Noble Marine UK Musto Skiff National Championships 2022
Eastbourne Sovereign Sailing Club
1 – 4 Sept 2022
DAY 4 REPORT
Report by GBR Musto Skiff Class Association
It was another warm and sunny start for the final day of the 2022 Noble Marine UK Musto Skiff Nationals at Eastbourne Sovereign Sailing Club. A decent breeze was building, and with an earlier start planned for Day 4, the beach was already busy and buzzing by 9am with sailors getting ready to launch for the 10.30am start.
Race 9
Perfect conditions with a true south breeze of 12-14k and a few rolling waves building. The fleet got away, but on a black flag start. Jono Shelley came off the port end hoping the tide was still going out and judged the lay line best to lead at mark one from a gaggle of boats including Jamie Hilton and Danny Boatman. The big news, however, was that Sam Pascoe’s number was on the Black Flag board….but, where was Bruce Keen……2nd at the top rounding just behind Shelley.
Shelley led for 2 laps, but on the second downwind, he tried to cross Keen and infringed. After a 360 turn, Keen led followed by Dan Vincent and Shelley, with Eddie Bridle, Billy Maughan, and Danny Boatman in close pursuit. Vincent sailed around Keen on the 3rd beat showing some serious pace to take the win from Keen and Shelley. It was still advantage Pascoe, but Keen had narrowed the gap.
Race 10
Race 10 got away cleanly, and with the tide starting to turn, the chop started kicking up making for big gains for those who could find the groove.
After breaking his main halyard in Race 9, Ian Turnbull returned with the bit between his teeth to lead for the first lap. Turnbull was slowly overhauled by Keen and Pascoe on the 2nd beat, with Keen going on to take the bullet from Pascoe and Dan Trotter chasing hard in 4th and Ben Clegg in 5th.
Going into the final race of the Championship, Pascoe still had a comfortable margin, but could not afford another BFD.
Race 11
The sun had come out and the breeze was down to 10-12knots. Dave Poston and Dan Vincent got onto Port best with clear lanes and stretched their legs ahead of Robbie Richardson and Jono Shelley. Pascoe was somewhere in the teens, but Keen was worse off still. Over the 3 laps, the top 4 traded places a few times with the finishing order Vincent (second of the day!) Richardson in 2nd, Shelley in 3rd, then Poston in 4th.
Pascoe showing his class, rounded out the top 5, pulling through the fleet to 5th to secure the Title. The fleet then sailed back to shore to pack up their boats and get ready for the prize giving ceremony back at the club house.
After 4 days of racing, Sam retains his UK National Champion Title and the trophy for another year. Joining Sam on the podium was Bruce Keen in 2nd place, and Jono Shelley in 3rd place.
Thanks to the Race office team and all the fantastic volunteers at Eastbourne Sovereign Sailing Club. The whole class enjoyed the event and the great hospitality provided by this very friendly and well-run club.
Thanks, also, to our Event Title sponsor, Noble Marine Insurance, and our Class Title sponsor, Musto, for all the great prizes. Lastly, thanks to the event photographer, Tim Olin, for capturing all the races, and to the ESSC media team for the impressive drone footage.
Well done to all the podium winners and to all competitors for another great event. See you all next year!!
Day 4 Results
Top 10 places overall after Day 4 (final results):
| Rank | Nat | Sail Number | Helm Name | Club |
| 1st | GBR | 636 | Sam Pascoe | Castle Cove SC |
| 2nd | GBR | 623 | Bruce Keen | Stokes Bay SC |
| 3rd | GBR | 566 | Jono Shelley | Largs SC / Ullswater YC |
| 4th | GBR | 622 | Dan Vincent | Stokes Bay SC |
| 5th | GBR | 638 | Sam Barker | Castle Cove SC |
| 6th | GBR | 274 | Ian Turnbull | Ullswater YC |
| 7th | GBR | 549 | Robert Richardson | Royal windermere YC |
| 8th | GBR | 624 | Eddie Bridle | Brightlingsea SC |
| 9th | GBR | 628 | Daniel Boatman | Sunderland YC |
| 10th | GBR | 610 | Daniel Trotter | SYC |
Other category winners:
Silver: 1st – Josh Belben, 2nd – George Cousins, 3rd – Stuart Keegan
Youth: 1st – Rob Richardson, 2nd – Eddie Bridle, 3rd – Josh Belben
Master: 1st – Dan Vincent, 2nd – Rich Pelley, 3rd – Brian Greensmith
Grand Master: 1st – Ian Trotter, 2nd – Richard Smith, 3rd – Karsten Groth (NED)
Legend: 1st – Ian Escritt, 2nd – Stephen Wright
View the overall results on SailWave here.
All sailing photo credits: © Tim Olin / olinphoto.co.uk/
Day 4 Video
Video for Day 4 of the Noble Marine UK Musto Skiff National Championships 2022 hosted at Eastbourne Sovereign Sailing Club over 1 – 4 September 2022.
Video produced by Send It Media Productions on 4th Sept, 2022.
