Shepherd Neame Merlin Rocket Nationals at Whitstable Overall

by Mark Barnes 22 Aug 2009 17:53 BST 15-21 August 2009

Racing on the final day of the Shepherd Neame Merlin Rocket nationals © Nick Champion / www.championmarinephotography.co.uk

Shepherd Neame Merlin Rocket nationals prize winners © Nick Champion / www.championmarinephotography.co.uk

Hyde Race Day

Day 6 of the Shepherd Neame Merlin Rocket Nationals in Whitstable Bay, had a corker of a breeze, 18 – 20 knots form the west, ebb tide running east and short chop. The racing was to go down to the wire and as they say, its not over till its over.

With one point separating 3626 (Glenn Truswell/Olly Turner) and 3703 (Richard Whitworth/Sally Townend), it was going to a case of what tactics would be used at the start and up the first beat. This one was to go to the wire and would not be over till its over. With the wind coming for the west, the seas were the classic Whitstable short chop with easterly ebb tide.

So with a steady force 4 gusting 5, the fleet launched to see who would be crowned king. With rigs raked, the fleet showed that it was game on and charged up the first beat with 3703 leading both the race and championship, led from 3684 (Andy Davis/Ellie Bremner) and 3662 (David Winder/Pippa Taylor) with 3626 in a close 5th.

Downwind 3703 dominated till close to the leeward mark they stuffed the bow in and capsized. Recovering to 23rd at the next windward mark, they had their work cut out to retrieve the situation especially as 3626 was now in 4th.

3684 now led from 3626, 3701 (Tom Stewart/Liam Dempsey) and 3662 who broke their boom during the next round.

Over the next rounds the Pirates 3685 (Willie Warren/Chris Robinson) moved into second passing 3626 with 3703 fast closing, but would it be enough to see them catch and pass 3626? As the race was closing out, the Fat Lady was getting ready to sing but could 3626 hold on or would 3703 pass them and put one boat between themselves and 3626. Alas it was not to be. 3703 gave a master class on how to retrieve the situation by recovering to 6th on the water, but it was not enough. With 3684 coming home first and bringing the racing to an end, 3685 followed in second with 3626, 3712 (John Gorringe/Peter Horn) and 3704 (Chris Lewns/Tom Pygall) close astern.

3626 was crowned the national champions, having sailed in a varied set of breezes and putting an exemplary series together, but being pushed all the way by 3703. The race management was faultless and all competitors went away with a prize thanks to the generosity of the sponsors.

Holt Plate in Association with North One Design

Chipstow Race Day

By no means a side show, though 3666 (Dan Parsons/Hamish Kilburn) had won the Holt Plate with a day to spare and so take home the coveted first prize token from Chipstow Boats, the dynamics of the minor podium places was to close to call.

So gong into the last race, who would rise to occasion and who would capitulate? With two local boats in the hunt there was to be an interesting side show.

From the start, 3700 (Phil Emery/Sophie Mackey) were to get the bit between their teeth and make a last charge to secure 2nd from 3650 (Laurence Tosh/Crew) who slipped to third overall.

So to the prize giving and every competitor was to leave with a prize, a first for the Merlin Nationals and made possible due to the generosity of the race day and main sponsors.

Next year’s Nationals are in August in Penzance with big seas and hopefully similar conditions to this year.

The big question is, will Glenn/Olly, though buying an International 14 for next year, be back to defend the title they have spent so long trying to win. Many will be hoping the answer is a yes.

More information on the event website.

Overall Results:

Pos	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	Pts
1	3626	Glen Truswell	Olly Turner	Starcross	3	1	1	-6	2	3	10
2	3703	Richard Whitworth	Sally Townend	Hollingworth Lake & Parkstone	2	-7	2	3	1	6	14
3	3684	Andy Davis	Ellie Bremer	Chase	-6	2	6	1	5	1	15
4	3691	Mike Calvert	Christopher Downham	Axe/Castaways	5	5	4	4	4	-7	22
5	3701	Tom Stewart	Liam Dempsey	Northampton	4	3	3	7	6	-9	23
6	3712	Jon Gorringe	Peter Horn	Parkstone	9	8	-15	2	9	4	32
7	3704	Chris Lewns	Tom Pygall	Whitstable	11	4	-12	8	12	5	40
8	3685	William Warren	Chris Robinson	Shoreham	7	9	7	-59	17	2	42
9	3640	Simon Blake	Phil Dalby	Cookham Reach	8	10	11	-13	8	8	45
10	3662	David Winder	Pippa Taylor	Hollingworth Lake	10	11	5	5	15	-59	46
11	3705	Matt Biggs	Rob Kennaugh	Blighfield	1	6	8	-59	20	15	50
12	3670	Steve Goacher	Andy Tunnicliffe	Royal Windermere	13	-27	21	9	3	10	56
13	3676	Pat Blake	Jill Blake	Cookham Reach	-18	17	10	10	11	12	60
14	3693	Will Rainey	Kelly Miller	Cookham Reach	14	-21	17	14	10	11	66
15	3666	Dan Parsons	Hamish Kilburn	Whitstable	19	15	14	11	-21	13	72
16	3700	Phil Emery	Sophie Mackley	Whitstable	22	-26	19	15	16	17	89
17	3696	Alan Warren	James Warren	Shoreham	15	-28	20	17	18	21	91
18	3539	Dan Alsop	Jennie King	Lyme Regis	21	12	16	18	25	-26	92
19	3665	Ross Jackson	Dave Reid	Shoreham	24	16	9	-59	26	18	93
20	3661	Graham Scroggie	Ben Scroggie	Parkstone	25	25	23	-59	7	14	94
21	3650	Laurence Tosh	TBC	Banbury	26	-34	27	12	13	24	102
22	3672	John Cooper	Hilary Bradshaw	Whitstable	28	23	18	16	22	-59	107
23	3610	Richard Dee	Phil Scott	Midland	27	-45	32	25	14	20	118
24	3652	John Bell	Duncan Bell	Hampton	17	-39	24	20	37	23	121
25	3619	David Charlton	Celia Charlton	Brightlingsea	23	22	25	-59	29	22	121
26	3620	Andy Bines	Derick Gentry	Brightlingsea	29	24	-34	21	23	27	124
27	3659	Julian Parry	Liese Scott	Hollingworth Lake	12	14	13	-59	27	59	125
28	3690	Andy Dalby	Fran Gifford	Trent Valley	20	13	22	-59	59	19	133
29	3695	Matthew Winder	Callum MacKenzie	Hollingworth Lake	-35	18	28	27	33	29	135
30	3692	Rien Zilvold	Julie Nuttall	Whitstable	33	19	31	-59	30	25	138
31	3617	Tom Chadfield	Andy Chadfield	Blithfield	-47	44	29	19	19	28	139
32	3707	Alex Jackson	Ben Hollis	Shoreham	16	-59	26	59	24	16	141
33	3688	Craig Bond	Jayne Bond	Brightlingsea	34	38	38	-59	32	31	173
34	3677	David Proctor	Ed Lowe	Whitstable	30	37	46	23	-59	41	177
35	3697	Richard Page	Lizzy Page	Hampton	38	47	36	22	35	-59	178
36	3706	Kevin Anderson	Sadie Anderson	Hampton	41	40	-50	26	36	35	178
37	3644	Steve Mitchell	Liz North	Porthpean/Whitstable	43	20	37	-59	43	38	181
38	3698	Bob O'Toole	Suzie Bell	Parkstone	36	41	53	24	28	-59	182
39	3586	Rod Porteous	Maureen Porteous	Hayling Island	31	49	30	-59	39	37	186
40	3674	Mike Anslow	Chris Winters	Midland	32	33	-59	59	38	30	192
41	3673	Jane Seymour	Christopher Seymour	Shoreham	42	29	43	-59	44	36	194
42	3595	Richard Davis	Olivia Bell	Whitstable	44	43	45	-59	31	40	203
43	3686	Paul Aldridge	Melissa Sorrell	Brightlingsea	40	42	33	-59	59	32	206
44	3543	Chris Martin	Tom Holland	Blithfield	39	32	35	-59	59	59	224
45	3687	Alan Jackson	Lorna Laval	Maylandsea Bay	37	36	40	-59	59	59	231
46	3634	Ben Archer	Chris O'Toole	Parkstone	48	35	56	-59	59	34	232
47	3625	Richard Bramley	Joanna Marlow	Shoreham	51	56	48	-59	34	43	232
48	3632	Marcus Robb	Graham Webb	Cookham Reach	52	54	49	-59	40	39	234
49	3583	Nolan Forwood	Will Lowes	Whitstable	-59	46	39	59	59	33	236
50	3584	Jack Kilburn	Paul Smith	Whitstable	45	30	44	-59	59	59	237
51	3386	Andy Hay	Caroline Hay	RYA	46	50	42	-59	59	42	239
52	3564	Charles Devenport	Elaine Aldis	Thorpe Bay	-59	31	41	59	59	59	249
53	3606	Mike Partridge	Claire Davis	Hayling Island	-59	51	54	59	42	45	251
54	3566	Jon Wood	Heather Wood	Earlswood Lakes	49	48	52	-59	59	44	252
55	2997	Jonathan Steward	Nick Yannakoyorgos		50	52	55	-59	41	59	257
56	3600	Robert Heath	Mike Hendy	Hampton	53	55	51	-59	59	46	264
57	3604	Stuart Gurney	Donna Rouse	Thames	-59	53	47	59	59	59	277
58	3569	Tomos Bowen-Perkins	TBA	Hampton	-59	59	59	59	59	59	295

Holt Plate Results:

Pos	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Club	Hcap	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	Pts
1	3666	Dan Parsons	Hamish Kilburn	Whitstable	1000	1	2	2	1	-12	1	7
2	3700	Phil Emery	Sophie Mackley	Whitstable	1000	2	-11	4	9	4	3	22
3	3650	Laurence Tosh	TBC	Banbury	1005	5	-21	6	4	2	6	23
4	3672	John Cooper	Hilary Bradshaw	Whitstable	1005	6	8	3	6	14	-59	37
5	3690	Andy Dalby	Fran Gifford	Trent Valley	980	8	10	7	-59	3	10	38
6	3610	Richard Dee	Phil Scott	Midland	1015	3	-30	14	25	1	2	45
7	3619	David Charlton	Celia Charlton	Brightlingsea	1000	4	7	5	-59	25	4	45
8	3692	Rien Zilvold	Julie Nuttall	Whitstable	1010	12	1	16	-59	24	5	58
9	3620	Andy Bines	Derick Gentry	Brightlingsea	1005	7	9	-29	17	19	7	59
10	3665	Ross Jackson	Dave Reid	Shoreham	980	18	14	1	-59	23	9	65
11	3693	Will Rainey	Kelly Miller	Cookham Reach	950	19	-42	28	12	8	18	85
12	3617	Tom Chadfield	Andy Chadfield	Blithfield	1000	-41.5	39	17	14	5	12	87
13	3695	Matthew Winder	Callum MacKenzie	Hollingworth Lake	1000	27	5	9	27	-33	19.5	87.5
14	3640	Simon Blake	Phil Dalby	Cookham Reach	930	29	-41	18	15	6	25	93
15	3703	Richard Whitworth	Sally Townend	Hollingworth Lake & Parkstone	900	36	-48	15	5	7	35	98
16	3595	Richard Davis	Olivia Bell	Whitstable	1030	16	19	21	-59	22	21	99
17	3626	Glen Truswell	Olly Turner	Starcross	900	37.5	-43	11	11	9	32	100.5
18	3704	Chris Lewns	Tom Pygall	Whitstable	930	-33	28.5	26	8	17	23	102.5
19	3706	Kevin Anderson	Sadie Anderson	Hampton	1025	15	15	-46	24	36	14	104
20	3712	Jon Gorringe	Peter Horn	Parkstone	930	31	36	-43	2	15	22	106
21	3686	Paul Aldridge	Melissa Sorrell	Brightlingsea	1020	20	22	10	-59	59	8	119
22	3691	Mike Calvert	Christopher Downham	Axe/Castaways	900	41.5	-46	25	7	11	36	120.5
23	3673	Jane Seymour	Christopher Seymour	Shoreham	1020	25	4	30	-59	45	17	121
24	3586	Rod Porteous	Maureen Porteous	Hayling Island	1010	10	38	12	-59	40	24	124
25	3688	Craig Bond	Jayne Bond	Brightlingsea	1010	21	26	33	-59	28	16	124
26	3701	Tom Stewart	Liam Dempsey	Northampton	900	40	-45	19	13	16	37	125
27	3684	Andy Davis	Ellie Bremer	Chase	900	-44	44	37	3	13	29	126
28	3677	David Proctor	Ed Lowe	Whitstable	1010	9	25	47	20	-59	28	129
29	3697	Richard Page	Lizzy Page	Hampton	1015	22	31	24	19	35	-59	131
30	3674	Mike Anslow	Chris Winters	Midland	1010	11	16	-59	59	39	13	138
31	3386	Andy Hay	Caroline Hay	RYA	1034	17	24	13	-59	59	26	139
32	3539	Dan Alsop	Jennie King	Lyme Regis	950	-35	32	23	21	29	34	139
33	3698	Bob O'Toole	Suzie Bell	Parkstone	1010	24	28.5	50	22	20	-59	144.5
34	3644	Steve Mitchell	Liz North	Porthpean/Whitstable	1005	37.5	3	35	-59	44	27	146.5
35	3659	Julian Parry	Liese Scott	Hollingworth Lake	950	14	35	8	-59	32	59	148
36	3662	David Winder	Pippa Taylor	Hollingworth Lake	900	47	50	31	10	26	-59	164
37	3670	Steve Goacher	Andy Tunnicliffe	Royal Windermere	900	48	-54	54	16	10	39	167
38	3632	Marcus Robb	Graham Webb	Cookham Reach	1030	43	37	36	-59	38	19.5	173.5
39	3543	Chris Martin	Tom Holland	Blithfield	1015	23	13	20	-59	59	59	174
40	3634	Ben Archer	Chris O'Toole	Parkstone	1020	32	17	52	-59	59	15	175
41	3583	Nolan Forwood	Will Lowes	Whitstable	1020	-59	27	22	59	59	11	178
42	3687	Alan Jackson	Lorna Laval	Maylandsea Bay	1020	13	20	27	-59	59	59	178
43	3676	Pat Blake	Jill Blake	Cookham Reach	900	-52	52	48	18	21	40	179
44	2997	Jonathan Steward	Nick Yannakoyorgos		1044	26	18	44	-59	41	59	188
45	3566	Jon Wood	Heather Wood	Earlswood Lakes	1030	28	23	42	-59	59	38	190
46	3584	Jack Kilburn	Paul Smith	Whitstable	1015	30	6	38	-59	59	59	192
47	3685	William Warren	Chris Robinson	Shoreham	900	46	49	39	-59	27	31	192
48	3696	Alan Warren	James Warren	Shoreham	900	50	-55	53	23	30	43	199
49	3625	Richard Bramley	Joanna Marlow	Shoreham	1025	45	51	40	-59	31	33	200
50	3705	Matt Biggs	Rob Kennaugh	Blighfield	900	34	47	45	-59	34	42	202
51	3707	Alex Jackson	Ben Hollis	Shoreham	930	39	-59	51	59	37	30	216
52	3661	Graham Scroggie	Ben Scroggie	Parkstone	900	53	53	55	-59	18	41	220
53	3652	John Bell	Duncan Bell	Hampton	900	51	-56	56	26	43	44	220
54	3564	Charles Devenport	Elaine Aldis	Thorpe Bay	1015	-59	12	32	59	59	59	221
55	3606	Mike Partridge	Claire Davis	Hayling Island	1020	-59	34	49	59	42	45	229
56	3600	Robert Heath	Mike Hendy	Hampton	1030	49	40	41	-59	59	46	235
57	3604	Stuart Gurney	Donna Rouse	Thames	1025	-59	33	34	59	59	59	244