X

Result Details

Event name: RUTLAND CHALLENGE FOR THE JOHN MERRICKS TIGER TROPHY
Date: 05 February 2011
Type:
Club: Rutland Sailing Club
Classtype:Handicap , see more results

After 13 years of trying, the £1,000 cheque to the first team to win all races at the John Merricks Tiger Trophy has gone to Andy Smith and Tim Needham, who conquered some fierce conditions in their 505 this weekend.

Some competitors were surprised when race officer David Wilkins, an Olympic silver medallist, decided to send sailors out for the three handicap races on Saturday. “David reckons it’s only 20 knots,” muttered competitors grimly in the changing rooms, looking as though they were about to sent out to almost certain doom.

“It was averaging 18 knots, with some occasional gusts over 25,” said Wilkins afterwards, “although most competitors had it at about five knots stronger than that. It could have been the dense cold breeze that you tend to get in the winter, which can make the breeze feel stronger.”

While sailors were tipping in left, right and centre across the reservoir, keeping the tireless rescue teams working full bore all afternoon, Smith and Needham sailed majestically around the trapezoid course with seemingly little bother. That said, even Smith admitted to three capsizes during the course of the day. “There was one at the end of the second race near the leeward mark, ended up teabagging Tim and he fell off, another when the spinnaker sheets went under the bow, and another down the run. But I think everyone fell in at some point during the day.”

Some ended up beached on the lee shore by the concrete dam, having to leave their boats there until there was time to rescue the equipment later. All in all, a big day.
In the evening there was the customary dinner to celebrate the life of John Merricks, the Olympic silver medallist who learned his trade on Rutland Water and who would have loved the big breeze of this weekend.

The following day dawned even windier, and there was nervous chatter at the prospect of the pursuit race taking place in high wind, with the exception of a few gung-ho competitors such as former OK World Champion Nick Craig. In the end, the race officer decided to call off the racing, although Craig went out anyway and put on a masterclass of survival sailing in his OK while everyone else packed up to go home.

Meanwhile, Smith and Needham were celebrating winning the Tiger Trophy and picking up the £1,000 cheque at a prizegiving in the brand new John Merricks Training Centre. This is a high performance facility funded by Sport England, Rutland SC, the John Merricks Sailing Trust and Tony Everard at Everards Brewery. John’s father, Dennis Merricks, and Tony Everard were there to open the new building and to present the prizewinners with their hard-won trophies.

Smith said he’d find something to spend the money on. “There’s always something to spend money on with the Five-Oh. Twin poles, I reckon, to make the gybes a bit easier.” Not that it looked like they need any help gybing the boat in the strong winds of Saturday. Smith and Needham have also won the opportunity to sail with Team GAC Pindar at the Cowes Week Extreme 40 event as VIP guests.

Runner-up to the 505 was the 420 of Chris Taylor and Caroline Croft who also won the Junior Tiger Trophy, with last year’s overall winners, Merlin duo Matt Biggs and Ben Hollis in third. Biggs and Hollis also win the SailJuice Global Warm-Up 2011, the winter travellers series that encompassed four of the major multi-class handicap events and which concluded this weekend at Rutland.

Thanks to Rule 26 for event logistics and site branding, and Everards Brewery for all the prize glasswear and Tiger beer for every entrant.

John Merricks Tiger Trophy 2011 winners:

Tiger Trophy: Andy Smith & Tim Needham (NCSC) 505
Junior Tiger Trophy:- (Highest placed Junior team.) Chris Taylor and Caroline Croft (HISC) 420
Shere Khan Trophy - (Highest placed team with combined age of  75+) Roger Dean & Dave Turner (Rock SC) 505
Lady Tiger Trophy- Val Millward (RSC) Challenger

Photo credit: © Tim Chapman

Rank Class Fleet SailNo Helm Crew R1 R2 R3 Nett
1 505 F 9012 Andy Smith Tim Needham -1 1 1 2
2 420 S 53232 Chris TAYLOR Caroline CROFT 2 -3 2 4
3 Merlin Rocket S 3705 Matt BIGGS Ben HOLLIS -5 4 4 8
4 RS 600 F 962 Jamie MAWSON -13 8 3 11
5 OK S 2134 Nick Craig 3 (119 OCS) 8 11
6 Laser Standard S 195318 Jack Wetherell 6 7 -12 13
7 29er F 1509 Callum ELLIS Will HARRIS -12 5 10 15
8 505 F 8881 Roger DEANE Dave TURNER (119 DNC) 11 5 16
9 Scorpion S 2013 Peter Gray Rich Pepperdine 7 -10 9 16
10 29er F 157 Ian PAYNE Chris BERRY -18 6 13 19
11 Challenger S 257 Val MILLWARD 8 -14 11 19
12 RS 400 F 498 Steve Tylecote Ben Schooling 10 9 -15 19
13 Lark S 2495 Stuart HYDON Nick HYDON 9 13 (119 DNF) 22
14 Merlin Rocket S 3670 Ian DOBSON Andy TUNNICLIFFE 22 2 (119 DNC) 24
15 505 F 9039 Tim BIRD Richard NURSE 21 -28 7 28
16 Challenger S 270 Graham HALL 11 -19 18 29
17 Phantom S 1359 Simon HAWKES -26 12 17 29
18 RS 600 F 702 John CHARLES 15 16 -23 31
19 Phantom S 1291 Andrew WILDE 14 18 (119 DNC) 32
20 Laser 2000 S 22215 Andy Dring Simon Laken (119 DNC) 17 20 37
21 FINN S 18 James HADDEN 23 15 (119 DNC) 38
22 RS 200 S 1203 James STEWART Eluned STEWART 19 -23 19 38
23 29er F 342 Aaron Smith Alec Rodgers -33 25 14 39
24 Merlin Rocket S 3563 Paul Hollis James Dawes 17 -22 22 39
25 Laser 4.7 S 136452 Timothy LUPTON -27 21 21 42
26 Laser Radial S 196559 Kerry MORGAN 25 20 (119 DNC) 45
27 BLAZE S 678 Rob JONES 30 -35 16 46
28 Musto Skiff F 288 Andrew Peake 24 24 -26 48
29 RS 600 F 811 James Nuttall -31 26 24 50
30 420 S 50457 Lucia LACHLAN-COPE Emma HOULDER -29 27 27 54
31 Firefly S 2 Tristan ELLIS Isabel SCRUBY -37 30 29 59
32 Firefly S 4 Jan HAPPEL Richard RANDALL -35 32 28 60
33 RS 600 F 920 Peter NELSON -42 29 31 60
34 Firefly S 3 Emily NAGEL Sarah KENT -36 31 30 61
35 RS 400 F 1289 Stuart HALMAN Sue BRANNAM 32 34 (119 DNF) 66
36 Firefly S 1 Cathy LEAR Francine COUNSELL 38 33 (119 DNF) 71
37 Flying Dutchman F 369 BARSLEY-DALE Gareth RUSSELL 4 (119 DNF) 119 DNC 123
38 420 S 53377 Sarah Allen Hannah Mitchell (119 DNC) 119 DNC 6 125
39 420 S 52907 Callum AIRLIE Drew AIRLIE 16 (119 DNF) 119 DNC 135
40 RS 100 S 159 Paul CHILDS 20 (119 OCS) 119 DNC 139
41 RS 600 F 676 J Rickard (119 DNC) 119 DNC 25 144
42 Laser Standard S 166427 Jonathan Swain 28 (119 DNC) 119 DNC 147
43 RS Feva S 3746 Mikhail Radionouskiy Goerge Hunter 34 (119 DNF) 119 DNC 153
44 RS 400 F 824 Chris HART Mark PEAK 39 (119 DNC) 119 DNC 158
45 Laser Radial S 182444 Peter Guttridge 40 (119 DNF) 119 DNC 159
46 Laser 4000 F 4271 John WARBURTON James CLAPHAM 41 (119 DNC) 119 DNC 160
47 OK S 10 IRL Tim Goodbody 43 (119 OCS) 119 DNC 162
48 Musto Skiff F 262 Andy RICE 44 (119 DNF) 119 DNC 163
49 Musto Skiff F 16 Tim Chapman (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 29er F 54 Alex LEONARD Olivia STOREY (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 AltO F 108 Oliver LOVE Gareth LINCOLN (119 DNF) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Musto Skiff F 186 James SAINSBURY (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Musto Skiff F 281 Jamie HILTON (119 DNF) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Musto Skiff F 284 Sergei Samus (119 DNF) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 29er F 311 Joan FURNESS Will CARLISE (119 OCS) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 29er F 312 Glen BURROWS Patrick FORD (119 DNF) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Musto Skiff F 351 Ian MARTIN (119 DNF) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Musto Skiff F 369 Kit STENHOUSE (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 RS 600 F 684 Ben MURRELL (119 DNF) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 29er F 900 Matt VENABLES Will ALLOWAY (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Musto skiff F 393 Jonathan OLIN (119 DNF) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 RS 300 F 401 James RUDDIMAN (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 RS 300 F 426 Richard LE MARE (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 RS 500 F 525 James TANNER Sam CHILDS (119 DNF) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 RS 500 F 545 Sam NICHOLLS Alice HERBERT (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 29er F 613 Bradley HILTON Noah KNAPTON (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 RS 500 F 616 Scott Room Ian Preedy (119 DNF) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Laser 4000 F 4425 Brian ALLEN Claire ALLEN (119 DNF) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Laser 4000 F 4546 Tim Litt Harry Litt (119 DNC) 119 DNF 119 DNC 238
49 Laser 4000 F 4616 Chris BILTON Alex WATTS (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 505 F 8526 Russ HOPKINS Olly HOPKINS (119 DNF) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 505 F 8935 Russell SHORT Andrew SHORT (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Firefly S 5 Anna MCCORMACK Tom PADDOCK (119 DNF) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 RS 800 F 1013 Ant CHAPMAN Edward LANGFORD (119 DNC) 119 DNF 119 DNC 238
49 RS 400 F 1077 Mike KNEALE Kath SIMPSON (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 29er F 1122 Philippa GRAY Will GLOVER (119 OCS) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 29er F 1276 Alice KENT Lucy CHILDS (119 DNF) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 RS 400 F 1376 James BOTTOMS Anne HULBERT (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 29er F 1782 George MEREDITH Ashley GREENALL (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 29er F 1784 Sam GRAY Nathan BATCHELOR (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Cherub F 2698 Stu TINNER Nick PRATT (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Int Moth F 3755 Thomas Lambert (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Int Moth F 3760 Mike COOKE (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Laser 4000 F 4033 Hadfield STUART Lewis KNEALE (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Laser 4000 F 4094 Adrian HEATH Carolyn MORHAN (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Laser Standard S 188781 Ian MORGAN (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 29ER F 605 Graham Smith Nicola Smith (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Enterprise S 21889 Tim VICK Rebecca MARKS (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 420 S 53703 Will KENNEDY Max INGALL (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Laser 4.7 S 136536 Rebecca OGDEN (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Laser Radial S 164935 Damon Westwood (119 DNF) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Merlin Rocket S 3616 Peter HORN Niki LAPSLEY (119 DNF) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Solo S 4736 Graham Wilson (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Solo S 5138 Patrick OVERS (119 DNF) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Albacore S 6956 Matthew METCALFE-SMITH Paul METCALFE-SMITH (119 DNF) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Laser 2 S 10100 Rebecca Law Eieanor Jones (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Laser Radial S 20304 Gary TOMPKINS (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Laser 2000 S 21772 Stephen CARVER WEEDON-JONES (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 420 S 51051 James THOMAS Marianne BRETT (119 DNF) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 420 S 51357 Oliver MULVEHILL-WILSON Max BURROWS (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Firefly S 6 Jamie Rankin Lydia CRAWSHAW (119 DNF) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Laser Vago XD S 164 Ed DEACON (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Laser Vago XD S 358 Dave BAXTER (119 DNC) 119 DNF 119 DNC 238
49 British Moth S 783 Abby FREELEY (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 British Moth S 856 Colin HALL (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Phantom S 903 Andrew BELSON (119 DNF) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Laser Vago XD S 1067 John DAVIES Jack DAVIES (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Laser Vago XD S 1078 Nick WEETMAN (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Phantom S 1149 Laurence MILTON (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Splash S 2243 Benjamin HAYNES (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Lark S 249 Kevin ROSE Lucy EVANS (119 DNF) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Laser 2000 S 2992 Fergus BARNHAM Harriet MORRIS (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 National 12 S 3411 Nick COPSEY Naomi BILTON (119 DNF) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Phantom S 1288 Doug CONWAY (119 DNF) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Phantom S 1325 Mike TUSTIN (119 DNF) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Phantom S 1375 Tim ANDREWS (119 DNF) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 Phantom S 1378 Mark WESTON (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
49 RS Tera S 1769 Will ROBINSON (119 DNC) 119 DNC 119 DNC 238
comments powered by Disqus