Merlin Rocket Craftinsure Silver Tiller Round 5 at Whitstable Yacht Club
by Tim Saxton 24 Jun 16:12 BST
22-23 June 2024
Gybe mark during the Merlin Rocket Craftinsure Silver Tiller and Allen SE Series event at Whitstable YC © Neil Reynolds
The Merlin Rocket class headed to Whitstable Yacht Club on the 22nd and 23rd June for the fifth Crafinsure Silver Tiller of the year combined with the fifth Allen South East Series event.
The forecast looked perfect for a weekend by the sea, less perfect for those hoping for some last-minute practice before Salcombe Week. Nonetheless 18 boats turned up to race at Whitstable this weekend.
Setting a theme for the rest of the weekend, what wind there was had already begun to disappear by the start of the first race on Saturday. Mark Barnes & Sophie Mackley won the biased end of the line and led to mark one closely followed by Alex Jackson & Pippa Kilsby in their brand new boat.
Unfortunately, the wind carried on decreasing, before returning from 90 degrees further right. Places changed a fair amount, but Alex & Pippa held on to win, with Tom Gillard & Rachael Gray sneaking into second with Mark & Sophie Third. Tim Saxton & Holly McArthur led the rest home to finish 4th.
Race 2 was started very promptly, with a tight battle up the first beat seeing Tom & Rachael sneak ahead at mark 1 never to be seen again. As the wind died on lap two, Alex & Pippa snuck through into second, Alex Warren & Jonty Freeman sailed a great race and dodged the weed to finish 3rd just ahead of Mark Stockbridge & Charlie Cotter.
Unfortunately, Sunday's forecast turned out correct and we never saw enough wind to make racing possible in a spring tide, so the overnight results stood. Tom & Rachael won on count back from Alex & Pippa with Tim & Holly's consistency earning them third.
Thanks to all of the club volunteers for their brilliant hosting & making the best out of a very tricky, light wind weekend.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Crew | Club | R1 | R2 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | 3759 | Thomas Gillard | Rachael Gray | Sheffield Viking SC | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | 3823 | Alex Jackson | Pippa Kilsby | Shoreham | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | 3807 | Tim Saxton | Holly McArthur | Itchenor | 4 | 5 | 9 |
| 4 | 3696 | Alex Warren | Jonty Freeman | Shoreham | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| 5 | 3763 | Mark Barnes | Sophie Mackley | Whitstable YC | 3 | 8 | 11 |
| 6 | 3804 | Ian Martin | Arron Holman | Burghfield SC | 5 | 7 | 12 |
| 7 | 3801 | Matt Biggs | Beka Jones | Bartley SC | 6 | 6 | 12 |
| 8 | 3812 | Tom Stewart | Rob Allen | Salcombe YC | 8 | 10 | 18 |
| 9 | 3727 | Mark Stockbridge | Charlie Cotter | Upper Thames SC | 15 | 4 | 19 |
| 10 | 3749 | Colin Anderson | Sean Anderson | Bartley SC | 9 | 11 | 20 |
| 11 | 3796 | William Warren | Charlotte Fildes | Shoreham SC | 13 | 9 | 22 |
| 12 | 3816 | Phil Emery | Pheobe Paine | Whitstable YC | 10 | 13 | 23 |
| 13 | 3746 | James Wells | Anna Aylward | RYA | 12 | 12 | 24 |
| 14 | 3720 | Dave Chisholm | Andy Prince | Royal Burnham YC | 11 | 16 | 27 |
| 15 | 3677 | Timonth Barr | Mark Skipper | Tamesis | 16 | 14 | 30 |
| 16 | 3736 | Jon Bloice | Philippa Bloice | Whitstable YC | 14 | 17 | 31 |
| 17 | 3752 | Huw Reynolds | Jon Dennis | Whitstable YC | 17 | 15 | 32 |
| 18 | 3576 | John Gibbons | Martin Akers | Whitstable YC | 18 | 18 | 36 |
The next Craftinsure Silver Tiller is at Shoreham Sailing Club on 20th and 21st July. The next SE Series is at Shoreham Sailing Club on 19th October for the series grand finale and prize-giving.
First up, 120 Merlin Rockets will be making their way to Salcombe Yacht Club for Salcombe Gin Merlin Rocket Week 2024 also supported by CraftInsure, Creation Covers.
Keep an eye on the Merlin Rocket Facebook page for live coverage of the starts at 1030 and 1430 from Sunday 30th June to Friday 5th July.