Merlin Rocket DeMay Vintage Series at Tamesis Sailing Club

Merlin Rocket DeMay Vintage Series at Tamesis © Marcus Chavasse

A beautiful day, Saturday 17th May, met the eight entrants for the Merlin Rocket Vintage Series open sponsored by Craftinsure at Tamesis, battling for the Southcott and Porteous Cups (Southcott for the overall, Porteous for the winner of the last race).

A rather unusual concern for the race team was what to do with the juvenile grey seal that appears to have taken up residence at Tamesis, taking advantage of the easy-in / easy-out (at least, from a seal's perspective) ramp.

As the crowds built the seal decided it needed a little more peace and quiet and headed off for lunch.

Merlin Rocket DeMay Vintage Series at Tamesis - photo © Marcus Chavasse

A slightly shifty (it's Tamesis, what do you expect?) slight nor' easterly breeze provided near perfect conditions as the five minute gun went, so steady did it seem that one intrepid boat went to have a look at the first mark and then, with two minutes to go, the wind disappeared, leaving them OCS by about ten yards when the hooter went.

The wind meant a beat downriver to Lensbury (set in sight of the clubhouse) and a (just about) spinnaker reach back upriver towards Kingston Bridge, beyond the island (Steven's Eyot) to the downwind mark, Canbury (well beyond sight of the clubhouse).

Andy Harris and Sara Warren (607) made it round the top mark first, closely pursued by fast improving Tim Medcalf and Charlie Morgan (1028).

Masquerade and Avenger were 3rd and 4th after the first lap, and these were the only two boats to change places by the end of the 2nd and last lap.

Andy came home a good few lengths ahead of Tim, with Ken Duffel and Joe Woods in Avenger in third.

Merlin Rocket DeMay Vintage Series at Tamesis - photo © Marcus Chavasse

For the second race the OOD (Peter Fryer) brought the bottom mark in a bit so that we could get three laps in. The wind stayed the same (a special Tamesis version of 'the same'). All were clean away for a grand spectacle from the bank - eight vintage Merlin Rockets (all in beautiful condition) with a combined age of around 300 years, engaged in a close-quarters tacking battle.

Andy and Sara once more sailed away to win, this time with Matt and Arthur P-J coming second in 995 and brothers Peter and Richard Mason coming third in 847.

A brief lunch ashore before the third and final race of the day. Conditions unchanged, no sign of the seal, and no catastrophic breakages enabled all eight to start once more with a repeat of the second race's start, all clean away and close-quarter tacking all the way to the first mark where the first four boats went round within inches of each other, line astern.

Merlin Rocket DeMay Vintage Series at Tamesis - photo © Marcus Chavasse

The wind became fitful, so the ability to spot streaks of ruffled water became a required skill. At one point Andy and Sara were over a hundred yards ahead, then sailed into a hole just before the second rounding of the windward mark allowing Mat P-J and Tim Medcalf to close up, almost within touching distance.

Another slightly less shy spinnaker reach along the Middlesex shore (and right alongside the clubhouse) and back upriver to the Canbury mark.

When the boats hove into view for the final time it was once more Andy and Sara in the lead having re-established a margin of five minutes over Tim in second and then Matt P-J an extra becalmed minute and a half behind that.

No question as to who would take the two cups home - Andy Harris and Sara Warren in the beautifully maintained Crescendo, a mere slip of a girl at 70 years old.

Merlin Rocket DeMay Vintage Series at Tamesis - photo © Marcus Chavasse

Overall Results: