Salcombe Yacht Club Merlin Rocket Open Meeting sponsored by Doom Bar
The weekend of 2nd and 3rd April saw 41 crews turn up for the Salcombe Yacht Club edition of the Craftinsure Merlin Rocket Silver Tiller circuit.
South Easterly winds prevailed, always a tricky wind direction in the Salcombe Estuary, but fortunately midday high neap tides gave Race Officer David Greening and his team a few options, without having to repeat any course in the Doom Bar sponsored series.
The first race on Saturday saw an attempt at a regular start, but the threatened Black flag was displayed for the restart with Chris Martin and Matt Biggs taking an early rest on the beach.
Husband and wife team, Mike and Jane Calvert commenced their early domination of the event when the fleet rounded the windward X mark, chased into the Bag by the likes of Stu Bithell and Christian Birrell and Jen and Chris Dodds, to complete two trips to Gerston and a beat back to the finish line to take their first win of the weekend.
With high tide and the better wind at Widegates, after a short beat the fleet raced downwind to the Balcombe mark and sailed a solid beat back to Saltstone then to Gerston and back to the finishing line in the Harbour, once again the Calvert's found the conditions to their liking and were first to emerge into the harbour, a position they held to the finish, to take the win from Chris Gould and Chris Kilsby, with Caroline Croft and Becky Jones taking their second third place of the weekend.
After a big night in the Yacht Club partaking of the sponsor's product, there were many bleary heads ready for the 10.30 start. Bleary is not what you want to be on a light South Easterly wind and those who started on the Portlemouth side appeared blearier than those betting on the Salcombe shore. Legends Jon "Birthday Boy" Turner and Richard Parslow emerged with a comprehensive lead at Blackstone, but were reeled in by the Calverts, Dodds and Simon Potts and Ally Martin; as the wind died the course was shortened with a beat back to the line, with the Calverts covering the Dodds to seal the open meeting victory.
It is a credit to the fleet that the full complement took to the start line on a fading afternoon breeze for the final race. A group of fifteen boats made it to the Millbay mark and broke away from those that had difficulty making the tidal gate, progressing up the harbour in pursuit of more wind, which did not really materialise.
Mindful of not wishing to take the gloss off a good weekend, the race was shortened at Snapes, with current Salcombe Merlin Week Champion Richard Whitworth and Megan Pascoe taking the race with their best result of the weekend from Jon Turner and Richard Parslow.
By David Greening
