Stuart Bithell
Merlin Rocket Nation Champion helm 2010
A discussion with Stu Bithell - Merlin Rocket
National Champion 2010 at Hollingworth
Lake SC club’s Felucca event in October
with Pat Blake and Roger Taylor
(National Champions in 1980 and 1982)
Kids from Hollingworth - OK so you are not a
new kid on the block but how long have you been
involved in Merlin Rockets?
Since I was 12 or 13 crewing for Neville Heginbotham
(Boris)for 2 years. I have been sailing a Merlin on and
off since then
HLSC had a really good group of young sailors who
came up with you. Matt Mee, Jonny, Adam and Matt
McGovern and Chris Robinson to name just a few
but how did you get involved in RYA Training?
My parents were very generous in driving me round the
country enabling me to race my Mirror in RYA Junior
Programmes. That gave the opportunity to go on to RYA
Youth Training in the 420 then Olympic Sailing in 470s.
Any advice for young aspiring sailors? – Follow the
same route?
No, you don’t have to do it that way. Matt Mee was a bit
different. A lot of club sailing – he sailed with my uncle,
Richard Whitworth, then sailed GP’s and that is where
page 8
‘...concentrate on the basics... set our
leaches up...and hope the sails are
good enough to carry us through.....’
he got his racing skills from. Look at him now. Advice
for new comers? – Just enjoy it. The Merlin is a great
boat – great boats to crew – not too demanding. Big
spinnaker now but the jib nice and playable. A great
boat for young people and dare to say it – a great social
scene
You are crewing for Luke Patience in the 470 but
helming the Merlin with Christian Birrell. How are
roles split when you are helming and crewing?
When I sail with Luke in the 470 the roles are quite
defined and split. I, as the crew, do tactics upwind and
Luke, as the helm, does them downwind. In the Merlin
myself and Christian have more of a discussion – but
I am the one who has got the stick! It is more of a
discussion because we can both see what is happening.
What is the hardest thing about sailing Merlins?
Probably the depth in the fleet. If you have a bad start
and are mid fleet it is hard to fight your way back. Very
hard work in the breeze – huge rigs, big wide boats,
quite hard to handle.
How good are Merlin Sailors when compared
with the many sailors you meet nationally and
internationally?
They are definitely up there but personally there is no
fleet quite like the 470. As far as national classes in the
UK it (the Merlin) is right up there with the competition.
What do the squaddies and top flight sailors think of
Merlins?
Good question! When I go back after an event they
are always asking - so they must be interested. Many
of them don’t have much time to be honest to do it,
and there is the complication of getting a boat. But Ian
Dobson, another squaddie, who was second at the
nationals, absolutely loves it. You can relate 470 sailing
to Merlin Sailing and it is good for our 470 sailing to
come and sail Merlins.
Stuart crewed for Dan Alsop on the
Sunday of Salcombe week
photo: Demelza
 Christian Birrell
Where do you think the Merlin should go next – any
thoughts about the way the boundaries are being
pushed by John Turner?
It was interesting at the Nationals to see that boat. I Merlin Rocket Nation Champion crew 2010
know very little about it and coming from Hollingworth
all I know is a Winder Boat. It was really good to see the
development coming on. I remember at the Nationals
looking around and someone would pop out and it would
always be a red boat with two fat boys hanging out
What next after the Olympic campaign? Have you
thought that far ahead?
Not thought ahead of the trials next year to be honest,
however there is an ISAF meeting in November which
will decide the classes for the 2016 Olympics. There is
a rumour that the 470 may be going mixed – cut them
both and have one mixed boat which would tick a lot of
boxes.
You are young enough to do another Olympic
campaign - How old are you?
24
How important is fitness in Merlin Sailing and
general sailing?
Fitness is right up there – I am right on top of my fitness
and I think it showed at this year’s Nationals after a
week with a bit of breeze. The last couple of days, while
not as fit as at the beginning I was still fit and healthy
and able to hike hard. So yes it is really, really important.
You can possibly get away with it at a weekend event
but come to a Nationals or Salcombe Week and fitness
is very important.
Do you plan to do any more Merlin sailing in the
future?
Definitely – there has not been a Merlin Nationals that I
have been available for that I have not done yet. just wanted to be him basically. He is a very smart sailor.
Do you have any other day jobs – are you a full time And who has been influential? – My dad. He has pushed
sailor now? me in the right direction when I have needed it
Yes, I am a full time sailor Northerner or Southerner?
You have the biggest and most irrepressible smile At heart a Northerner!
in the fleet – what gets you down and how do you Beer or fruit juice?
overcome it?
Choice! – Who is looking at this?!
Funny you should raise that. We
Chips or salad?
have just had our Annual Skandia /
Team GBR Awards Dinner and I got Beer and chips when I am carbo loading. When I am
a prize for being fun and I blamed 470 sailing fruit and salad
it completely on the smile because Computer games or a good book?
people notice it! It takes a lot to get Book ! A sports psychology book – I love them. And
me down and we do train in the autobiographies from Olympians.
Olympic programme on how to get up
Hollingworth has been very succesful at bringing on
when you do come down – I rarely go
their young sailors - any idea why?
down and if I do I come back up fairly
quickly. Yes, it has been great for me. Looking back now the
competition has definitely made me a better sailor. I
Who has had the greatest influence
think it is good that Hollingworth does fleet racing not
on your sailing career and in what
pursuit racing like some clubs do. It keeps it competitive
way?
– you win a race because you beat another guy in the
Joe Glanfield has been a role model same boat. In pursuit racing some boats go differently
to me throughout my sailing career. in different conditions. But Hollingworth generally? –
As a kid, watching him get medals I brilliant!

page 9
How did you get to know Christian Birrell?
I used to race Mirrors against Christian and his brother.
He’s a northern lad as well and have been mates
sailing Mirrors, 420’s and 470’s. He sailed with Jonny
McGovern for a good length of time and we teamed up
this year as mates and we have got on well together.
We hadn’t sailed together before the Nationals, in fact it
was the first time Christian had sailed a Merlin.
When you are sailing the 470 and you are doing the
tactics from the wire, how does that work? Are you
telling Luke exactly when to tack etc?
Doing tactics as a crew is quite difficult because quite
a lot of the feel is through the rudder, obviously but
because I am helmsman myself I have that feel on the
wire. It is pretty much when I say tack, Luke tacks. The
helmsman in the 470 needs to be completely driving the
boat fast. Luke makes my job easy because he sails the
boat so fast. It is teamwork – he makes the boat go fast
and I do tactics
We have had some great results this year especially in
a breeze – a bronze medal and nearly won the worlds –
but nearly is not good enough! In the pre-Olympic event
at Weymouth we got a bronze, that was important in the
RYA’s eyes
Who do you think is the top competitor and when do
you know if you are selected?
The selection process starts next year and we will know
by the end of the year. Nick Asher and Alex Willis are
the main competition. A couple of years older than us
and twice 470 World Champions. Hot sailors but I like to
think we have our thumb on them at the minute!!
Congratulation on winning the Endeavour Trophy.
What did you do to prepare for it and how did you
find it sailing different boats to anything you had
sailed before?
When we found out we were going we did a bit of
research into the boats. I was ringing Matt Mee who had
done the event before and asking whether he had any
settings and what are the “golden rules”? He gave me a
page 10
‘....fitness is right up there ..... I think
it showed at this year’s Nationals
after a week with a bit of breeze.....’
few tips but the boat is a cross between a Merlin and a
GP and having sailed both of those it was a nice blend
in between. It was a great event.
You have just won here at Hollingworth, the Felluca,
sailing a different boat to the one you sailed at the
Championships. You can obviously step between
classes and in the Merlin between boats. Are there
any tips you can give about how you find boat
speed?
Christian and I don’t have a Merlin so we have to borrow
boats when we can and have to accept that we are not
going to have the same mast, or the same sails. So we
have to concentrate on the basics – leach tension and if
its windy a bit of rake on. Make sure that it is set up right
and put all our focus on basically leaches. Different sails
set up differently so if we set our leaches up that is the
best we can do and hope the sails are good enough to
carry us through the rest.
You said earlier that when you are sailing the 470
with Luke, he can sail the boat so fast that it make
your job easier as a tactician. Have you any tips for
people about sailing fast?
Sailing is a funny one and it is different in different
conditions. We prioritise different things for those
different conditions. For example on a nice sea breeze
day we will both concentrate on boat speed because we
know the oscillations are nice and slow. It will be heads
in the boat and that in itself gets you up there. When it’s
a shifty offshore day for example down in Weymouth
coming off the cliffs, Luke is completely focussed on
sailing the boat as fast as he can and my head is
outside the boat a lot more taking the shifts and that’s
a lot easier to do when you’re a little bit quicker than
everyone else!