Merlin Rocket National Championship at Tenby Sailing Club - Runners and Riders
by Chris Jennings 31 Jul 2024 01:39 PDT
11-16 August 2024
2013 Rooster Merlin Rocket Nationals at Tenby © Alistair Mackay
The summer of sport reaches a crescendo 11-16 August when the Merlin Rocket class descend on the popular championship venue of Tenby in South Wales.
A strong entry list of over 70 teams are currently fine tuning the abundance of string in their boats wondering if there's room to attach just one more control to the one-string system seeking that race winning edge (or just some bling to impress the onlookers). I feel it in my bones that this year will be a classic.
Before we get to the people, let's talk about the venue...
In between deadlines and commitments with life/work, I did 5 mins of research and discovered that Tenby boasts a rich history. Originally Tenby was known as "Dinbych-y-pysgod" which (for reasons unknown - I should have done more research) means "Little Fortress of the Fish". The town evolved from a medieval stronghold to a notorious pirate haven - Dan Alsop would feel right at home there. By the 19th century, Tenby transformed into a Victorian holiday destination, drawing tourists with its sandy beaches and picturesque harbour. During World War II, its shores served as practice grounds for the D-Day landings. The next chapter of Tenby's history will be written in August, who will Tom Hanks be cast as in the Hollywood remake of the Merlin Rocket Aspire Nationals 2024?
Anyway back to the flesh and bone. Spoiler alert there's strength in depth throughout the fleet and somebody told me this shouldn't be a long story so I won't mention too many people. Suffice to say there are some big names in the entry list, several with more than 15 letters.
I'd need to be out of my mind if I didn't speculate on the potential winners, the obvious picks would include these folks: Christian Birrell & Sam Brearey; Andy "Taxi" Davis & Ollie Meadowcroft; Stu Bithell & Tom Pygall; and Ben Saxton & Matt Rainback.
With the class's rich heritage, there are many trophies to compete for at a Merlin Rocket nationals. In addition to the individual race prizes there are 16 "category" trophies covering age, gender, mass(!), relationships, club allegiance and more.
And... there are four fleets: Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze. You're going to need a fresh long drink for the prize-giving and a trip to the "facilities" beforehand is worthwhile.
The battles for the fleet prizes add extra spice to the week, let's look at that!
The Gold fleet looks particularly competitive, we look forward to the many talented sailors (too many to mention) facing up to the might of Team Warren (Alex, Will and Sophie, crewed by Jonty Freeman, Charlotte Fildes and George Bender respectively). Grab the popcorn for that one.
In Silver might we see Jones vs Jones (inspired by the Kool & The Gang classic) as Andy and Maddie take on Ben Jones and Helen Hilditch. Geoff and Helen Kimber could be the killers of that party if they aren't down the driving range practicing for Thursday's golf tournament.
The Bronze teams will no doubt making themselves seen and heard, particularly Huw Reynolds crewed by fashion pioneer Phil Scott. Nigel and Freya Hudson often have good results and Gavin Willis, sailing with Bettine Harris, returns in his self-built boat packed with innovations.
Oh yeah by the way if you want to see Merlin Rockets sailing at Tenby 30 years ago, check out the excellent YouTube footage of the 1994 championships won by the very sadly missed Richard Estaugh and the legendary Neil Thompson:
We have a fabulous social calendar too!
- Saturday: Briefing followed by Commodore's Reception 1900
- Sunday: Crew's union 20:00 Prizegiving 2100
- Monday: Prizegiving 2100
- Tuesday: 19:00 BBQ at the club, 2x tickets included in entry extras £12ph Prizegiving 2100
- Wednesday: 19:00 Fancy dress and Disco - Come as your boat name Prizegiving 2100
- Thursday: MROA GK Engineering Golf tournament - 16:30 FULL. In the Welsh Wind Gin tasting at the club tickets £18.00 tickets available at registration. Daily prize-giving 2100.
- Friday Main prize-giving and band Prizegiving 18:00. Food will be available at the club.
Events of this scale can't happen without the support of sponsors and the Merlin Rocket fleet are proud to have the support of Aspire, Allspars, In The Welsh Wind, Becky Bettesworth, and CF by L and L, and GK Engineering - see links below.
Check back in August for the updates to find out which team ends up the on top after the scheduled 10 races!
Sponsors:
aspirefinancialadvisers.co.uk
www.allspars.co.uk
inthewelshwind.co.uk
beckybettesworth.co.uk
www.cfbylandl.com
gkengineering.co.uk