MORE classic Salcombe conditions on Saturday, June 14 kicked off the sailing summer Series in style with a fast handicap clash, writes John Burn.

Plenty of sunshine and a 15-knot south-westerly saw Race Officer Simon Dobson set the course: 1-7-1-3-2-3. The only way it could have been better would have been if it had coincided with a high tide.

Just three takers: Peter Colclough and Alister Morley in the 505, and two Merlin Rockets. Seasoned pros Tim Fells and Fran Gifford went head-to-head with the relatively inexperienced team of John and Frankie Burn.

As the start hooter sounded, the 505 was beached on Millbay, carrying out emergency repairs to their kicking strap — not ideal, but the repairs were successful, and they eventually got underway, albeit around five minutes late.

Tim and Fran were first to tack onto port and pick up the huge lift, but John and Frankie quickly synchronised with the shifts and worked through Fells and Gifford, rounding Blackstone first.

As the pair of Merlins headed off downwind, Tim and Fran showed awesome pace and quickly regained the lead. The trip through The Bag was swift, with flat-out two-sail reaching to and from Gerston, helms and crews grinning from ear to ear.

The subsequent laps of the harbour saw the gap between the two Merlins remain fairly consistent, with positions unchanged, and Peter and Alister unable to catch the Merlins.

Final results saw Tim Fells and Fran Gifford at the top of the podium, joined by John and Frankie Burn in second and the third-placed duo of Peter Colclough and Alister Morley.

Photography courtesy of Lucy Burn.