Merlin Rocket Craftinsure Silver Tiller, Vintage and Thames Series at Upper Thames Sailing Club

The day of the Upper Thames Craftinsure Silver Tiller (combined Rowsell Sails Thames Series and Craftinsure Vintage Series event) started perfectly on Sunday 6th September, with Merlin Rocket sailors waking up fresh, well-rested and raring to go. Actually no, sorry that must have been a different event. After a day (and night) of celebrating the class's 80th anniversary there were a few dusty sailors emerging from their tents desperate to rehydrate before a challenging day on the river.

After a perfect westerly breeze on Saturday, the wind had shifted south overnight to give teams a lot more to think about. 27 boats gathered on the shore to discuss the tough launching conditions, and the race team had to decide whether to run flights to create space for everyone. In the end it was decided that we would go ahead with one fleet and a busy start line.

27 line up for Race 1 - Merlin Rocket Craftinsure Silver Tiller at Upper Thames - photo © Tony Ketley

With the south / south-westerly breeze blowing across the river the start was an interesting affair, with boats needing to time their starts perfectly. Someone was caught out by an individual recall but no one went back so there was one disappointed boat finding out their lack of a finish at the end of the race.

Caroline Gould and Anna Aylward popped right out the front of the fleet, catching a gust just right to sail straight into clear air and create a lead that would last for the majority of the race. William Warren and Alex Pausey also had a good start towards the south shoreline alongside Piers Lambert and Sophie Penwarden although Piers and Sophie were unfortunately swallowed up the fleet somewhat.

Shortly after the start - Merlin Rocket Craftinsure Silver Tiller at Upper Thames - photo © Tony Ketley

William and Alex tried something different with many kite hoists and drops as the wind direction kept teasing the possibility of reaching to the windward mark. They kept sailing up to the back of Caroline and Anna, alongside Chris and Pippa Kilsby who also kept in the mix. Chris and Pippa caught up and passed Caroline and Anna at the final mark rounding and skated away downwind to take the win, followed by Caroline and Anna in second.

William and Alex were denied a podium as they were OCS and Mark Barwell and Lou Johnson kept up their boats flying form with third.

The next race followed, however a raft of sailors over the line on the south bank sent the general recall up and a black flag swiftly followed for the next start. The fleet got away on the second start and another challenging race was under way. William and Alex got into an early lead by the first mark rounding, which they held all the way to the finish.

Big gybing angles in front of the club - Merlin Rocket Craftinsure Silver Tiller at Upper Thames - photo © Tony Ketley

Oliver and Emily Houseman and Joe and Tom McLaughlin kept a close battle throughout for second and third place respectively, despite Oliver and Emily not flying a kite, proving that some of the usual rules of sailing should be ignored on the river (e.g. three sails are usually faster than two!).

The second race was finished early for lunchtime and dozens of sweaty sailors descended on the clubhouse for rejuvenating jacket potatoes and restorative slices of cake. Once refreshed, the fleet was back on the water for the final test of their river nous.

With a few sailors in the mix for podium results it was game on. The final race got under way cleanly, with a few boats catching breeze all across the river to make for the closest race of the day. The breeze had started to drop, causing the wide boats to begin struggling more as the narrow boats continued to shine.

Tight mark roundings for all to see on the shore - Merlin Rocket Craftinsure Silver Tiller at Upper Thames - photo © Tony Ketley

Chris Gould and Sophie Mackley finally found their groove, sweeping into an early lead as they skated up the northern shore. They were closely followed by William and Alex, exchanging positions several times before William and Alex took their second bullet of the day. There was a close battle behind for the remaining positions with Chris and Pippa coming through for third place.

William and Alex took the crown with the winning combination of experience and local knowledge. Chris and Pippa were second and won the gold fleet, and Caroline and Anna were third. Oliver and Emily continued their great form to take 4th place overall and winners of the silver fleet, and Peter Slack and Lyla Jacobs won the bronze fleet.

William Warren and Alex Pausey win the Allen Challenge Cup - Merlin Rocket Craftinsure Silver Tiller at Upper Thames - photo © Tony Ketley

Thank you so much to Upper Thames for hosting us, it was an unforgettable experience on the river (and one that my legs don't want to repeat any time soon)!

The next Craftinsure Silver Tiller is at Lymington Town Sailing Club on Sunday 13th September, the next Craftinsure Vintage event is at Hampton on Saturday 19th September, and the Rowsell Sails Thames Event is at Hampton Sailing Club on Sunday 20th September.

Full list of Merlin Rocket events can be found at portal.merlinrocket.co.uk/events

Chris and Pippa Kilsby finish second and first Gold Fleet - Merlin Rocket Craftinsure Silver Tiller at Upper Thames - photo © Tony Ketley

De May Series results from this event:

Allen Challenge Cup:

Close calls on the startline - Merlin Rocket Craftinsure Silver Tiller at Upper Thames - photo © Tony Ketley