MERLIN ROCKET RESULTS
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Results / Warming Pan

Hamble River S.C.
12/03/2016 - 13/03/2016
Silver Tiller: R
Multi-Day Silver Tiller: Sunday
Vintage:
Regional:
Classic:
With a less than favourable forecast 12 Merlin Rockets arrived at Hamble River Sailing Club on the morning of the 12th March for the 54th Hamble River Warming Pan. The sailing season was under way but it was still flipping cold! Bacon sarnies all round, then a very thorough briefing from the race officer: “there’s no wind… let’s wait a while”. Time for a cuppa and a well needed boat-bimble.

At 12:45, the decision was made to give it a go and a dash was made to the changing rooms to squeeze into those winter steamers.

Day 1 - Race 1:

With less than 5 knots of wind blowing up the river, and a fast flowing tide running in the same direction, a decision had to be made: Hamble or Warsash side. The majority of the fleet decided to start at the Warsash side, beating up in the shallows until the marina. This then led to the next decision which was: to cross or stick it out… The majority chose to cross, leaving a few boats steadfastly ignoring the fact that the Hamble side was looking better by the minute, but increasingly difficult to get to! Unfortunately I have no idea what happened for the remainder of that race, with the exception that we stayed glued to pontoon B14 for a lot longer than desired. However, I am reliably informed that Caroline Croft and Beka Jones won the race, with Mark Barnes and Charlotte Jones in second and Will and Rob Henderson in third. Time for lunch!

Day 1 - Race 2:

Mentally bruised, we made our way to the start line, this time aiming to sail forwards for at least the majority of the race. The wind had filled in and the tide had turned allowing for an easier beat up the centre of the river. Crafty Croft and Jones led to the windward mark, followed by Richard Whitworth and Pippa Taylor in second, and Chris Gould and Chris Kilsby in third. In the end, Croft / Jones smashed another bullet, despite having gotten caught in a mooring buoy. Gould / Kilsby took second and Whitworth / Taylor third. Time to watch England – Wales (with heart in mouth for the last ten minutes).

Day 2 – Race 3:

Day two of the Hamble River Warming Pan was also the first Merlin Rocket Silver Tiller of the season, and three additional boats turned up to compete in this restricted water event. The wind had filled in to approximately 10 knots and the race officer had laid a course which included a sail out of the river, four times round a ‘windward-leeward’ course and then a dash back to the finish. With a running start and an incoming tide, the start was not going to be easy. Gould / Kilsby managed to poke their nose in front, leading out of the river, with Tim Fells and Fran Gifford second and Croft / Jones third. At the first mark it became clear that the wind had shifted 30 degrees to starboard, meaning the ‘windward-leeward’ was now a ‘fetch-broad reach’ without much opportunity to overtake. Gould / Kilsby took the win, with Fells / Gifford in second and Croft / Jones in third.

Day 2 – Race 4:

It was still all to play for, with Gould / Kilsby having to take the race win to take the Warming Pan away from Croft / Jones. The course was the same as previously, but with longer (and truer) windward- leeward sausages. Croft / Jones led to the mouth of the river with Fells / Gifford and Gould / Kilsby hot on their heels. By the first mark, Fells / Gifford found an opening and charged through, taking some distance on the rest of the fleet, with Gould / Kilsby in second and Croft / Jones in third. Despite pressure, Fells / Gifford took the win from Gould / Kilsby with (a rum fuelled) Tim Harridge and Lou Johnson third, Andy and Melissa Chapman fourth and Croft / Jones fifth, having decided to get up close and personal with a fisherman’s tackle during the final beat.
 
By Chris Kilsby

Place 

Sail No

Helm

Crew

Name

Points

Race 1

Race 2

Race 3

Race 4







12-Mar

12-Mar

13-Mar

13-Mar

1

3673

Caroline Croft

Beka Jones

The Oldie

5

1

1

3

-5

2

3778

Chris Gould

Chris Kilsby


5

-10

2

1

2

3

3764

Tim Fells

Frances Gifford

Fancy Liquor

7

-11

4

2

1

4

3763

Mark Barnes

Charlotte Jones

Dancing Brave

13

2

5

6

(16/OCS)

5

3690

Tim Harridge

Lou Johnson

General Lee

14

4

7

-11

3

6

3653

Andy Chapman

Melissa Chapman

Artemis

14

5

-11

5

4

7

3539

Dan Alsop

Jennie King

Gangsta Paradise

16

6

6

4

-10

8

36

Richard Whitworth

Pippa Taylor

Faithless

19

9

3

-12

7

9

3726

Will Hendeson

Rob Henderson

Arwen

19

3

-9

7

9

10

3740

Pat Blake

Jill Blake

Why Ask

24

7

8

9

(16/DNC)

11

3656

Olly Turner

Graham Sexton

Wild Card

26

8

10

8

(16/DNC)

12

3756

William Warren

Mark Oakby

Robert

34

(16/DNC)

16/DNC

10

8

13

3719

Jermy Deacon

Alex Jones

Fluff N Stuff

35

(16/DNC)

16/DNC

13

6

14

3704

Jemma Hughes

Martin Hughes

Factory Maid

35

12

12

-14

11

15

3734

Phil Ashworth

Ali Ashworth

The Black Dog

43

(16/DNC)

16/DNC

15

12

 

Provisional ‘Restricted Water’ Silver Tiller Results:

Place

Sail No

Helm

Crew

Name

Points

Race 1

Race 2







13-Mar

13-Mar

1

3764

Tim Fells

Frances Gifford

Fancy Liquor

3

2

1

2

3778

Chris Gould

Chris Kilsby


3

1

2

3

3673

Caroline Croft

Beka Jones

The Oldie

8

3

5

4

3653

Andy Chapman

Melissa Chapman

Artemis

9

5

4

5

3690

Tim Harridge

Lou Johnson

General Lee

14

11

3

6

3539

Dan Alsop

Jennie King

Gangsta Paradise

14

4

10

7

3726

Will Hendeson

Rob Henderson

Arwen

16

7

9

8

3756

William Warren

Mark Oakby

Robert

18

10

8

9

3719

Jermy Deacon

Alex Jones

Fluff N Stuff

19

13

6

10

36

Richard Whitworth

Pippa Taylor

Faithless

19

12

7

11

3763

Mark Barnes

Charlotte Jones

Dancing Brave

22

6

16

12

3656

Olly Turner

Graham Sexton

Wild Card

24

8

16

13

3704

Jemma Hughes

Martin Hughes

Factory Maid

25

14

11

14

3740

Pat Blake

Jill Blake

Why Ask

25

9

16

15

3734

Phil Ashworth

Ali Ashworth

The Black Dog

27

15

12



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