Report by Ben Schooling.
Photos by Tim Olin.
There were a few sore heads around the dinghy park not to mention some aching muscles as the fleet climbed into their wetsuits to commence battle on the final day of the MUSTO Skiff Nationals at Brixham Yacht Club (BYC).
With 9 snakes and ladder style races in the bank and a further 3 scheduled, the D flag was lowered after a short delay and the boats filed out of the harbour in a gentle 7kt Westerly. With menacing clouds on the horizon, Race 10 got underway following a short postponement and with just 4 points separating them, Keen and Greenhalgh were keeping a close eye on each other.
A large raincloud was emptying it’s load over Torquay and most of the fleet tacked off the start line to head right on the beat towards the gain feature. The new pressure arrived with the rain and a 30 degree shift, meaning the main bunch on the right overstood by a considerable margin whilst those on the left capitalised. It was pin end Paulo Molesworth who made the most of the shift and rounded first with a comfortable lead and gybed set into the remaining pressure.
The main bunch rounded with Keen in the teens and Greenhalgh looking buried near the back. The pack split down the run in search of pressure but with the breeze fading it was hard to pick a lane. Keen gybed into a hole and Greenhalgh found a band of breeze to close the gap.
Molesworth approached the gate with a 200 meter lead and heard the shortened course signal, which was music to his ears. A short but nervous beat to the line and Molesworth took the bullet. Danny Boatman and Ben Schooling just managed to wriggle free to finish 2nd and 3rd with the rest of the pack converging at the leeward gate in an almighty raft. Much shouting and fist waving ensued but everyone got round. In amongst the pack were Greenhalgh and Keen with Pete crossing 16th and Bruce 19th meaning both were discards and the points’ gap shifted to 6 in Greenhalgh’s favour.
After a prolonged postponement and several heavy downpours the wind refused to settle and the PRO made the tough decision at 14:00 to call it a day and send the fleet ashore, and with that, a new winner was crowned.
Congratulations to Peter Greenhalgh who is 2020 MUSTO Skiff National Champion with Bruce Keen in 2nd place and Sam Pascoe sailing a great regatta, finishing only 6 points adrift in 3rd.
Brixham Yacht Club (BYC) were excellent hosts with an army of volunteers and a very professional shore logistics team who put in a vast amount of meticulous planning to meet Government & RYA guidelines around Covid-19 restrictions – they have been a joy to work with.
A huge thank you also to Sean Semmens the PRO and his expert team of mark layers who had to adjust the windward mark in almost every race. The MUSTO Skiff’s are hugely grateful and fortunate to have held a Nationals when many other fleets / clubs have, unfortunately, not been able to do so in these testing times.
The MUSTO Skiff class continues to grow in size and strength and has recently benefitted from some high calibre sailors moving across from double hander fleets such as the Int 14’s, 49ers, 29ers, Merlins and, of course, the Foiling Moths.
There were no less than 15 out of 53 helms competing at their first Nationals, many of whom have commented on the impressive camaraderie and supportive nature of the fleet. In his speech, Peter paid tribute to the fact it has taken him 2 years of solid training with some 4 day week sessions to master the boat, which shows the strength and depth of talent in the class.
There were 6 new boats on the water and in order to meet the high demand, Ovington are building a new batch of boats which will be available by Christmas.
All that remains to say is a huge thanks to our class partners and sponsors – MUSTO, Harken, Ovington Boats, and Noble Marine who provided a great array of prizes. Thanks also to Tim Olin for his excellent photography.
Overall:
1st place – Peter Greenhalgh
2nd place – Bruce Keen
3rd place – Sam Pascoe
4th place – Jono Shelley
5th place – Euan Hurter
6th place – Jamie Hilton
7th place – Andy Tarboton
8th place – Ben Schooling
9th place – Bill Maughan
10th place – Stuart Keegan
Silver:
1st place – Danny Boatman
2nd place – Mike Matthews
3rd place – Rob Richardson
Youth:
1st place – Euan Hurter
2nd place – Rob Richardson
3rd place – Joshua Bellben
Master:
1st place – Andy Rice
2nd place – Dan Vincent
3rd place – Brian Greensmith
Grand Master:
1st place – Ian Trotter
2nd place – Andrew Gould
3rd place – Seraga Samus
Legend:
1st place – Ian Escritt
2nd place – Ron Barnes
3rd place – Stephen Wright
Final overall results: https://www.brixhamyachtclub.com/new-yacht-racing-results/noble-marine-musto-skiff-nationals-2020-1
View more of the event photos by Tim Olin: http://olinphoto.co.uk/index.php/2020/09/05/musto-skiff-nationals-2020-at-brixham-yacht-club/
