An impressive 28 Musto Skiffs turned up for the Stokes Bay Open at the end of April for two days of great racing, great social, and the not-to-be-missed annual pub quiz by the legendary host, Dan Vincent. Here is the full event report and overall results for the Musto Skiffs.
‘Golden Greenhalgh at Stokes Bay’
Report by Andy Tarboton
28 Musto’s attended the Stokes Bay open this year, from all over the UK and abroad. There was a serious amount of effort put into getting to the event, including sailing a Musto to Stokes Bay, and having to call 8 taxi companies to be allowed into one in a wetsuit. Robbie Wilson loves travelling and any chance to leave Scotland, so he made the trip south for a month or so with a fleet of boats. The Essex massive were represented with a strong contingent again, and Kirsten Groth even made the effort to come over from Holland and enjoy the regatta.
Race officer, Tim Johnson and the team of organisers overcame many obstacles just to get the event off the ground, including a last-minute change of committee boat. As with any big event, it takes an army of volunteers to make it happen. The Stokes Bay Open was no different with many people generously giving up their time so that the event could run smoothly. Tim Olin made the effort to come down from Manchester to take pictures whatever the weather threw at us. And, of course, no Stokes Bay open event would ever be complete without Dan Vincent’s legendary quiz, the man himself wearing his gold shirt.
5 races were sailed over the two days with the competition being fiercer than an auction house after payday. This, naturally, included general recalls, OCS’s, crowded mark roundings and close call finishes. The new faces in the fleet proved they were up for the challenge, getting stuck in with elbows out at times defending well-earned scores. FOMO even got the better of Sam Pascoe who only had the Sunday free but made the effort to join in for the day, showing some good early season pace. The Northern invaders had some great moments over the weekend, proving that there must be some benefits to living in Scotland in the winter.
Despite having 4 fleets on the course, there generally was enough space for each fleet to have their own space. The Musto and Rs700 fleet stuck to windward-leeward courses with the other fleets on an outer loop trapezoid. Every race was a tightly contested affair, any mistake was punished by a pack of sailors hungry to gain any places. There were many obstacles on course – wind holes, weed and the fabled Loch Ness plastic bag, but even this wasn’t enough to prevent Peter from claiming the victory.
Once again Stokes Bay Sailing Club delivered a fantastic weekend of sailing. For those who missed it, be sure to put it in the calendar next year.
Overall results >>
02/06/23: Results article was updated with the event report provided by Andy Tarboton.
