Merlin Rocket Allen South East Series Round 2 at Broadwater Sailing Club

Saturday 13th April saw a growing local fleet of Merlin Rockets at Broadwater Sailing Club joined by eight visiting boats for Round 2 of the Allen SE Series, this, the first time in over 40 years the class has visited the club.

Race one

The first race took place in 7 to 10 knots, a line was set from the shore to a fixed transit on a nearby island which made for a short and entertaining start line. The fleet got away cleanly. I (James Goodfellow) started towards the pin end and the fleet quickly tacked onto port. Half way up the short beat it was clear some sizable shifts/ gusts were playing havoc with the fleet. I think I rounded first followed by Ollie Meadowcroft and Rob Allen with Paul Rayson and Christion Hill in third. It was a two sail fetch to the next mark, and we rounded up onto another beat. Ollie and Rob picked the right shift and tacked early sailing into breeze and pulled through into first. We rounded onto a dead run proceeding to a gybe mark and an interesting 3 sail reach with some significant wind shadows along the way to complete a lap. I think it would be fair to say the rest of the race was fairly chaotic, the aim of the game clearly paying to sail into the pressure. We sailed a couple more laps, however Ollie and Rob maintained the lead, followed by myself and Pete in second and Paul and Christian in third with Paul Dean and Hannah Burt in fourth. It was a seriously tight-fought affair in the mid fleet with Richard Cooke and Hannah Baker demonstrating some fine roll-tacking to take fifth place.

Jeremy Deacon and Peter Walker enjoying the conditions during Merlin Rocket Allen South East Series Round 2 at Broadwater - photo © Rob O'Neill

Race two

The same line was used, however this time the starboard end seemed to be favoured. Ollie and Rob were a little too eager and were called back for an individual recall. Paul Rayson and Christian Hill started well and disappeared into the sunset to win the race by a very long distance. Ollie and Rob who had gone back after the start showed real quality to pull back through the fleet (can someone please cover them or just luff them head to wind next time) and came steaming past me into second on the next lap. The wind had picked up adding to the confusions and crews were now hiking one second and in the bottom of the boat the next. Paul Dean and Hannah Burt showed real quality pulling through to third with myself and Pete in fourth and Richard Cooke and Hannah Baker finishing in fifth.

James Goodfellow and Pete Nicholson during Merlin Rocket Allen South East Series Round 2 at Broadwater - photo © Rob O'Neill

Race three

It was all to play for in the third race. The breeze was up and I could see a couple of teams going for a little more mast rake. I started down the pin end with Geoff Kimber and Helen Kimber just to leeward of me narrowly missing the island/pin end. The first beat was certainly a hectic one with some raised voices... I rounded first with Ollie and Rob in second and Paul and Christian in third. Ollie and Rob worked their magic again and slipped through into first however I did manage to put a little more pressure on them, but they maintained the lead. This time the three sail reach underneath the islands kept everyone on their toes with gusts resulting in little room for error on the lee shore. Ollie and Rob finished in first place with myself and Pete in second and Paul and Christian in third. Richard Cooke and Hannah Baker had their best race of the day finishing in fourth with Paul Dean and Hannah Burt in fifth.

Ollie Meadowcroft and Rob Allen on their way to winning during Merlin Rocket Allen South East Series Round 2 at Broadwater - photo © Rob O'Neill

Ollie Meadowcroft and Rob Allen finished in first overall. Paul Rayson and Christian Hill were second overall with myself (James Goodfellow) and Pete Nicholson in third.

Spot prizes courtesy of Allen were awarded:

• Hannah Baker - 1st junior - Allen shackle key
• Ed Medcalf - 2nd junior - T-shirt
• Geoff and Helen Kimber - Sea sailors loving Lake sailing - Allen wind vane
• Matteo Mancini - crew of the day award - Allen voucher
• Tim and Ed Metcalf - 1st vintage boat - Allen voucher
• Stuart Jenkins & Nicola Scadden - 2nd Classic boat - Allen voucher

The next event on the Allen SE Series is at Fishers Green on Saturday 21st April.

Overall Results: