Event: International Musto Skiff Victorian Championships 2024, Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron (BYS), 20/21 April 2024
Report provided by Paul Newman
With a lovely forecast of sunshine and light-to-medium winds, the fleet descended on Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron (BYS) for the 2024 Vic State Titles. After a couple of people pulled out late, the fleet consisted of 15 boats, with Michael Berryman making the long trip from NSW to join in the fun.
There were a couple of notable inclusions in the expanding fleet, including Jono Neate, a past Musto State and National Champion and Contender World Champion, as well as James and Harrison Sly, hot off their recent top 4 results at the Taser Worlds, so it was set to be an exciting weekend.
Day 1, Race 1
Light shifty breeze, 8–12 knots Southerly.
After a tangle on the start line with close rivals Jon Newman and Matthias Houvenagel that required Jon to take a penalty turn, Matthias adjusted best to the shifty breeze and led the fleet at the top mark, closely followed by Jon and Paul Newman. Matthias comfortably led the remainder of the race, giving the fleet an ominous feeling that the World Champ meant business this weekend. Paul finished 2nd, Jon 3rd, with James and Harrison Sly finishing 4th and 5th, respectively.
Race 2
After a shift just before the start, the fleet was presented with a fairly one-sided course, which favoured the boats that were able to hold their lane off the start line. Paul led from start to finish, with Matthias not far behind. Jono Neate came in third as he started to get his head around racing the Musto again.
Race 3
It was a very similar racetrack to the previous race, and Paul again took advantage and led from the start, with James Sly not far behind. James worked hard and found a shift on the last windward leg, getting through Paul and taking the win. Jon snuck past three boats on the last run to the finish to take 3rd, not too far behind Paul.
Day 2, Race 4
Light and shifty 5-10 knots SW
A good start by Matthias gave him the early lead on the left, but as both sides of the course combined at the top mark, a late right shift made it a very busy top mark with Matthias in the lead, but only just from Jono Neate and a big pack of boats. Unfortunately for the leaders who gybe set, the new breeze favoured the mid pack on the right-hand side, and Paul, Jon, and Robin sailed through to hit the gate at the same time as Matthais. Paul and Jon took the right mark, with the rest of the boats taking the left. Again, the left-hand side of the course ended up getting the new pressure first, and Paul took the lead from Matthias, with Jon in 3rd.
The last downwind saw Matthias trying to get leverage over Paul and Paul covering him, which allowed Jon to find a nice shift and slip through to take the win. Unfortunately for Matthias, the same shift that gave Jon the win brought the next group of boats back into the picture, swallowing up Matthias and pushing him back to 6th, with James Sly taking 3rd place.
Race 5
Very light shifty, 5–10 knots SW
It was chaos at the pin end of the start line after a big left shift in the last minute of the start sequence. Matthias managed to find room in the chaos to make a start on port tack just behind James, who won the start on starboard but had to tack, giving Matthias the lead. Paul also managed a tack in the chaos to sit between James and Matthias on the soldier’s course to the top mark.
Matthias led at the top and the bottom mark from Paul, with the two splitting at the bottom gate to again sail the soldier’s course upwind; however, Paul was held up by the boats sailing downwind, giving Matt the upwind advantage in the early part of the leg. As they reached the top mark, the breeze died to almost nothing before coming back in to favour Paul, giving him the lead at the top mark. Paul managed to consolidate his position on the last downwind, giving him the win over Matthias, Wayne Bates, and Robin in 4th.
The last race was postponed, and that was it for the regatta. A wonderful weekend was had by all, and a big thank you to Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron for having us for the weekend, as well as the Contender and Finn classes for sharing the weekend with us.
Overall Results
Podium result for the Musto Skiff class:
- 1st Paul Newman
- 2nd Matthias Houvenagel
- 3rd Jon Newman
Full results via BYS: https://sailingresults.net/sa/results/Overall.aspx?ID=81792.1
Feature photo: Paul Newman / Photographer unknown
