Salcombe Gin Merlin Rocket Salcombe Yacht Club Week

Salcombe Gin Merlin Rocket Salcombe Yacht Club Week - Day 1

by Tim Fells 9 Jul 2023 21:08 BST 9-14 July 2023

Salcombe Gin Merlin Rocket Salcombe Yacht Club Week Sunday morning race © Malcolm Mackley

Salcombe Gin Merlin Week sailors were greeted by a beautiful Salcombe day for the first race of the series. A Southerly F2-3 and clear blue skies made for a picture-perfect day.

RACE 1: RED v GREEN Flights, COURSE 1,8,2,3

The first race of the series pitted defending champions and top seeds, Tom Gillard and Rachael Gray, against potentially their main challengers, Christian Birrell and Sam Brearey who had secured a last-minute entry.

With the wind in the South, Portlemouth shore was the favoured end but there was more breeze over on the town side. The good money was on the Portlemouth side with Christian and Sam making the early lead up to Mill Bay chased by Tom and Rach. Christian and Sam led on the long run to Balcombe, the furthest north buoy on the SYC course chart, with Steve Crooks and Sally Townend joining the front runners.

On the long beat back into the harbour, Tom and Rach secured the lead with Alex Jackson and super crew Pippa Kilsby storming through to be their nearest challengers, but unlikely to find a way through. Ian Dobson and Ally Potts had pulled through Christian and Sam to run in third onto the last run. With the breeze at Crossways beginning to break up, there were some passing opportunities. Tom and Rach came home for the first bullet of the week ahead of the impressive Alex and Pippa. Christian and Sam got the better of their dual with Ian and Ally, Roger and Jane Gilbert maintained a solid fifth ahead of the charging Tom Stewart and Rob Allen who were the biggest climbers.

Salcombe Gin Merlin Rocket Salcombe Yacht Club Week Sunday morning race - photo © Malcolm Mackley

Silver Fleet winners were Andy and Maddy Jones in 18th with Timothy Barr and Chris Martin taking Bronze Fleet in 30th.

RACE 2: BLUE v BLACK Flights, Course 1,7,1,3,1,3

For the afternoon race, the wind was strengthening from the South West and with an outgoing tide was throwing up quite a seaway in the channel. Still under clear blue skies, this was properly champagne sailing as the breeze increased during the race to top 20 knots down through the harbour.

Being the first race and with an ebb tide, the fleet was quite line shy and those who got onto port off Mill Bay were able to cross ahead. Will and Rob Henderson were first around ahead of Chris Jennings and Pete Nicholson, with Chis Gould and Sophie Mackley leading a closely grouped chasing pack down Biddle Rocks. Tim Fells and Fran Gifford managed to hold the inside line to move into second at Snapes and then take the lead heading up to Gerston.

Salcombe Gin Merlin Rocket Salcombe Yacht Club Week Day 1 - photo © Olly Turner / Salcombe Stories

The next two circuits of the harbour were fast and furious with Chris and Sophie making gains upwind and Tim and Fran extending on the runs. At the line, Tim and Fran held on for the bullet ahead of Chris and Sophie with Caroline Croft and Peter Gray winning the battle for third by a nose from Will and Rob. Richard Whitworth and Jemima Scroggie were a solid fifth ahead of Chris Jennings and Pete Nicholson.

Silver Fleet winners were Steve and Ally Tyler in an excellent 12th with Richard Page and Lizzy Dalby taking Bronze in 32nd.

Results after Day 1:

Pos	Sail No	Boat Name	Hull Colour	Helm	Crew	Club	Flight	Fleet	R1	R2	Pts
1st	3764	Fancy Liquor	Blue	Tim Fells	Frances Gifford	SYC	Blue	Platinum	DNC	1	1
2nd	3759	Red Mistress	Red	Thomas Gillard	Rachael Gray	Sheffield Viking SC/Staunton Harold	Green	Platinum	1	DNC	1
3rd	3803	Black Swan	White/Black	Chris Gould	Sophie Mackley	Lymington Town Sailing Club	Black	Platinum	DNC	2	2
4th	3795	Goon	Elf Blue	Alex Jackson	Pippa Kilsby	Shoreham SC	Red	Platinum	2	DNC	2
5th	3820	Skadi	Grey/White	Caroline Croft	Peter Gray	Lymington Town SC	Black	Gold	DNC	3	3
6th	3788	Blue my Mind	Blue	Christian Birrell	Sam Brearey	Parkstone YC	Red	Platinum	3	DNC	3
7th	3726	Arwen	Blue	Will Henderson	Rob Henderson	SYC	Black	Platinum	DNC	4	4
8th	3784	Blue	Blue	Ian Dobson	Ally Potts	Burwain SC/HISC	Green	Platinum	4	DNC	4
9th	3703	Faithless	Black/White	Richard Whitworth	Jemima Scroggie	Parkstone YC	Black	Platinum	DNC	5	5
10th	3722	Stealth	Dark Grey	Roger Gilbert	Jane Gilbert	Frencham Pond SC	Red	Platinum	5	DNC	5
11th	3775	Night Fury	Grey	Chris Jennings	Pete Nicholson	Burghfield SC	Blue	Platinum	DNC	6	6
12th	3812	Maumahara	Black	Tom Stewart	Rob Allen	SYC	Red	Platinum	6	DNC	6
13th	3805	Nermal	Lightgrey/white	Andy Davis	Olly Meadowcroft	South Staffs	Black	Platinum	DNC	7	7
14th	3802	Khalesi	Grey	Simon Potts	Oliver Hatley	Burghfield Sailing Club	Red	Platinum	7	DNC	7
15th	3696	Tiger Tiger	White	Alex Warren	Phil Dalby	Shoreham SC	Black	Gold	DNC	8	8
16th	3678	Nora	Black/White	Stephen Crook	Sally Townend	Hollingworth Lake	Green	Gold	8	DNC	8
17th	3687	Mellow Yellow	Yellow	Matthew Greenfield	Hannah Greenfield	Chew Valley Lake	Blue	Gold	DNC	9	9
18th	3611	The Phantom Menace	Grey/white	Jenny Dodds	Chris Dodds	RYA	Green	Gold	9	DNC	9
19th	3791	Didley Squat	Blue	Jon Gorringe	Matt Currell	Parkstone YC	Blue	Platinum	DNC	10	10
20th	3716	Carbon Footprint	Yellow	Steven Leney	Gill Leney	Blithfield SC	Green	Gold	10	DNC	10
21st	3787	Quicksilver	Red	Chris Martin	Sam Bailey	Midland SC	Blue	Platinum	DNC	11	11
22nd	3645	Blue Velvet	Blue/White	Steve Hall	Charlotte Stewart	Royal Corinthian YC/Waldringfield SC	Red	Platinum	11	DNC	11
23rd	3694	The Soup Dragon	blue	Steve Tyler	Ally Tyler	Parkstone	Black	Silver	DNC	12	12
24th	3801	Pokey	Grey	Matt Biggs	Becka Jones	Bartley SC	Green	Platinum	12	DNC	12
25th	3796	Roberta	Blue/White	William Warren	Megan Pascoe	Shoreham SC	Blue	Gold	DNC	13	13
26th	3676	Hot Totty	blue	Antony Gifford	Jo Gifford	Royal Tay YC	Green	Platinum	13	DNC	13
27th	3757	Space Hopper	Blue	Tim Parsons	Andy Service	Lyme Regis	Blue	Silver	DNC	14	14
28th	3727	Fragile	Grey	Mark Stockbridge	James Gifford	Upper Thames	Green	Gold	14	DNC	14
29th	3780	Time Machine		Sarah Richards	Nigel Wakefield	Lymington Town/ Netley SC	Black	Gold	DNC	15	15
30th	3799	Simply Scrumptious	Grey	Paul Rayson	Christian Hill	SYC	Red	Gold	15	DNC	15
31st	3735	Clone Wars	Grey/white	David Winder	Anna Blake	Hollingworth Lake	Black	Platinum	DNC	16	16
32nd	3746	Point n Squirt	White/grey	James Wells	Anna Aylward	RYA	Red	Gold	16	DNC	16
33rd	3641	Puff the Magic Dragon	Blue	Mark Waterhouse	Isobel Stewart	SYC	Blue	Gold	DNC	17	17
34th	3683	Bluebird	Blue	Arthur Henderson	Tom Ballantine	SYC	Red	Gold	17	DNC	17
35th	3715	Truly Srumptious	Black	Richard Cooke	Russell Hall	Wembley	Black	Silver	DNC	18	18
36th	3731	Mayhem	Grey	Andy Jones	Maddie Jones	Burghfield	Red	Silver	18	DNC	18
37th	3753	Appetite for Destruction	White	David Conlon	Sarah Conlon	Brightlingsea SC	Blue	Gold	DNC	19	19
38th	3790	Pointer	Blue	Colin Brockbank	Vana Vlastaki	Wembley	Green	Silver	19	DNC	19
39th	3747	Learner Driver	Pale Blue/White	Clive Eplett	Rebecca Videlo	Frensham Pond	Blue	Gold	DNC	20	20
40th	3684	Keyser Soze	Green/White	Tom Low	Ed Low	West Hoe SC	Green	Silver	20	DNC	20
41st	3666	...ted...	Grey	John Meadowcroft	Katy Meadowcroft	Upper Thames	Blue	Platinum	DNC	21	21
42nd	3738	Superfast Jellyfish	Black/White	Simon Blake	Molly Blake	Royal Brighton	Green	Platinum	21	DNC	21
43rd	3691	Quick Fix	Blue	Mike Calvert	Emma Clarke	Axe SC	Blue	Platinum	DNC	22	22
44th	3702	Salmon en Croute	Blue/pink	Duncan Salmon	Ruth Hanstater	SYC	Green	Gold	22	DNC	22
45th	3789	Off‑Piste	Blue	Nick Scroggie	Claire Johnstone	Parkstone	Black	Silver	DNC	23	23
46th	3768		White	Rob Cage	Hatty Cage	Thames Sailing Club	Green	Gold	23	DNC	23
47th	3652	Time and Tide	Mauve	John Bell	Suzi Bell	Hampton	Blue	Silver	DNC	24	24
48th	3749	Stanley	White	Colin Anderson	Sean Anderson	Bartley	Red	Silver	24	DNC	24
49th	3725	Island Girl	Blue	Andrew Squire	Simon Evans	SYC	Black	Silver	DNC	25	25
50th	3815	The Kraken	Blue	Mark Barwell	Lou Johnson	Lymington Town SC	Green	Gold	25	DNC	25
51st	3659	Zeno	Mint	Julian Parry	Livvy Bell	Hollingworth Lake	Black	Gold	DNC	26	26
52nd	3781	The Force Awakens	Grey	David Hall	Emilie Hood	Blackwater SC	Green	Platinum	26	DNC	26
53rd	3625	Point Break	Blue	Andrew Harris	Matty Key	Tamesis	Black	Silver	DNC	27	27
54th	3539	Gangsta Paradice	grey	Dan Alsop	Jennie King	Lyme Regis	Red	Silver	27	DNC	27
55th	3647	Liquid Dreams	blue	Hywel Bowen‑Perkins	Lucy Penwarden	SYC/Hampton	Blue	Silver	DNC	28	28
56th	3804	Rockatross	Blue	Mary Henderson‑White	Rupert Henderson‑White	SYC	Green	Gold	28	DNC	28
57th	3710	Paradigm Shift	White	Jon Ibbotson	Robert Stewart	Waldringfield	Black	Platinum	DNC	29	29
58th	3730	Blood Sweat & Beers	blue	Paul Hollis	Louisa Archer	Blithfield	Green	Silver	29	DNC	29
59th	3773	no. 34	Grey	Alan Warren	William Carroll	Shoreham	Blue	Silver	DNC	30	30
60th	3677	Indecision	Red	Timothy Barr	Chris Martin	Tamesis	Green	Bronze	30	DNC	30
61st	3766	The Bear	Blue/yellow	Andrew Dalby	Aimee Dalby	Burghfield	Black	Gold	DNC	31	31
62nd	3679	Daddys Boat	green	Nick Heginbotham	Rory Gifford	Hollingworth Lake/South Caernarvonshire	Red	Gold	31	DNC	31
63rd	3697	Too Dark & Stormy	Purple	Richard Page	Lizzy Dalby	Hampton	Blue	Bronze	DNC	32	32
64th	3598	Bar Humbug	Black/white	Robert Smith	Suzy Brough	SYC	Green	Silver	32	DNC	32
65th	3670	Filthy Gorgeous	black and White	Mark McKeever	Evan Base	Midland SC	Blue	Bronze	DNC	33	33
66th	3732		Blue/grey	Ben Hollis	Lewis Fowler	Bartley SC	Red	Silver	33	DNC	33
67th	3769	Disciple	Grey	Graham Cranford‑Smith	Oliver Winder	SYC	Black	Silver	DNC	34	34
68th	3656	Wild Card	Blue	Charlotte Gough	Dave Gough	Starcross	Red	Silver	34	DNC	34
69th	3648	Bang Tidy	Blue/White	Jamie Wright	Mimi Gorringe	Shoreham SC	Blue	Silver	DNC	35	35
70th	3806	Blue Tit	Blue	Ben Jones	Helen Hilditch	SYC	Red	Silver	35	DNC	35
71st	3622			Christian Hamilton	Michael Hamilton	Netley	Blue	Silver	DNC	36	36
72nd	3692	Nemo	Turquoise	Steve Conroy	Anna Rayson	SYC	Red	Silver	36	DNC	36
73rd	3816	Wild Horses	Blue White	Phil Emery	Phoebe Paine	Whitstable	Black	Silver	DNC	37	37
74th	3740	Why Ask?	Blue	Patrick Blake	Jilly Blake	Lymington Town SC	Red	Gold	37	DNC	37
75th	3569	Time Zulu	Purple	Ben Lulham	Samantha Lulham	Blakeney	Blue	Silver	DNC	38	38
76th	3733	The Darkside	Grey	Steve Mitchell	Julie Nutall	Torpoint Mosquito	Red	Gold	38	DNC	38
77th	3627	Snorter	White	Ali Wallace	Cat Wallace	South Cerney SC	Blue	Bronze	DNC	39	39
78th	3794	Ichthys	grey/orange	Julian Harms	George Bender	Midland SC	Red	Silver	39	DNC	39
79th	3748	White Tiger	Grey	Nigel Brooke	Suzie Brooke	Lymington Town	Black	Silver	DNC	40	40
80th	3547	Moondance Assasin	blue	Peter Male	Tim Male	Blithfield SC	Red	Silver	40	DNC	40
81st	3530	Sir Topaz	Yellow	Michael Colles	Lauren Morgan	Midland	Blue	Bronze	DNC	41	41
82nd	3705	Two Pints of Lager	Blue	Geoff Wright	Katie Nkugwa	Blithfield	Red	Silver	41	DNC	41
83rd	3633	Chill Out	Red	Timothy Harms	Amelia Little	Hampton SC	Red	Silver	42	DNC	42
84th	3650	Headcase	Lilac	Gareth Griffiths	Krysti Galpin	Lymington Town SC	Black	Bronze	DNC	43	43
85th	3813	Pacemaker	Turquoise	Steve Harling	Eleanor Thomas	Starcross YC	Red	Bronze	43	DNC	43
86th	3463	Smoke on the water	Pink	Jon Cowper	Hannah Hutchings	Hunts	Red	Bronze	44	DNC	44
87th	3561	Snorting	White	Joe Shaw	Julie Cranshaw	Wembley	Red	Bronze	45	DNC	45
88th	3587	Mistral	white	Henry Mason	George Mason	Blithfield SC	Green	Bronze	46	DNC	46
89th	3800	Brambles	Blue	Richard Bramley	Tony Cheal	Shoreham SC	Red	Bronze	47	DNC	47
90th	3599	Harry	red	Nigel Cooper	Ellen Cooper‑De Groote	SYC	Green	Bronze	48	DNC	48
91st	3567	Fatboy Slim	Turquoise	Martin Smith	Karen Beston	Redditch	Green	Bronze	49	DNC	49
92nd	3589	FBG	red	John Hollands	Hannah Bridger	Hampton	Green	Bronze	50	DNC	50
93rd	3368	Debutante	Red/White	Ian Laing	Andrew Hunt	Hollingworth Lake	Green	Bronze	51	DNC	51
94th	3714	Kevin	Blue	Alan Markham	Sue Markham	Lymington Town SC	Black	Silver	DNC	DNF	53
94th	3621	Raunchy	Blue	Tristram Squire	Peter Slack	SYC	Black	Bronze	DNC	BFD	53
94th	3771	Skip	Blue	Alex Pausey	Matthew Percival‑Stein	Upper Thames	Black	Bronze	DNC	WAY	53
94th	381	Narnia	Blue	Huw Reynolds	Phil Scott	Whitstable	Black	Bronze	DNC	DNF	53
94th	3686	If	Grey	Kevin Rose	John Donaghue	Upper Thames SC	Black	Bronze	DNC	DNF	53
94th	3672	Bola Bola	White	John Cooper	Hilary Bradshaw	Whitstable	Black	Silver	DNC	DNF	53
94th	3706	Monkey Puzzle	Grey	Kevin Anderson	Hamish Kemp	SYC	Blue	Bronze	DNC	DSQ	53
94th	3675	White Sauce er er	White	Rob Hatley	Joe Hatley	Tamesis	Blue	Bronze	DNC	WAY	53
102nd	3511	Heaven Sent	red	Andrew Mills	Ellie Mills	Hampton SC	Blue	Bronze	DNC	PRP	55
102nd	3671	Snaky B	Black and Purple	Piers Lambert	Sophie Penwarden	Brightlingsea	Blue	Silver	DNC	PRP	55
104th	3707	Monkey Business	Pale Blue	Stuart Jenkins	Nicola Scaddan	Hampton	Green	Bronze	DNF	DNC	55
104th	3793	Boris	White	James Goodfellow	Rick Cornes	Weston SC	Red	Platinum	WAY	DNC	55
104th	3333	Precious	white	John Adams	Ros Warwick ‑ Haller	Tamesis SC	Green	Bronze	DNF	DNC	55
107th	3654	Tales Acapulco	Black	Geoffrey Cox	Monika Papiez	SYC	Blue	Bronze	DNC	DNC	117
107th	3602	Ambience	Green	Martin Evans	Chris Evans	Hampton	Green	Silver	DNC	DNC	117
107th	1079	Passing Cloud	Varnished	Richard Harris	Maddie Harris	Tamesis	Blue	Silver	DNC	DNC	117
107th	3563	The Force Awakens	white	David Hall	Emilie Hood	Blackwater	Green	Platinum	DNC	DNC	117
107th	3704	Factory Maid	Grey	Jemma Horwood	Nicki Bass	Wembley	Black	Silver	DNC	DNC	117
107th	3762	Rimonim	blue	Malcolm Hyams	Dan Barrett	Midland SC	Blue	Bronze	DNC	DNC	117
107th	3709	Wild at Heart	Blue	Jack Norton	Dave Royse	Ranelagh	Black	Gold	DNC	DNC	117
107th	3586	Shadowplay	Grey	Kieron Mason	Belinda Mason	Blithfield SC	Green	Bronze	DNC	DNC	117
107th	3809	Ecstacy	Dark Blue	Jon Turner	Richard Parslow	Lyme Regis SC	Black	Platinum	DNC	DNC	117
107th	3786	Shotgun	White	Michael Wilson	Helen Wilson	Isle of Man	Red	Silver	DNC	DNC	117