The 3rd Australian
Musto Skiff Championship 2013 - Day 1
Venue : Mounts
Bay Sailing Club - Perth (AUS) This is the venue for
the next World Championships
Report: various
Photos: Rick
Steuart
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The 3rd Australian Must oskiff Championship
got underway in warm, sunny conditions and clear skies.
3rd place getters in each heat provide these race reports.
RACE 1 report by Marcus Hamilton
The first race of the Perth nationals got underway cleanly
after an initial general recall by the over excited
fleet. The fleet split with Denis Jones/ Marcus hamilton/
Tim hill/Robin Dayes looking for the fabled left hand
shift. The balance of the fleet working the shifts to
the right. When the fleets converged it was the Western
Australians who were shining. Arthur Brett in the lead,
followed by Jones & Thor Schoenoff.
The downwind proved to be volatile for
the holding a leading position in the fleet. Will Phillips,
Jon Newman & Hamilton found pressure and caught
up to the sterns of Brett & Jones. Unfortunately
Brett suffered gear failure at the bottom gate, as the
5 other lead boats rounded the gate for an evenly matched
second work.
Jones & Hamilton got stuck in little
pressure on the left, as the pressure retreated to the
right, where Newman and Phillips extended a lead. Phillips
had an uncharacteristic capsize, which gave Newman an
unassailable lead.
The final downwind was a race for 2nd
between Phillips, Hamilton, jones & Mark Whittington.
Phillips prevailed, Hamilton held for 3rd, Jones was
4th and Whittington 5th
RACE 2 by Mark Whittington
Race 2 of the Musto Skiff National championships was
held in 5-20 knots in sharp windshifts with large pressure
variations over the course - with boats gaining and
losing hundreds of meters by picking the wrong tack.
The start got away under individual recall.
Many boats responded, thinking they were over and restarting.
This didn’t make much difference with the wind dropping
out just after the start. The first shift was right
- you had to get one of the two - not OCS or get the
right shift. If you didn’t get either then you were
in trouble.
Will and AB worked the right side of the
course nicely to round very near each other in 1st and
2nd, while Marcus, Richard, Mark and Thor were close
behind, some big puffs came down the first run, making
boats sail directly at the bottom mark at times.
Second beat had some big changes in angle,
and getting out of phase could cost hundreds of meters.
Arthur again worked the right hand shoreline, while
Ritchie headed hard left, finding the left hand shift,
crossing Arthur and taking the lead. Ritchie gybe set
at the top mark while Arthur went for a bear away set.
Ritchie took off in pressure to take a 100 meter lead.
Mark rounded next, with Will, Marcus,
Thor and Tim in close pursuit, in a huge puff, the lead
boats just ahead of the puff with the boats chasing
firmly in the pressure line. All chose to gybe set at
the top mark.
Ritchie travelled to the left hand gybe
point and capsized 50 meters from the line, costing
him a top 5 finish. Arthur Brett went on to take the
win.
Meanwhile the pursuing group had compressed
into a tight, super fast bunch approaching the finish
line at speed. Mark gybed onto starboard too early,
gybing again to finish on port while Marcus, Will and
Thor were approaching the line on starboard.
Tim slipped through the end of the pack
on port, gybing twice to finish at the boat end. Will
was held out by Marcus at the pin, gybing onto port
to cross Marcus and claim second, Mark crossed next
to claim third, Tim slipped across in fourth, while
Thor powered in calling starboard on Marcus, luffing
around him to cross the line fifth. Marcus doused his
kite, re-rounded to course side, performed his penalty
and crossed again to lose 5 places.
Andy, our trusty race officer, found
himself reciting a fifteen digit number as the pack
crossed the line in less than 3 seconds.
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