Sharps Doom Bar Salcombe Merlin Rocket Week 2014

Sharps Doom Bar Salcombe Merlin Rocket Week 2014 – Day 1

by Tim Fells 6 Jul 2014 19:54 BST 6-11 July 2014

A busy Salcombe estuary during Merlin Rocket week © Margaret Mackley

256 Merlin Rocket sailors woke to a glorious summer morning for the first day of the much anticipated Sharps Doom Bar Salcombe Merlin Rocket Week. With a gradient WNW blowing over the town there was expectation of a shifty race track on the first legs through the town.

Race 1 – Red v Green flights. WNW Force 2-4. Course 1,7,1,4,1,3

A large group of spectators crowded the Yacht Club veranda and gardens to watch the first start under the 'no fairway, black flag' rules with the whole width of the harbour available for the fleet. The bulk of the fleet opted to start towards the Portlemouth shore where there was good breeze. Simon Blake and Chris Dodds got the best start and managed to hold a long starboard across Mill Bay to look like the clear leader at Blackstone. However, Dave Hayes and Oli Wells who had taken the town side found great pressure to come flying in on starboard to just round in first position. Dan Alsop and Jenny King who had a great start off Smalls beach rounded third. The leading pack of five boats escaped down the run. On the beat back through the town there was a split in strategy with Mike Calvert and Ian Garwood taking the town side and grabbing the lead from Jon Gorringe and Nicki Bass who had got the best of the Portlemouth side. These two fought it out all the way to the line where Mike and Ian had the upper hand from Jon and Nicki with Dan and Jenny coming in a strong third. Best climbers of the race were Sam Pascoe and Alex Adams who climbed from the teens through to fourth ahead of Simon Potts and Anabell Ransome-Williams.

Race 2 – Blue v Black flights. WSW Force 3-5. Course 1,4,1,7,13

With more breeze and a weather going ebb tide, there was a strong prospect of a general recall. However the black flag kept everyone under control and the fleet executed a perfect start, spread across the estuary. First to the windward mark despite a poor start were Richard Whitworth and Nick Copsey but they were to fall foul of a gust on the run down to Yalton. Rounding third behind Matt Biggs and Jon Hackett and soon taking the lead were Olly Turner and Alex Warren, who then proceeded to inexorably extend their lead. Showing remarkable powers of recovery, Tom Stewart and Phil Dalby came through from the late teens to take second by midway, battling with Dave Winder and Pippa Taylor, Matt and John and Taxi and Ellie Bremmer. While Olly and Alex sailed further and further into the distance, there was plenty of action behind them. On the final run down to Crossways, both Taxi and Ellie and then Matt and John hit the tide in a gnarly gust. Tom and Phil, who were maintaining a tight cover on Dave and Pippa, then split tacks 100m from the line and lost their hard earned second place. Steve Crooks and Joanna Marlow kept it all together to come home fourth. This was a great result for Olly and Alex who have steadily been climbing the Merlin fleet – their first Salcombe win which was celebrated in fist pumping style.

Results after Day 1:

Pos	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Fleet	Club	R1	R2	Pts
1	3656	Olly Turner	Alex Warren	Black	Starcross	DNC	1	1
2	3691	Mike Calvert	Ian Garwood	Red	Axe	1	DNC	1
3	3735	David Winder	Pippa Taylor	Blue	Hollingworth Lake	DNC	2	2
4	3754	Jon Gorringe	Nicola Bass	Green	Parkstone	2	DNC	2
5	3733	Tom Stewart	Phil Dalby	Black	Northampton	DNC	3	3
6	3539	Dan Alsop	Liese Scott	Green	Lyme Regis	3	DNC	3
7	3678	Steve Crook	Jo Marlow	Black	Hollingworth Lake	DNC	4	4
8	3759	Sam Pascoe	Alex Adams	Green	Castle Cove	4	DNC	4
9	3684	Andy Davis	Ellie Bremmer	Blue	Blithfield	DNC	5	5
10	3753	Simon Potts	Anabell Ransome‑Williams	Red	Shustoke	5	DNC	5
11	3688	Ben Hollis	Caroline Croft	Black	RYA	DNC	6	6
12	3734	David Hayes	Oli Wells	Green	Hayling Island	6	DNC	6
13	3743	Matt Biggs	John Hackett	Blue	Blithfield	DNC	7	7
14	3756	William Warren	Frances Gifford	Red	Shoreham	7	DNC	7
15	3710	Jon Ibbotson	Chris Kilsby	Blue	Ranelagh	DNC	8	8
16	3738	Simon Blake	Chris Dodds	Green	Cookham Reach	8	DNC	8
17	3703	Richard Whitworth	Nick Copsey	Black	PYC	DNC	9	9
18	3764	Tim Fells	Chris Downham	Red	Salcombe	9	DNC	9
19	3679	Nick Heginbotham	Becky Jones	Black	Hollingworth Lake	DNC	10	10
20	3564	Rich Adams	Rob Kennaugh	Green	Midland	10	DNC	10
21	3651	Colin Brockbank	Martin Hughes	Black	Wembley	DNC	11	11
22	3702	Duncan Salmon	Harriett Salmon	Green	Wembley	11	DNC	11
23	3685	Sophie Mackley	James Warren	Blue	Shoreham	DNC	12	12
24	3716	Steve Leney	Gill Leney	Green	Blithfield	12	DNC	12
25	3696	Alan Warren	Bill Carroll	Blue	Shoreham	DNC	13	13
26	3752	Will Rainey	Andy Douglas	Red	Shoreham	13	DNC	13
27	3687	Matt Greenfield	Hannah Playford	Blue	Wembley	DNC	14	14
28	3611	Jen Taylor	Debbie Taylor	Green	Hollingworth Lake	14	DNC	14
29	3583	Colin Anderson	Sean Anderson	Black	Redditch	DNC	15	15
30	3724	Neale Jones	Jam Adam	Red	HISC	15	DNC	15
31	3715	Paul Rayson	Julie Rayson	Blue	Salcombe	DNC	16	16
32	3442	Mark Stockbridge	Roop Stock	Red	Ranelagh	16	DNC	16
33	3744	Chris Martin	Jo Tosh	Black	Blithfield	DNC	17	17
34	3675	Mike Fenwick	Penny Fenwick	Green	Weymouth	17	DNC	17
35	3707	Alex Jackson	Sarah Bines	Black	Shoreham	DNC	18	18
36	3748	Nigel Brooke	Suzie Brooke	Green	Lymington Town	18	DNC	18
37	3652	John Bell	Olivia Bell	Black	Hampton on Sea	DNC	19	19
38	3698	Graham Cranford Smith	Fiona Cranford Smith	Red	Salcombe	19	DNC	19
39	3730	Paul Hollis	Lisa Scott	Blue	Blithfield	DNC	20	20
40	3643	Tim Harridge	Andrea Ralph	Red	Hampton	20	DNC	20
41	3565	Paul Keeling	Michelle Keeling	Blue	Blithfield	DNC	21	21
42	3641	Mark Waterhouse	Matt Currell	Green	Parkstone	21	DNC	21
43	3725	A J Squire	Laura Squire	Black	Salcombe	DNC	22	22
44	3705	Geoff Wright	Carol Murcott	Green	Blithfield	22	DNC	22
45	3573	Simon Bond	Anna Bond	Black	Hayling Island	DNC	23	23
46	3674	Michael Anslow	Chris Winters	Green	Midland	23	DNC	23
47	3731	Andy Jones	Jilly Blake	Black	Parkstone	DNC	24	24
48	3647	Hywell Bowen‑Perkins	tbc	Red	Hampton on Sea	24	DNC	24
49	3676	Antony Gifford	Jo Gifford	Black	Royal Harwich	DNC	25	25
50	3751	Tony Johnson	Louise Johnson	Green	Lymington Town	25	DNC	25
51	3719	Jeremy Deacon	Andy Currel	Black	Cookham Reach	DNC	26	26
52	3665	Ross Jackson	Kelly Jackson	Red	Shoreham	26	DNC	26
53	3666	John Meadowcroft	Katy Meadowcroft	Blue	Upper Thames	DNC	27	27
54	3768	Rob Cage	Hatty Cage	Green	Thames	27	DNC	27
55	3633	David Bursey	Frances Bursey	Black	Parkstone	DNC	28	28
56	3627	Alex Jones	Jack Deung	Red	Cookham Reach	28	DNC	28
57	3640	Rien Zilvold	Phil Scot	Blue	Whitstable	DNC	29	29
58	3645	Peter Ballantine	Sandy Ramus	Red	Salcombe	29	DNC	29
59	3559	Tosh	Alex Pawsey	Black	Upper Thames	DNC	30	30
60	3708	Colin Humphrey	Keith Callaghan	Red	Felixstowe Ferry	30	DNC	30
61	3683	Ben Jones	Helen Hilditch	Black	Tenby	DNC	31	31
62	3598	Robert Smith	Andrew Smith	Red	Shustoke	31	DNC	31
63	3682	Jon Steward	Harry Steward	Blue	Fishers Green	DNC	32	32
64	3575	Richard Cooke	Decklan Coleman	Green	Wembley	32	DNC	32
65	3672	John Cooper	Hilary Bradshaw	Blue	Whitstable	DNC	33	33
66	3339	Tim Male	Rebecca Male	Red	Blithfield	33	DNC	33
67	3578	Godrey Clark	Claire Clark	Blue	Fishers Green	DNC	34	34
68	3650	Paul Englemann	Katy Engleman	Green	Silverwing	34	DNC	34
69	3714	Alan Markham	Sue Markham	Blue	Upper Thames	DNC	35	35
70	3602	Anthony Rickaby	Nicki Della Porta	Green	Wembley	35	DNC	35
71	3607	Mark Bugler	Rima Bugler	Black	Weymouth	DNC	36	36
72	3634	Ben Archer	Philippa Daniels	Red	Parkstone	36	DNC	36
73	3692	Steve Mitchell	Julie Nuttall	Black	Whitstable	DNC	37	37
74	3556	Jodok Gerber	Janik Roempp	Green	Tamesis	37	DNC	37
75	3755	Peter Jackson	Andy Airnes	Black	Blackpool & Fleetwood	DNC	38	38
76	3706	Kevin Anderson	Sadie Anderson	Green	Hampton on Sea	38	DNC	38
77	3697	Richard Page	Lizzy Dalby	Black	Hampton	DNC	39	39
78	3594	Robin Clifton‑ Dey	Michael Clifton‑ Dey	Green	Weymouth	39	DNC	39
79	3497	Jan Holland	William Anderson	Blue	Midland	DNC	40	40
80	3762	Malcolm Hyams	Dan Barratt	Green	Midland	40	DNC	40
81	3448	Sam Thompson	Clare Thompson	Black	RNSA	DNC	41	41
82	3511	Andrew Mills	Ellie Mills	Green	Hampton	41	DNC	41
83	3165	David Croft	Abigail Croft	Blue	Tamesis	DNC	42	42
84	3291	David Philpot	Jenny Philpot	Green	Grafham Water	42	DNC	42
85	3561	Kieran O 'Farrell	Fionn O'Farrell	Blue	Wembley	DNC	43	43
86	3680	Steve Watson	Andrew Prosser	Red	Midland	43	DNC	43
87	3657	Anthony Lofts	Sophie Penwarden	Blue	Salcombe	DNC	44	44
88	3663	Chris Haworth	Joanne Harvey	Red	Blackpool & Fleetwood	44	DNC	44
89	3600	Stuart Jenkins	Imogen Jenkins	Blue	Hampton	DNC	45	45
90	3456	Martin Evans	Chris Evans	Green		45	DNC	45
91	3621	Oliver Squire	various	Blue	Salcombe	DNC	46	46
92	3567	Martin Smith	Karen Beston	Red	Blithfield	46	DNC	46
93	3547	Peter Male	Christine Male	Black	Blithfield	DNC	47	47
94	3563	Philip Ashworth	Alison Ashworth	Red	Weymouth	47	DNC	47
95	3648	Antonia Wright	Jamie Wright	Black	Shoreham	DNC	48	48
96	3625	Richard Bramley	Tony Cheal	Green	Shoreham	48	DNC	48
97	3451	Jemma Horwood	Russell Hall	Blue	Thames	DNC	49	49
98	3569	Duncan Bell	Alex Oxley	Green	Hampton	49	DNC	49
99	3589	John Hollands	Ellen Cooper	Blue	Hampton	DNC	50	50
100	3586	Kieron Mason	Henry Mason	Red	Blithfield	50	DNC	50
101	3296	Luke Tucker	Theo Harris	Blue	Blithfield	DNC	51	51
102	3555	Ian Mackenzie	Angela Mackenzie	Red	Blithfield	51	DNC	51
103	3599	Ken Duffell	Brian Corking	Black	Tamesis	DNC	52	52
104	2604	Jeremy Stein	Sarah Percival	Blue	UpperThames	DNC	53	53
105	1638	Bernard Prickett	Peter Bishton	Black	Redditch	DNC	54.5	54.5
105	3425	Nick Shuttleworth	Jeremy Loveless	Blue	Netley	DNC	54.5	54.5
107	1206	Patrick Rayner	Various	Black	Thames	DNC	DNC	63
107	3333	John Adams	Zoe Adams	Green	Tamesis	DNF	DNC	63
107	3354	Nigel Cooper	Annabel Cooper	Red	Hampton	DNC	DNC	63
107	3414	Ian Laing	Andrew Hunt	Black	Hollingworth	DNC	DNF	63
107	3464	Greg Flyn	Adrian Mickleson	Red	Thames	DNF	DNC	63
107	3478	Andy Hind	Gareth Griffiths	Green	Royal Lymington	DNF	DNC	63
107	3530	Mike Colles	tbc	Black	Midland	DNC	DNF	63
107	3561	Keiron O'Farell	Fionn O'Farell	Blue	Wembley	DNC	DNC	63
107	3571	Alan Feist	Stephen Comley	Red	WPNSA	DNF	DNC	63
107	3574	John Donoghue	David Collier	Blue	Llangorse	DNC	DNF	63
107	3581	Brendan O'Connell	Jatet O'Connell	Red	Blithfield	DNF	DNC	63
107	3606	Richard Mourant	Joe Woods	Red	Tamesis	DNF	DNC	63
107	3655	David Wilkins	Frances Wilkins	Black	Parkstone	DNC	DNC	63
107	3671	Tom Jeffcoat	Ben Rayner	Red	Yorkshire Dales	DNC	DNC	63
107	3700	Phil Emery	Karen Emery	Blue	Whitstable	DNC	DNF	63
107	3729	Jon Turner	Richard Parslow	Red	Lyme Regis	DNC	DNC	63
107	3740	Patrick Blake	Anna Blake	Black	Cookham Reach	DNC	DNF	63
107	tbc	Kim Magness	Etienne Magness	Red	Lac Leman	DNC	DNC	63