dobson4
5th5951Billy Jago5
6th5792David Greening6
7th5453Bruce HattersleyDNF
7th5769Ed StephensDNF

Related Articles

Salcombe Merlin Rocket Week Day 2
First start gets away on the top of the tide With the rest of the UK cooking in 30+ degrees, Salcombe has been veiled in sea mist for the last few days. Monday was the day when this was meant to clear but competitors woke to find the race track still shrouded in mist. Posted today at 4:21 pm
Salcombe Merlin Rocket Week Day 1
Over 200 of the UK's top dinghy racers are in the picturesque South Devon Ria The ever popular Salcombe Merlin Week, sponsored by Helly Hansen, Craftinsure and Creation Covers, has again attracted over 200 of the UK's top dinghy racers to the picturesque South Devon Ria. Posted on 29 Jun
Delivery to Salcombe Week - Final Call!
Devon's calling, and P&B are answering This weekend finds members of our Sail Loft team at Salcombe Yacht Club, for Merlin Salcombe Week. We'll be making the most of the conditions, the surroundings and the chance to catch up with other sailors who share our passion for competitive sailing. Posted on 26 Jun
Salcombe Yacht Club Summer Series Race 1
More classic Salcombe conditions on Saturday kicked off the series in style More classic Salcombe conditions on Saturday kicked off the Summer Series in style. Plenty of sunshine and a 15-knot south-westerly saw Race Officer Simon Dobson set the course: 1-7-1-3-2-3. Posted on 16 Jun
Merlin Rocket Week runners and riders
Who's in your flight? Who's sailing when? With Helly Hansen Merlin Rocket Salcombe Week just around the corner and the sacred PDF of doom (AKA the flights list) finally released, the WhatsApp groups are already ablaze. Sails are being tweaked, excuses rehearsed... Posted on 16 Jun
Salcombe YC Sailing Club Series final race
Despite the drenching, it was a fantastic afternoon on the water With winds forecast in excess of 30mph all week, ten hardy Solo sailors made it to the starting area, and despite the conditions seeming sailable most chose to wait until the preparatory signal by using the comparative protection of Smalls Cove. Posted on 9 Jun
Salcombe Yawls and ILCAs at Salcombe
Battling the elements in a blustery bank holiday bash The late May Bank Holiday once again saw the iconic Salcombe Yawls take to the water for the Stones Boatyard Yawl Open Meeting—a fixture now synonymous with top-class racing, fierce competition, and of course, the legendary Yeti prizes. Posted on 2 Jun
Salcombe Yacht Club Solo Open
A bumper turnout of twenty-seven sailors A bumper turnout of twenty-seven sailors turned out for the Salcombe Yacht Club Solo Open meeting over the weekend of the 10th and 11th June. Posted on 13 May
Sailing Chandlery RS400 Southern Tour at Salcombe
Boy, did it deliver: sun, wind and crystal blue water Salcombe is a highlight in the 400 calendar. We were met with a stunning sailing location which is a combination of a great race course and a beautiful backdrop. Posted on 8 May
Salcombe National 12 Open
It's always sunny in Salcombe The National 12 fleet were promised glorious conditions in Salcombe for the 2025 May Day Open Meeting. The country had been basking in a heatwave in the days leading up. Posted on 8 May