Aspire Merlin Rocket National Championship at Looe Sailing Club - Day 5

Aspire Merlin Rocket Nationals at Looe day 5 © Neil Richardson

Aspire Merlin Rocket Nationals at Looe day 5 © Neil Richardson

The penultimate day of the Aspire Merlin Rocket Championships saw another two races and was again a glamorous day on the water. Winds from the SW around 8-12 knots with five degree shifts under mainly sunny skies was the order of the day.

The first race was for the Ranelagh Trophy, where the first 21 boats each receives a bottle of bubbly, very generously sponsored again by Winder Boats, the class's main builder.

The boats that started at the pin had some line bias and it was Taxi and Pippa who were able to get onto port to cross the fleet, while Christian and Sam carried on to almost the port lay line where they benefited from a bit of a left hander. Meanwhile on the right of the course Tim and Jodie Saxton were looking very good. As has been the story of the week, Christian and Sam did just enough to squeeze round ahead and were able to extend from Taxi and Pippa over the full five lap course.

By winning their fourth race of the week Christian and Sam had done enough to secure their second Merlin Rocket title with two races to spare. Their performance has been of the highest class combining consistent boat speed to just eke out those important boat lengths on the tight first beat, with great tactical positioning and boat handling. They are by far the most practiced team in the fleet and it is clear that despite the vast talent in the Merlin fleet at present, practice does make perfect.

Behind Christian and Sam, Taxi and Pippa were second ahead of Roger Gilbert and James Stewart who are putting together a typically strong set of top end results. Ben and Roz McGrane closed out another solid fourth ahead of Ian Sharps and Alex Warren who just got their noses in front of our correspondent at the final mark.

Aspire Merlin Rocket Nationals at Looe day 5 - photo © Neil Richardson

The second race for the Top Hat Trophy again saw a bout of second race fever. Just as on Wednesday the fleet were pulling the trigger early and the Black Flag was unfurled. The most prominent casualty were the Chrises Gould and Kilsby who were in line for a podium finish. Having lost a race to a broken mast they must now pray for the final race to be sailed and the second discard to come (which is not altogether certain with a light easterly forecast).

With Christian and Sam now sporting their yellow jerseys for the first time and clearly in a relaxed mood, the door was open for others to go for the win. Taxi and Pippa need no such invitation and turned on the after-burners to lead around the first mark and do a horizon job on the fleet. There was no looking back and the race was on for second place. Dave and Vicky Lenz were going extremely well but were not able to hold back Christian and Sam, taking a very well-earned third. Roger and James took another top five position ahead of Nick Craig and Tobytastic.

Aspire Merlin Rocket Nationals at Looe day 5 - photo © Neil Richardson

Overall, the battle for the podium positions is very tight between Taxi/Pippa, Roger/Stewart and Nick/Toby, all of who are previous Merlin champions.

In Silver Fleet, George and Sophie Yeoman have continued their excellent form, regularly appearing at the front end of the fleet. In Bronze John Cooper and Becki Wigley are keeping their noses in front.

The locals are not positive about the conditions for Friday but we are hopeful that the forecast Easterly will give us the chance for a final race with a lot up for grabs.

Results after Day 5:

Find out more at merlinrocketchamps.com