Merlin Rocket HD Sails Midland Circuit at Blithfield Sailing Club
by Gill & Steve Leney 17 Jun 11:44 BST
14 June 2026
Sam Bailey and Nick Hydon win overall - Merlin Rocket HD Sails Midland Circuit at Blithfield © Gil Leney
On June 14th Blithfield greeted our stalwart Midland sailors to a breeze which was slightly more than predicted initially with cloud cover and full sit up conditions upwind for the HD Sails Midland Circuit Open 2026.
Race 1
OD Rob, set a long beats, two reaches, another long beats and a run. Couldn't be better. However Rob put the windward mark in an area of the pool so far North it bamboozled the locals, myself included as the usual lifts did not occur in this area of the pond.
First around the windward mark was Sam Bailey and Nick Hydon, who would have probably maintained their position had Sam not decided to run across the back of the Merlin and forget to put his feet under the straps. So funny the air was blue. Andy Davis and Chris Dodds won overall.
Race 2
Race 2 was held in dying wind and Rob was fearful of setting a big course and a 25 degree windshift prior to the start did not help. This race was won by a considerable margin by Sam and Nick.
Race 3
With the course extended yet again and slightly more returning breeze. Sam and Nick rounded the windward mark first and your reporters on their transom. The whole fleet was very tight in this race behind Sam and ourselves (Steve and Gill Leney) and you felt one shift wrong and the fleet would be past us. Even though we gained the lead midway through the race, Sam and Nick still snuggled past and beat us.
Everybody in the club was severely caked as we had catered for far more visitors. The furthest travelled to the meeting was Sean Anderson who came from Brisbane, Australia to sail with his Dad, Colin. There's dedication for you.
Thank you to everyone who made it a nice day. The next event on the HD Sails Midland Circuit is at Burton Sailing Club on 28th June.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Boat | Sail No | Helm | Crew | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | The Empire Strikes Back | 3752 | Sam Bailey | Nick Hydon | S.S.S.C | ‑5 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2nd | Bonnie | 3758 | Andy Davis | Chris Dodds | S.S.S.C | 1 | 2 | ‑3 | 3 |
| 3rd | Carbonfootprint | 3716 | Steve Leney | Gill Leney | Blithfield | ‑3 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 4th | Nermal | 3724 | Ed Bradburn | Jonny Coate | SSSC | 2 | ‑6 | 4 | 6 |
| 5th | Blood
Sweat & Beers | 3730 | Colin Anderson | Sean Anderson | Redditch | ‑6 | 4 | 5 | 9 |
| 6th | Two Pints of Lager | 3705 | Geoff Wright | Jo Lord | Blithfield | 4 | ‑7 | 6 | 10 |
| 7th | Prologue | 3581 | David Lucas | Robyn Taylor | Bartley | ‑8 | 5 | 8 | 13 |
| 8th | Asilling | 3485 | Tom Chadfield | Alison Hopkins | Blithfield | 7 | ‑8 | 7 | 14 |
| 9th | Shadowray | 3586 | Kieron Mason | Belinda Mason | Blithfield | 9 | 9 | (DNS) | 18 |
| 10th | General Lee | 3690 | Guy Browne | Andy Diggle | Trent Valley | 10 | 10 | (DNS) | 20 |