We had tremendous weather, absolutely tremendous — some people are saying the best weather Merricks has ever seen. Heat 5 had 20 boats, Heat 6 had 17 boats — very strong numbers, very impressive. This was a big day for our mature sailors, believe me, they showed everyone how it’s done.

Keith Darwent — winner, total winner — took out Heat 5. Storm Johnson, fantastic sailor, really fantastic, won Heat 6. Simon “the Admiral” Webster — great guy, strong leadership — finished 13th in Heat 5 (updated results following a Steward's Inquiry), with Martin Corden, second, who sailed very, very well, and Tom Clarke third. Over in Heat 6, Tom Clarke came second — strong performance — and Matt Darby followed him home.

A lot of sailors came out of hibernation — people didn’t think they’d show up, but they did — and they sailed beautifully. Geraldine Lennon? Incredible comeback: 5th and 7th, very solid. Chris Russell — underrated sailor — 9th and then 5th, big improvement, big energy.

Now, on Yardstick, totally different story — very different. Richard Jagger dominated — won both heats, nobody could stop him. Derek Hollander came second in Heat 5, then third in the final heat — very consistent, very smart sailing. Tom Clarke again strong — third and then second. Martin Corden? Extremely consistent on Yardstick, only beaten among the Laser Radial sailors in both races by Chris Russell and Matt Darby — tough competitors, tough racing.

And let me tell you about the course setting — Doug Varey and Simon Corden set superb courses. The best, the most beautiful start lines you’ve ever seen. They recovered Merricks Patrol with skill never seen before at Merricks, people were amazed — and the banter with Sir John? Legendary. Absolutely legendary.

A great day, a winning day, and Merricks sailing is back — bigly.

The full results are here [Full disclosure - ChatGPT may have helped a bit with this post]