Should be perfect conditions- 12 knots on wind guru and bbc weather.
1200 start

I know dave winder, stu bithel, andy 'taxi' davis and matt mee but in a fireball are going.

Is anyone willing to put me up for a night after the bloody mary and give me a lift to the Chichester Snowflake on sunday?
Thanks for any help.
 
Happy new year.

You can stay round ours in Walton, going to Chi on Sunday. Moving Mark back into Portsmouth after Chi, I think (doing that after BM, not fully planned out.

Chris - we are doing both and can put you up if you need - call me on 07791 794398 if you still need help.

GGGGGGGG

Thanks for the offer GGGGGGG but will stay at alans if thats ok with him and if there is room in the car with marks stuff. Does anyone have alan fullers number? 

Before I was not just listing off names of people going I was intending to ask who else was going but forgot to say that. Who else is going?

07714681600, see you at QM, plenty of room in the 7 seater (by the way (not for you Chris) it is for sale 98R Previa 112,000 mile Auto, cruise, FSH Aircon, reliable tow car with lots of room, up for £3,495, but will accept offers, new car arriving soon)

Heaven Sent will be there (assuming I can find all the bits after the lay-off!)

The boat's bits?

Well, that was what I was thinking of when I wrote the comment but Worried has got me worried now.  I'd better check after work.

And if you had a merry christmas, can you still fit in them?

or fit them in.

Thank you for your concern everyone, everything present, correct and in full working order.

excellent

Chris, do you belong to a charity I could donate some money to?

After reading all of your threads over a period of time, I feel your pain my brother.  My advice is to get a plan together.  Get your sorry ass into a part time job and buy a car.

I'll even give you a tom tom POI file for Merlin Clubs.

Not me. Look out of the window, no wind and p*****g with rain. I'd rather watch West Ham losing to Brighton in the Cup than sail today!  Sorry Will.

Well the forecasts were both accurate, at one point we got Winguru's 6-8 kts, but not for long as the distressingly accurate BBC forecast - very little very variable wind with very heavy rain - then kicked in.

At least the boat floats and after a bit of re-rigging on the way out to the start it all seems to work as well.

Only mishap being in the car park when I managed to knock over Jillie Blake by clipping their Merlin with mine for which I am extremely sorry - hope you are OK now Jillie let me know about the scratch on the car.

And when de-rigging after the race I do believe that I have never been out of doors in rain quite so hard.  So maybe the footie was a better option,  but there is a perverse sense of achievement in actually managing to sail round a course on such a disgusting day.  It could have been colder.  I'm not sure how else it could have been worse.

I think we need a Merlin Concours d'Elegance at open meetings so I can win something

Andrew

Hard to tell if I had more or less fun that you lot - I was in the garden, smashing up a concrete path, when that massive squall hit. Was already very wet, but glad I wasn't in a boat at that point. It sounded like the wind increased 200% in a few seconds...

25 boats very good, biggest 2 person class, looked impressive. We just needed the breeze to stay at about 6 knots so that we could come and play with a few more of you while having fun with the I14 boys (matched them most of the way round till the wind died as we were quicker upwind! Have decided a B14 is not the boat to drift in as the sails are very hard to read below 1-2 knots and not as comfortable to lie in! However, no bailing of the rain water though, thank god.
Good to catch up with people and see you all at the other pursuit circuit events.
Exhibiting the B14 at Excel next Saturday/Sunday on the Marina concourse if there.
Bye for now.

the sat footie was not exciting either.  But as I write, AV are drawing with MU.

MU sneaked through.

Well done to Stu Bithel.  High five then Stu!

what was this big MR meeting down at 23rd?

I wonder if someone could translate all this stuff to me - I am clearly too old to understand.
Jilly is suffering from neck pains, bang on the head and bruising - but I think she will live. Thanks for your concern Andrew.
I can't find the results - can anyone point me to the best website?
I heard we had the biggest class again?
Stu Bithell and Rachel Williamson won the Merlins and were 4th overall - We saw that, well done!
It rained a lot and there was not much wind - NONE at times.
More info re results for everyone else? number of starters? where Barnsie finished? etc would be welcome
Cheers,
Pat

Pat

Try this link

Then click search

Or

Thanks Rob and Jon
So 196 entries - I counted 23 Merlins - lots in the top 40 and Barnsie was 71st
But to be fair it wasn't a good day for skiffs

I had 25 merlins on the entry list, so with 10 14s and 12s first and second, a good day for the trad development classes!  Fotoboat have some pictures.

A quick count-up on the results makes the Merlins far and away the largest class, with the lasers 2nd with 14, but that's lumping the radials in together, and only the Toppers & Int14's otherwise getting into double figures!  5 RS400's 9 RS200's.

I think

Any Merlins doing the boatshow pursuit race?

sadly, we missed the entry deadline for the boat show race.

Maybe the merlin sailors that go to watch (!?) could cheer nice and loudly for a couple of until recently merlin owner siblings flying the flag for a slightly smaller class.

Shame no Merlins in the boat show race, Joe McLaughlin and myself did it last year and finished 2nd & 4th and won the class prize.. 
I will be there again this year but in my British Moth!!

Sadly we were a little late with the entry form. Toms new Merlin is on the HOLT stand, so perhaps someone could borrow it....?!