Salcombe Gin Merlin Rocket Week 2019 - Day 2

Early morning on day 2 of the Salcombe Gin Merlin Week and there was mist lying in the valleys of the estuary. By the start time the gradient F2 Easterly had cut down to the water, providing some lovely sailing conditions under clearing skies.

For those who had attended the briefing there was a new and important notice. The dreaded Fairway would come into force a full thirty minutes before the start. Unfortunately, this fact was missed by Christian Birrell and Sam Brearey who sailed straight in with 20 minutes to the start and promptly added a DSQ to their first race BFD. It could be a long week in the bar for these two top sailors!

Red v Blue flights. Course sailed: 4,2,3,1,3,2

Sailed over the top of the tide the fleet behaved themselves and got away cleanly. Alex Jackson and Mary Henderson soon tacked to clear their air and found some more lifting pressure towards the Ferry Landing to cross the fleet and start to pull clear ahead. This light weight team have devastating boat speed in the lighter breeze and put it to good effect to extend a 300 metre lead by the run down to Blackstone.

Behind them Si Blake and Phil Dalby were going nicely in a battle against Pete Ballantine with Rob Allen and Dave Winder with Liv Bell. Slowly Taxi and Pippa Kilsby ate into this group and were pushing for second as they ran to Blackstone.

Salcombe Gin Merlin Rocket Week 2019 day 2 - photo © Mark Jardine / YachtsandYachting.com

Blackstone was sitting in an area of no wind between the gradient running down the harbour and a SE gradient/sea breezy thing coming into the mouth of the harbour. Alex and Mary had a heart stopping moment as they stopped and their large lead disappeared but kept their cool to get back into the harbour gradient to extend away again. Si and Phil just kept ahead of Pete and Rob with Taxi and Pippa falling back behind Tim Saxton and Holly Scott.

PRO for the day Simon Dobson wisely chose to shorten the course with a run to Mill Bay rather than Blackstone to avoid the no wind zone. Alex and Mary held on to take a bullet to go with their second place on Sunday. Pete and Rob did very well for a heavier team to battle through to second ahead of Si and Phil. Dave Winder and Liv Bell were a strong fourth ahead of Tim and Holly recovering from their race one BFD with a good counter in fifth. Olly Turner and Sam Mottershead, also BFD on day one, pioneered the town side on the beat back from Blackstone to close out a top six result.

In a notable result, Will and Arthur Hendorson who had taken a day one bullet and had been languishing in the twenties for most of the race, took advantage of the park up at Blackstone to climb through into seventh ahead of Taxi and Pippa who had a difficult end to their race.

Salcombe Gin Merlin Rocket Week 2019 day 2 - photo © Mark Jardine / YachtsandYachting.com

Green v Black flights. Course sailed: N,2,N,X

Over the lunch break the transition zone between SE gradient/sea breezy thing and the gradient Easterly moved up the harbour and it briefly looked like the afternoon would be a cracker of a sail. However, the transition zone stalled on its path up the estuary and backed up to sit on the start line. After much head scratching, the race team decided to start the fleet to the south and let the ebb tide, which was in full flow, take them in the direction of a solid breeze. In the lead up to the start there was the strange sight of most of the fleet trying to run away from the line. Remarkably it was a clean start.

Richard Whitworth and Jemima Scroggie nailed the start in the middle of the line and led the race down tide and out to mark N in the middle of the harbour mouth. They were closely followed by Roger and Jane Gilbert, Mike and Jane Calvert, Simon and Ally Potts and Tim Fells and Fran Gifford.

Salcombe Gin Merlin Rocket Week 2019 day 2 - photo © Mark Jardine / YachtsandYachting.com

The run back to Mill Bay mark had the fleet dodging rocks and sand bars. While the leading bunch pulled away in their own race, the chasing 50 boats all ended up approaching the mark line abreast. There proved to be insufficient room for all the boats to fit between the mark and Mill Bay beach and the spectators on the beach speculated that they could run across the foredecks out to the mark and back. The Jury boat were in a flurry of flags and whistles to which the popular response was a resigned shrug. Four teams are being called to the room tomorrow to answer to their crimes!

Meanwhile at the head of the fleet, racing was continuing amongst the tightly bunched leaders. Richard and Jemima held their lead until, off Mill Bay, Roger and Jane brought a gust up from behind to take the lead. A tight reach across the harbour to X mark off the Ferry pub terrace produced no further dramas. Roger and Jane took the bullet to add to their third on Sunday, Richard and Jemima were second to be joint overnight leaders, Mike and Jane added a third to their first race second and Simon and Ally were fourth. Tim and Fran put their first race BFD behind them with a counter in fifth ahead of Chris Jennings and John Hackett.

The forecast for Tuesday is for a light northeaster but with wall-to-wall sunshine there is every prospect of a sea breeze developing.

Salcombe Gin Merlin Rocket Week 2019 day 2 - photo © Mark Jardine / YachtsandYachting.com

Results after day 2:

Alex Jackson and Mary Henderson are second overall after day 2 of Salcombe Gin Merlin Rocket Week 2019 - photo © Tim Fells