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Merlin Rocket Craftinsure Silver Tiller Series at Royal Norfolk & Suffolk Yacht Club Newcombe Cup

by Ben Hollis 1 Sep 2022 03:52 PDT 28 August 2022
Merlin Rocket Craftinsure Silver Tiller at the Royal Norfolk & Suffolk Yacht Club Newcombe Cup © Jenny Riley

Fourteen Merlin Rockets arrived for day two of our double Craftinsure Silver Tiller header weekend, a chance for crews to secure a Restricted and Sea result. Teams were greeted by a light NE breeze with crack of the flag's sunshine.

After our extremely informative briefing by PRO Jenny Riley, Duncan Salmon organised the launching procedure which may I add worked perfectly, to get all 14 Merlins out of the busy harbour.

Race 1 with lovely sunshine and very light winds saw Matt Biggs and Beka Jones start where they left off on Saturday popping clear of the fleet to round windward mark in the lead, followed closely by Caroline Croft and Tim Harms. Rounding off the top three was Steve and Gill Leney. This left the rest of the fleet battling it out and exchanging places throughout the race. Matt and Beka extended the lead they had gained from the start with Caroline and Tim finishing second and Steve and Gill holding on to third.

Race 2 eventually got away after a few recalls with the NE breeze was slowly starting to build crews were finally able to sit out. This time a triangle sausage course was set and out the blocks quickly was Dan Alsop and Pete Nicholson rounding first in hot pursuit by Matt and Beka. Caroline and Tim were a comfortable third.

As the race progressed Matt and Beka hooked up the shifts and sailed clear into the lead, with Caroline and Tim chasing them down in second. A very tight race for third between Ben Hollis and Alex Pausey, Dan and Pete, Duncan Salmon and Ruth Hanstater ending with only a few boat lengths between them. Ben and Alex just sneaked in front rounding out the top three.

Race 3 was sailed in a NE breeze as forecast of 10ish knots. A triangle/sausage course set by the race officer. This time poking there nose out in front at the windward mark was Ben and Alex. Matt and Beka a very close second followed by Chris Martin and John Tailby.

As the race progressed with very tight battles at the front and midfield, Matt and Beka soon got the better of Ben and Alex securing the win, with Chris and John with a solid third place.

Special thanks to the race officer and all volunteers that helped to make the weekend possible, it was wonderful to be back after a few years away. We look forward to returning.

Next up the Craftinsure Silver Tiller heads to Starcross Yacht Club on 17th and 18th September. Online www.starcrossyc.org.uk/open-events/opens

Overall Results:

PosFleetSail NoHelmCrewR1 R2 R3 Pts
1stPlatinum3801Matt BiggsBeka Jones1212
2ndGold3787Chris MartinJohn Tailby31DNF4
3rdPlatinum3803Caroline CroftTim Harms2324
4thSilver3702Duncan SalmonRuth Hanstater7437
5thGold3539Dan AlsopPete Nicholson4569
6thSilver3730Ben HollisAlex Pausey87512
7thGold3716Steve LeneyGill Leney66DNF12
8thSilver3749Colin AndersonAnna Aylward58DNF13
9th Silver3815Mark BarwellLouise Johnson1010414
10thSilver3569Ben LulhamSam Lulham99716
11thBronze3547Peter MaleTim Male1412921
12th  3152Mike SteeleDebs Steele12131022
13thBronze3619Guy BrowneGreg Martin1111DNF22
14thBronze3088Andrew MillsEllie Mills1716824
15thBronze2037Richard BurtonMariella Burton Moore15141125
16th 3506Graham WebbSimon Pollard16151227
17th 2972Nick CrickmoreJamie Dobson1317DNF30
Classic ‑ Oulton Broad ‑ 27.08.2022
PosSail NoClubHelmNameCrewNameR1R2R3 
1st3539Lyme Regis SCDan AlsopPete Nicholson‑111 
2nd3569 Ben LulhamSam Lulham‑222 
3rd3547Blithfield SCPeter MaleTim Male‑333 
4th3506 Graham WebbSimon Pollard‑444 
Vintage ‑ Oulton Broad ‑ 27.08.2022
PosSail NoClubHelmNameCrewNameR1R2R3 
1st3152SESCAMike SteeleDebs Steele11‑2 
2nd3088Hampton SCAndrew MillsEllie Mills‑431 
3rd2037Medley SCRichard BurtonMariella Burton‑323 
4th2972 Nick CrickmoreJamie Dobson24(DNF) 

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