The weekend of the 23 & 24 April saw the Merlin Rocket class at Mumbles YC for round 6 of the Craftinsure Silver Tiller 2022.
This was an emphatic win for Simon Potts and Sam Mottishead counting three race wins from the four races completed.
Second were Steven Leney and Gillian Leney with 7 points, third Chris Jennings and Pete Nicholson with 8 points and in fourth Paul Rayson and Chris Hill, winners of the opening race, with 10 points.
The Saturday morning breeze – 18 knots and increasing with 30 knot gusts – meant that some decided to stay ashore or return home. And for those that continued it was a wet, bumpy ride.
Pond sailors Paul Rayson and Chris Hill showed off their considerable survival skills, to take a clear win, while all about them were practicing their capsize routines.
By the finish, the wind was gusting over 30 knots and the race team wisely decided to abandon for the rest of the day.
Sunday morning provided blue skies and a gentle breeze of 5 to 10 knots, the sort of conditions that show off the Merlin fleet’s nip and tuck skills, with Potts and Mottishead excelling to claim three race wins and overall victory.
A big thank you to Mumbles YC for another great weekend on and off the water.
Merlin Rocket Silver Tiller No. 6 – Mumbles YC (17 entries)
1st 3802 Simon Potts and Sam Mottishead – Burghfield SC -5 1 1 1 – – 3 pts
2nd 3716 Steven Leney and Gillian Leney – Blithfield SC -18 2 2 3 – – 7 pts
3rd 3775 Chris Jennings and Pete Nicholson – Burghfield SC -3 3 3 2 – – 8 pts
4th 3799 Paul Rayson and Chris Hill – Fishers Green SC 1 -5 5 4 – – 10 pts
5th 3746 James Wells and Anna Aylward – RYA 2 -10 6 5 – – 13 pts
6th 3745 Paul Dean and Hannah Burt – Wembley SC -8 4 7 6 – – 17 pts
7th 3662 Nigel Hudson and Freya Hudson – Bartley SC 4 8 -10 7 – – 19 pts
8th 3727 Mark Stockbridge and Chris Sanders – Upper Thames SC 7 -9 4 9 – – 20 pts
9th 3749 Colin Anderson and Matt Biggs – Blithfield SC 6 6 9 -10 – – 21 pts
10th 3805 Mark Reddington and Michelle Evans – Bartley SC -18 7 8 11 – – 26 pts
11th 3698 David Downs and Ros Downs – Tata Steel SC -18 11 11 8 – – 30 pts
12th 3567 Martin Smith and Karen Beston – Blithfield SC -18 12 13 12 – – 37 pts
13th 3792 Alistair McDonald and Lydia Bourne – Berwick upon Tweed -18 13 12 18 – – 43 pts
Next up the Silver Tiller heads to Rock Sailing Club on the 30 April.
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