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Merlin Rocket Craftinsure Silver Tiller Round 4 at Starcross Yacht Club

by Matt Biggs 4 Jun 22:20 NZST 1-2 June 2024

The weekend of the 1st and 2nd of June was officially the start of summer and boy was it, as the Merlin Rocket Craftinsure Silver Tiller headed to sunny Starcross Yacht Club.

The first race star was due at 1230, however, the water didn't arrive, so a delay for an hour. Race 1 kicked off at 1.30 in a fantastic 15 to 20 knots and sunshine. The order of the day was three windward leeward courses to save bouncing off sea bed, which was achieved by all.

The racing during the day was really, really close, 'sausage' courses really keep the fleet compact. Race 1 was pretty much dominated by Chris Gould 'Gouldy' and Sophie Mackley with Ed Chapman and Sam Brearey, Ollie Meadowcroft and Pete Nicholson not far behind.

Race 2 Will and Arthur Henderson did a stunning port flyer and were gone, race over!! Mike and Jane Calvert got going with a 2nd, Ed and Sam constantly up there with a 3rd.

In the final race of the day, we (Matt Biggs and Beka Jones) finally got going and even led for a while, but not when it counted. Gouldy and Sophie first again, Matt and Beka second, Mike and Jane third.

Day 2, what a day, not a cloud in the sky, a bit of a breeze and a late start (time to recover from Saturday night) perfect.

Racing was again delayed for an hour, waiting for the water, but eventually got away at 2ish. Dave Lee and Angela Bridges nailed the first boat to lead around the first mark, followed by Matt and Beka with Mike and Jane on their tail.

By the end Matt and Beka took the win with Mike and Jane in second, giving them an overall meeting by one point. Dave and Angela did incredibly well to hold on and take the third, who says local knowledge doesn't help?

With a cut-off time to start race 5 at 4pm and the wind dying, the race officer decided to call it a day and we headed in to sit in the sunshine.

A big thank-you to Starcross Yacht Club Russell Gibbs PRO and his race team and in particular to Stave Harling for putting on a great event and making us all very welcome.

Also thanks to our series sponsor Craftinsure for their continued support and to CF by L and L for sponsoring this year's SW Series.

The next Craftinsure Silver Tiller is at Whitstable on the 22nd and 23rd June and the next SW Series is at Weymouth Sailing Club on 28th and 29th September.

Overall Results:

PosSail NoHelmCrewClubFleetR1R2R3R4Pts
1st3691Mike CalvertJane CalvertAxe YCplatinum‑72327
2nd3803Chris GouldSophie MackleyShoreham SCplatinum161‑88
3rd3801Matt BiggsBeka JonesBartley SCplatinum5‑11218
4th3782Ed ChapmanSam Brearey platinum234‑119
5th3726Will HendersonArthur HendersonSalcombe YCplatinum61‑8411
6th3775Ollie MeadowcroftPete NicholsonBrightlingsea SCgold3‑87616
7th3820Caroline GouldLivvy BellHampton SCplatinum845‑1717
8th3796William WarrenCharlotte StewartShoreham SCgold‑956920
9th3779Dave LeeAngela BridgesStarcross YCsilver10‑169322
10th3746James WellsAnna AylwardRYAplatinum41010‑1824
11th3676Frances GiffordRory GiffordSalcombe YCgold(RET)911525
12th3641Mark WaterhouseIsabelle StewartSalcombe YCGold‑15712726
13th3749Colin AndersonSean AndersonBartley SCgold111413‑1938
14th3627Ali WallaceCatriona WallaceSouth Cerney SCbronze12‑18141339
15th3797Mark ElkingtonSarah RobertsStarcross YCsilver(RET)12171241
16th3721Nick TurnerCarly GurrStarcross YCbronze1413‑151542
17th3716Steven LeneyGillian LeneyBlithfield scgold(DNS)15DNF1047
18th3785Robin CharlesOliver HuntStarcross YCbronze131718‑2048
19th3813Steve HarlingEleanor ThomasStarcross YCbronze16‑19161648
20th3718Vyv GameSimon DeeksStarcross YCbronze172019‑2156
21st3539Dan AlsopJenny KingLyme Regis SCsilver(DNS)DNSDNS1458

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