I'm probably a bit out of the loop, but I can't see a  Rutland event, so are there any plans for a training event this year? 

We've been gazumped by the Eric Twiname champs at Rutland on the usual weekend.
 
We are looking at alternatives on the early May bank holiday weekend. 

Is there any other dates being discussed? Only we were really hoping to do the training and I can't make that weekend!

At the moment this is best described as in the air!
 
We will come up with a plan soon. Other dates might be better for other reasons, but the congested nature of the merlin calendar makes this problematic 

 Perhaps this. Offers an opportunity to hold this event at various locations
Possibly further south this yeat 
 

National Sailing Academy at Portland (Weymouth) is awesome with great facilities and MR fleets at Weymouth SC and Castle Cove SC (early chance to test the water ahead of the ST event in September!).  They can normally fit people in unless they are hosting the Olympics or something like that ?  Optimists event that weekend but usually space around/over them!!

Not sure i would fancy being at WPSNA with the 90 boat Oppie selection regatta.... although perhaps Jo and I could bring the Merlin and do some sailing between sorting out the boys!
 

NSA Weymouth is a great location / facility but not that central
 
Grafham might be a good choice as its commutable daily from London and the Midlands  for those who don't want overnight accommodation costs. Its probably the most accessible location for the Merlin fleet as a whole - just a thought.

 Yes i am sure  Grapham is commutable for the Midlands fleet and possibly Thames but obviously 
Not the South coast fleets where i believe their is a general resurgence.
Accommodation I believe is quite expensive within the Grapham area where as Weymouth has a vast number 
of guest houses, early season will offer extremely competitive pricing.
With regard to running concurrently with an Oppie fleet, I imagine if the venue can admirably run an Olympic 
event I am sure their would not be a problem.
Perhaps the time has come for us South coast  Merlin Rocket sailors to be given a fair crack of the whip.
Colin Simmonds
Class Captain Island Harbour Yacht Club  

There will be space at Portland with only 90 Oppies that weekend.  I too could make my diary fit around this...

Just a thought, but if there's enough demand why not have regional training events?  
If there's unmet demand on the south coast maybe there are enough boats to warrant a training weekend of their own.
Perhaps there's another opportunity to take a poll for venues and interested participants. I like the cheap accomodation at Rutland as well as it's accessibility.
The availability of some seriously good coaches must also be a factor - spending some significant time with a top helm in the boat who can also coach is worth travelling for.
More by habit than anything else I've pencilled in the May bank holiday weekend - if it is to change knowing sooner rather than later would be helpful.

We are on this as we speak.
 
Grafham is almost certainly a no as they have a very busy calendar. We are exploring the possibility of a different weekend at Rutland (Known quantity and everything on site), and have had offers of assistance from several Merlin clubs - thanks to all of them.
 
We are trying to weigh up what will work as the best compromise for everyone. There is no way of getting a "perfect" venue, as we are quite spread out and we want everyone to have a chance of going albeit with a bit of a drive. As you'll gather that means central is good!
 
Regional training is a great idea. The problem is that that the MROA doesn't have the resources of volunteers to run much more than the main training weekend. Clubs can, and many have, organise their own training days through their own class structure and I think that this is very much to be encouraged as its a great way to get coaching in the environment you sail the most. Inviting other local clubs would help share the cost - it can be done, but I don't think its for "us" to organise. 

Regional events would be good .... but we have tried this before; I offered to sponsor an event at the National Academy with Richard Whitworth doing the training ... lots of enthusiasm but no takers even at a very modest £50.00 for the weekend....  feedback suggests folk weren't confident to commit because it wasn't a MROA event.  I have offered to host a training/race weekend at Cheddar in 2018 for those who can't get to Salcombe so will feedback on how that goes!

If a club did want to organise a training day I see no issues with us helping with promotion providing it doesn't clash directly with another MROA event (For example a training day at Wembley the same day as the Ranelagh open).
 
Our calendar is pretty full on making this difficult, but two different things at opposite ends of the country I see less of an issue with.

Hi All,  I have put up an event on the Merlin Rocket Revival facebook pages for the weekend of the 14th/15th July - I know this clashes with Salcombe but given that track is a little over-subscribed I don't really see us as a threat!!  The event at Cheddar is open to all Merlins and not just the older woodies - although they are especially welcome.

 Training/Racing Weekend
https://www.facebook.com/events/196433071121180/