Merlin Magic Essex - Vintage Whitstable

This weekend saw the Whitstable open, a two day four race affair, sailed in the most demanding but stunning conditions. The wind form the West 12 to 20 knots, very shifty and an ebbing tide in brilliant sunshine.
As always the club had a warm welcome for visitors and the bar and galley was humming, being at the heart of club life.
This year the race team was in the hands of ex-Merlin sailor Jon Silk (a man not to be messed with) who did the club proud setting an excellent course and not keeping the fleet hanging about. By the time the start flag fell the sea was offering up a sporty Whitstable chop but nowhere as good as race two with the tide now on the flood against the wind, this is what the venue is famed for, the chop being able to stop a Thames barge, but for the Merlins it was play time. However surprisingly a number of the home fleet ended up laying with the fishes. The rumour is that practice for the Diving Duck team trophy at Looe was required.
The leaders of the fleet put up a stunning performance of boat handling and reading of the wind shifts with Glen and Olly coming out the winner from Roger and Ellie.
The mid fleet bulge, as it rounded the race marks, was a tough place to be with some very interesting and creative/artistic interpretations of the sailing rules and some brilliant get out of jail boat handling in the most testing conditions (and not a turn being required). It may well be that the plastic fantastic boats bounce of one another better than the wooden boats and maybe the terrifying sound of splitting tearing crunching ply and mahogany is gone for ever (hurray).
We can see from the results that the race to be in the top half of the fleet was as hard as it has ever been with Alex and Rachel 15th making the cut with 43 points and John and Hilary with equal 43 points, Tudor and Hamish on 44 as were Phil and Karen, finishing 16th, 17th and 18th
For Mr John Cooper (respect given) there was consolation for the race with the Bottle of Red prize. Jacko and Lorna handed over the bottle counting some 14 points higher score, but as Jacko said “it’s never over till it’s over” and John who has now room in a separate rack in his new wine seller accepted the bottle and disappeared.
It is scary to see the national champion, open meeting winners and top club racers who build the mid fleet and is a credit to them that they still have the ambition and determination to win races in a fleet of up and coming sailor that the Merlin fleet are blessed with, it is racing at it best.

Picture: thanks to Al Wigg. John adds to his wine seller as Jacko hides the tears

Notables: Jacko and Lorna were the only boat in race team Essex.
Glen did not mount the windward mark! It just moved out the way as he passed it
The Polish crew that JC set-up to crew Jacko on the Sunday did speak English (and was a splendid bloke with a good sense of humour as shown when Jacko understood the windward mark loosing four more places)

Next race is on the 6th in the Who is cutting the Custard series
Full Results

Merlin Magic Essex

The Silver Tiller series arrived at Brightlingsea for a five-race event on the weekend of the 21st
The skies were grey and the wind, 6 to 12 knots from Holland, had a salty sharp edge to it. The Brightlingsea club management is second to none, with the ladies of the galley sending out trays full of bacon buttes, tea and coffee. There is a friendliness about the club that makes you feel that you have always been there.
Alan Hicks was the man in charge and lead the BSC race team very well. The start line was controllable and had just enough pin end carrot to prevent the committee boat rafting. The fleet of 25 boats started well and with the position of windward mark (nods a wink dead centre) the fleet was tempted to the Clacton side of the course to escape a soft tide, but some shift in the wind to the Bradwell side tempted the hopefuls back into the middle; the sea was as ever a bubble rap of boat stopping slop.
In race one William and Chris crunched the numbers right and quickly pulled out an unbeatable lead, and with the bright red kite set against grey skies looked stunning and very fast.
In race 2 we saw the Merlins in much more buoyant frame of mind with the fleet crashing the line in fine style and rendering the fleet another viewing of the black flag. But not to be put off the fleet hit the line on mass to be shown the general recall flag. It was on the 3rd starting that Simon and Phil had a much tighter race with Glen and Olly, as now the ebbing tide gathered pace and caught out boats not guarding their tail end. The downhill finishes with the short leg, having rounded the leeward mark, to the finish line made an interesting spectacle with some last minute jibes with boats on port and starboard; many places were won and lost.
Sunday sadly the sounds of clanking halyards and the whistling winds through the rigging foretold the end of play. Thank God that common sense prevailed for with little water in the creek and fixed foils and tribes of white horses galloping up the Colne River no repair estimates are required!
This left the top three boats on equal points and Simon and Phil the winners.
Notables: Dave and Celia the BSC leading boat sailed well and finished in front of two Merlin rock stars. scoring a 10th and 9th this is no mean feet and respect is given.
Ozzie and Melissa had their down and up moments, but finished more up than down and also showing a pleasing boat speed with Melissa’s very concentrated spinnaker work paying off.
Jacko is still pulling the line on the importance of not peeking to early and, with Lorna’s signing skills have got a new interpretation of what the starting flags really mean.
Ron and Elizabeth did beat Simon and Pies.
It should be said that race team Brightlingsea did the Merlins open well, both on and off the water and we look foreword to a return trip in 2009.

Silver Tiller series results sponsored by Speed Sails
1st Simon Blake and Phil Dalby 4 points
2nd William Warren and Chris Robinson 4 points
3rd Glen Trusswell and Olly Turner 4 points
4th David Winder and Pippa Taylor 9 points
5th Matt Biggs and Rob Kennaugh 9 points
6th Tudor Owen and Hamish Kilburn 14 points

Osea Cup 2008

The Harlow (Blackwater) S.C. Maylandsea Bay saw the start of the Osea Cup trophy the second of the four joint club trophies raced for annually. The tide was soft and a 4 to 12 knot breeze setting north-to-north east in sunshine and blue skies
After an un-signalled delay Jacko and Lorna won the start and led on the short hop to Bay race mark and on rounding there followed a long tight three sail reach to Mundon spit and the relatively short windward leg to top of Osea Island.
Mark and Barry (505) took up the lead as they passed Mundon spit with Malcolm and Tony (Fireball) recovering from a dramatic start which included appearing to be very frisky and in butt kicking mode but sadly ended in mounting the jetty mark, leaving it on the wrong side but sailing a good three sailer to round the Mundon Race mark second. A boat on boat battle with Jacko and Lorna to the top of Osea kept them in touch and it was still race on; but sadly on the down wind leg past the Skumbles, Malcolm lost time to Jacko, but holding time on Batty and Barry.
The race was won as Batty and Barry as they fought with the wind shadow to the south of Osea eventually getting a goodly gust of wind that saw them speed away for the island and into Mundon creek with the kite up leaving the trailing fleet for dead to win the Osea Cup Trophy.
Jacko and Lorna made a good start but in a blond moment nearly left Mundon race mark out and making a pig’s ear out of the doldrums to the south of Osea, appeared to struggle up Mundon creek dropping the kite at one time! Then re-hoisting it, and then adding time by sailing the posted course, were lucky to finish 2nd
Malcolm and Tony as usual sailed a good race but could not get enough puff to do the buis to finish 3rd
As at the time of righting this report H(B)SC have not posted the results.
Notables: Ron having put L in the family way has now started working on a very handy new front-end girl, Elizabeth King. As is the way of sailing the Osea Cup was the first race for the new pairing where the wind was not blowing old boots. Ron in his excitement re-inacted the Poseidon Adventure in all its drama and sorrow. Having left the jetty and travelling quite quickly but un-noted by Ron the boat was already on it’s way to the bottom and as the boat crashed into a moored obstruction, first the gunwale, then the transom slid below the waves, Ron now clutching the detached rudder blade noticed that the centre board was neatly tucked away the its case. And explaining to the now rather wet crew, that it was always the crew’s duty to see that he knew that he had not requested, “plate” and returning to salvage the boat, by beaching it on the jetty to remove the water, was the norm and better than climbing out through the hole cut in the bottom.
The Sandhoppers felt that as opposed to the last Joint Clubs Trophy race, which had short racing legs and was too hard! this ninety-minute race around Osea Island was far too risky, as they might well not get back in time for lunch.

East point Osea Island

Merlin Magic Essex

Another coming together of the Blackwater Merlins took place at Brightlingsea S.C. this weekend. It was displacement sailing at its best with a shifty light breeze from the north on a gentle tide. Race team Bond had it all their own way with the competition finding new and odd ways to mess up a fairly easy starting day. It should be said that Craig and Jayne treat the club start line as it was their own back yard and after them you can be next to start. Jacko has already worked out that the line is always 10cm in front of Craig’s stem on the gun even if the line has passing river traffic and so many boats that you cannot see either bank/race box or transits. Needless to say Craig and Jayne won both starts and quickly built healthy leads showing good boat pace on all point of sailing resulting in two bullets and the series leaders.
Ozzie and Mel, Mel ducking out on the days racing on account of not binge drinking and never having had a hangover (ever) following her 21st? 31st? Birthday fest the day before, put in club star Sarah Bines. Ozzie, who was affected by the booze up and the neat spinnaker disaster, involving a new and interesting reefing system with no knots showing, but more twists than you could shake a stick at, or the team of medics that were called to resolve the monty on the preceding day and put to to restore some respect. It was Ozzie and Sarah that were nearest to sorting Craig. Finding good boat speed and nippy boat handling around the mark but could not quite ruining Craig’s day, finishing with a 3rd and 2nd and 2nd overall.
Jacko and Lorna had some good bits and some very ordinary bits. Not getting the idea of starting in front of Craig or any one else! And come to think on it, not even the one legged draft sliding sideways in the mud on the slipway left too much to do. But as is the way of things managed to wiggle past Ozzie and Dave by doing the opposite of what was expected on the long wind ward leg and finally cross tacking within a boat length of Craig at the top, but oddly still going in the wrong direction, to finish 2nd. In the second race things started to fall apart somewhat! dropping 3rd to 4th by quite a long margin and ending 3rd overall.
David and Celia lead the way in how not to start but did explore all parts of the line from every direction. But it was noted that boat handling and the speed about the boat put them right back in the race within seconds of starting. It’s tough boy racing, every error is boat lengths and trying to keep in the race is edgy at the best, and on a day of variable winds it can be grim. David and Celia are a very polished duo with heaps of sailing talent and are neatly posed to kick butt big time and when you’re down you can only go up and with only 4 point from top too bottom it is race on.

Thanks to Al Wigg for the Pics

On the 21st/22nd the Merlin Rocket Silver Tiller Series comes to Brightlingsea for the first time. Ozzie and his team are a well-sorted club and no mater what the conditions are it will be the best that you will get in Essex this year. The sailing water is testing and the Adnams beer is well cared for. Car parking is no problem and the showers work (and the club is Barnsie proof); the ladies in the galley are not to be messed with, even Ozzie and Jacko say please and thank you. If the reader needs anything just ask.
The laugh is that Craig is looking to escape on the grounds that he is needed somewhere else. A better line than “I am moving house” “I have to be at an exhibition for work” and is he going to lend his boat to a Fireball sailor? Will any of the sounding Merlin sailors appear? David, Charles Simon, Ron, John.

The 6th July is the next race and we will see just who is cutting the custard at Brightlingsea.
Results so far
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The Mayland Mug Trophy

Maylandsea Bay S.C. ran the Mayland Mug Trophy Race on the 1st June. It was a light airs displacement sailing affair in a NE to E 2-8 knots on a soft running tide under grey skies.
It was the first of four Mayland/Harlow (Blackwater) joint trophy races and sadly not well supported by either club. The biggest disappointment was the Sandhopper class that felt that the light airs and in the bay/creek course would be too demanding for them to race on!
H(B)SC put out six assorted dinghies with MBSC fielding six more. The windward start against the tide passing the spit can to port resulted in a rafting at the windward end of the line and the door open for the smarty pants who hit the line in the right place. It was noted that the return of the H(B)SC fleet would indicate that not much has changed with boats being too early on the line and going the wrong way up the beat with no regard for tide and the wind bends around the boat yard pontoons.
Jacko and Lorna showed a measure of skill and picked up on the lifts and quickly broke clear not to be seen again and with well-practised spinnaker work and only thwacking of one race mark had a good day.
Martin Tarling in his Laser recovered well from a poor start and as usual did a very workman like job on staying in the wind patches and with smooth tacking and boat handling finished 2nd
Dave Islin and Don Ares in the Fireball (not a great Fireball day) made a good start and was clear of the pack and with his gentle words of wisdom and encouragement bouncing off the marina to Don and the rest of the fleet, kept all those sailing on their toes, to finish 3rd

Notables: Nick Longshanks in a Laser made a brilliant start and had a well sorted first beat rounding the Jetty mark in front the faster boats but with shifty winds sadly slipped out the back door.
Jan Nuttall sailing a Pico (not a great Pico day) had her moments but along with the new boys on the block also in a Pico failed to finish but did show that the Pico can mix it with the faster boats.
All in all it was a tough day at the office and the first light airs day for a long time. The next trophy race is at H(B)SC on the 15th at 9:45 and it will be race on as it is the Osea Cup a race around Osea Island and we should assume that the Ballers will be burning seaweed on the jetty in hope that the winds blow heartily and they don’t have to think too much. Lets hope we see the Sandhoppers in the race for there must be enough time and distance to get their kites flying.

For full results
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