2013 Musto WA States
The Inaugural West Australian Musto Skiff State Championships were held out of Fremantle Sailing Club over two afternoons with four races scheduled each day. We hit the water for a 1pm start in a classic building sea breeze, the majority of the fleet had taken some time off after nationals and we were quickly reminded how hard a musto is to sail, especially when the waves are short and close together. For a bit of extra flavour we were integrated to the club racing that seemed to have a larger than normal turn out, and the majority of these sailors are happy to give the senior musto sailors some stick, I personally have been capsized and then surrounded by a ring of lasers teasing me. So the stakes were high.
The first races saw Thor sailed a clean set of races to be the overnight leader, although he seemed to have the same number of capsizes as the rest he was much faster at recovering.
For some sailors it was the first time sailing in weed with a musto, naturally techniques from other classes were used, the most notable was from Dennis at the bottom mark using a 14 foot skiff technique of lifting the centre board up, quickly the boat leap out from underneath leaving him capsized with his centreboard in hand. Everyone had their share of capsizes and great nose dives, Belinda Stowell was taking pictures of everyone sailing that day so we had a laugh after looking at how bad we staked it.
The second set of races were again in a building sea breeze stronger than the day before, the water was not as crystal clear blue as the Saturday since darker clouds came over. A lot of boats were within striking distance of a podium with a drop and four races to come. The first races saw Dennis sail with distinction to gain all places in the top 2 and 3 heat wins. At times the conditions were so tough that all boats were capsized with Dennis looking around wondering what had happened to the fleet, no better way to pull out a lead than have every boat capsize bar yourself. Mark also put a few top threes together to put it on the final race to decide the winner with Thor still leading, Dennis and Mark close behind. By the time the fourth race had come around the wind was at least 20 knots. Getting to the bottom mark without a capsize was becoming very difficult, actually just getting around the top mark, and putting the kite to the top of the mast was very difficult, grave yards were building up at each mark and the corner of the courses.
I can clearly remember the last 2 legs, Dennis was leading, Thor second and Mark trailing behind all within 5 or 10 boat lengths with a run to go, and in these conditions that was practically nothing.
Possibly the best thing to do would have been leave the kite in the bag and one sail it to the finish.
Off course no one wanted to do this as it ruins’ the fun, and would lead to bullying for an extended period of time.
Dennis when around the top mark and dug the bow in leaving myself and Thor to go for the set, we got the kite to the mast and our bodies on the wire safely, We had one lay line to pick and one jibe to make.
Thor went for the jibe, almost made it before swimming, Mark then though one jibe to pull off and he is looking good, boom swings across and the main sets, boat is still up, he thinks he has made it before watching the bow dig like a miner for oil into the wave in front.
Thor almost already had the kite in the bag, While getting our kites up we noticed Dennis on the left corner with the kite up at warp speed sending it for the finish, Thor left the kite down and had one jibe to pull to get to the finish, capsized again on the jibe, leaving Dennis to take the win and Thor crossed in second with Mark in third. I am fairly certain that at a few points in the race all boats were down.
Overall Thor took a deserved win with Dennis second after a stellar day and Mark in third.
A great event, in great conditions, surprisingly nothing was damaged and everyone got in the harbour safely.
A big round of applause was given to the Bretts, Castles and Charlwoods for helping the event to and giving up a sunday to watch us, we are told that the mustos put on the best show!
We will all be looking forward to next year’s states and hope it’s just as eventful!
Mark
2013 Musto Vic States
The Inaugural West Australian Musto Skiff State Championships were held out of Fremantle Sailing Club over two afternoons with four races scheduled each day. We hit the water for a 1pm start in a classic building sea breeze, the majority of the fleet had taken some time off after nationals and we were quickly reminded how hard a musto is to sail, especially when the waves are short and close together. For a bit of extra flavour we were integrated to the club racing that seemed to have a larger than normal turn out, and the majority of these sailors are happy to give the senior musto sailors some stick, I personally have been capsized and then surrounded by a ring of lasers teasing me. So the stakes were high.
The first races saw Thor sailed a clean set of races to be the overnight leader, although he seemed to have the same number of capsizes as the rest he was much faster at recovering.
For some sailors it was the first time sailing in weed with a musto, naturally techniques from other classes were used, the most notable was from Dennis at the bottom mark using a 14 foot skiff technique of lifting the centre board up, quickly the boat leap out from underneath leaving him capsized with his centreboard in hand. Everyone had their share of capsizes and great nose dives, Belinda Stowell was taking pictures of everyone sailing that day so we had a laugh after looking at how bad we staked it.
The second set of races were again in a building sea breeze stronger than the day before, the water was not as crystal clear blue as the Saturday since darker clouds came over. A lot of boats were within striking distance of a podium with a drop and four races to come. The first races saw Dennis sail with distinction to gain all places in the top 2 and 3 heat wins. At times the conditions were so tough that all boats were capsized with Dennis looking around wondering what had happened to the fleet, no better way to pull out a lead than have every boat capsize bar yourself. Mark also put a few top threes together to put it on the final race to decide the winner with Thor still leading, Dennis and Mark close behind. By the time the fourth race had come around the wind was at least 20 knots. Getting to the bottom mark without a capsize was becoming very difficult, actually just getting around the top mark, and putting the kite to the top of the mast was very difficult, grave yards were building up at each mark and the corner of the courses.
I can clearly remember the last 2 legs, Dennis was leading, Thor second and Mark trailing behind all within 5 or 10 boat lengths with a run to go, and in these conditions that was practically nothing.
Possibly the best thing to do would have been leave the kite in the bag and one sail it to the finish.
Off course no one wanted to do this as it ruins’ the fun, and would lead to bullying for an extended period of time.
Dennis when around the top mark and dug the bow in leaving myself and Thor to go for the set, we got the kite to the mast and our bodies on the wire safely, We had one lay line to pick and one jibe to make.
Thor went for the jibe, almost made it before swimming, Mark then though one jibe to pull off and he is looking good, boom swings across and the main sets, boat is still up, he thinks he has made it before watching the bow dig like a miner for oil into the wave in front.
Thor almost already had the kite in the bag, While getting our kites up we noticed Dennis on the left corner with the kite up at warp speed sending it for the finish, Thor left the kite down and had one jibe to pull to get to the finish, capsized again on the jibe, leaving Dennis to take the win and Thor crossed in second with Mark in third. I am fairly certain that at a few points in the race all boats were down.
Overall Thor took a deserved win with Dennis second after a stellar day and Mark in third.
A great event, in great conditions, surprisingly nothing was damaged and everyone got in the harbour safely.
A big round of applause was given to the Bretts, Castles and Charlwoods for helping the event to and giving up a sunday to watch us, we are told that the mustos put on the best show!
We will all be looking forward to next year’s states and hope it’s just as eventful!
Mark
2013 Musto Vic States
For the first time ever the Australian Musto Skiff fleet headed to Metung for their 2013 Victorian State Championships.
The Metung Yacht Club Commodore, members and race committee were welcoming and proactive in working with the class to produce fair and enjoying racing.
The forecast for the Labour Day weekend was for high temps and variable winds, with the chance of light sea breezes. The championships had a schedule of three races on each afternoon of the long weekend with potentially nine races with two discards.
Day 1
Whilst not looking like we would have much breeze, the cloud eventually burnt off and a sea breeze started on Lake King an hour before the 2pm start time. Three races were raced in a light to moderate, shifty breeze. The results from the first three races were mixed and it was great to see some of the new musto sailors posting some good scores, indicating hard work over summer was paying off.
At the conclusion of racing it was straight to the Metung Yacht Club baloney for refreshing drinks and a delicious yacht club dinner.
Day 2
Right on cue the sea breeze came in for another afternoon of racing. Race 4, 5 & 6 provided excellent musto conditions with 10-16knots and flat water. Injured musto sailor Marcus Hamilton contributed greatly to the day by providing cold refreshments for the sail to shore for all sailors and the race committee. Good form Marcus, Sig & Em!
Day 3
It was like nothing could go wrong for the musto fleet, the breeze came in early for the last day of racing we had another three races in excellent conditions. Will Phillips was a chance to catch series leader Jon Newman. Will was in good form and did really really well on the last day, but could not seal the deal on the water and catch the consistent Jon Newman.
Well done to Jon Newman for this second consecutive State Championship.
The decision to head to Metung was to make the regatta more of a holiday and expose the fleet to competing outside of Port Philip Bay. The weekend was a great successful. The venue, yacht club and sailing conditions were fantastic, and I’m sure the mustos will be looking to get back there soon.
Lastly, a big thanks to Tim Hill and Jon Newman for organising the event and to the sailors that travelled from interstate to compete.
Jono Neate
Royal Perth Argonaught Mini Series
Saturday
A light easterly greeted the sailors early on Saturday morning with the forecast indicating the weekends racing was going to be dictated by how long the wind was going to stay around and how big the shifts were. It was a good chance for the local fleet to catch up and race one another since the nationals concluded in early Jan.
Race 1
Race 1 was scheduled for 9am and RO Robin Olsen got the fleets underway without much delay. Race format was a trapezoid course with two inner loops and a reach finish. James Lewis (our international newcomer) jumped into Marks boat for the morning races as Mark was unavailable. James enthusiasm having not sailed in some time was at an all-time and resulted in him being a little early to the start. With a re-start James was left to chase the remainder of the fleet which saw Thor & AB head left and Denis & Chris right up the first work. At the top mark Thor & AB rounded with a gap to Chris and Denis. The next lap saw Thor and AB extend until an untimely swim from AB see him drop back with Chris and Denis. Thor capitalised and sailed through for an easy win with Chris in 2nd followed by Denis.
Race 2
Race 2 got underway after a considerable delay which unfortunately meant James had to head in just as the preparatory signal was raise due to other commitments. With the adrenalin still pumping from his race win, Thor was the eager one this time and jumped the gun by a few seconds. His exit strategy involved a tack to cross Denis and then bear away for a re-start. Simple enough. Not so for Thor. He capsized during the tack which resulted in his mast coming down to the advancing Denis who couldn’t scoot low to avoid as there was a Taser in the way. Thankfully the with the lighter wind strength the impact wasn’t as bad as it could have not to mention the quick thinking Denis who was backing the main to slow the boat and get out of there. Denis managed to get away but thanks to Thor his boat end start was in shatters with the rest of the fleet long gone. Chris & AB had the lead by a fair bit at the top mark with Denis third and Thor a little further back after his restart and penalty. By the bottom mark Chris had a comfortable lead over AB with Thor managing to get past Denis on the down wind. Next lap saw Chris maintain his lead over AB with the fleet spreading out and searching for what wind was available.
Final windward saw Chris keeping a loose cover on AB with both working just right of the layline and searching for the pressure. Thor took a risky move and pushed further right than Chris and Arthur and somehow managed to find some pressure and closed the gap to AB half way up the work with Chris still leading. By the top mark Thor had closed the gap a little more on Chris with AB now in third position. On the final run Chris headed in towards the shore line with Thor opting for a short gybe back into the course before heading back for the layline of the outer trapezoid. By the time Chris and Thor converged they were neck and neck with Thor having the inside rounding. The final run to the finish saw Thor manage to come through for the win with Chris following closely in second, AB in third with Denis in fourth no doubt thinking how best to express his feelings towards Thor after the incident at the start.
Race 3
The wind continued to drop and full credit to Robin for getting the third race of the day away quickly to give all the fleets every opportunity to get around the course. Clean start with AB and Thor heading left and Denis broke right shortly after the start and Chris followed him shortly after. The left hand side payed up the first work seeing Thor rounding in front with AB close behind and Chris and Denis who worked right to round in third and fourth respectively. Not much positional change for the next lap with Thor keeping a loose cover on AB with the right hand side of the course appearing to pay. Good angle and pressure the further right the boats went with AB able to get a bit further right on Thor and close the gap with both angle and pressure towards the top mark. Thor rounded in front with AB within striking distance and Chris and Denis further back. On the run to the finish the calm and collective AB took his opportunities when they came and kept his boat moving in the best pressure. The crosses between AB & Thor now were very tight with AB opting for the Port layline into the last mark and Thor the Stbd. Stbd layline paid with Thor gybing on the mark and managing to get the kite through and set to allow him to lead AB to the finish line with a boat length separating the two. Chris came home in third with Denis in fourth.
Race 4
Wind was dropping considerably and Chris made an executive decision and we all headed back ashore. On the way in we passed Mark who was unable to sail the mornings racing and keen for some action. Common sense prevails and Mark follow suit on to make a spectacular entry into the beach with the prevailing onshore conditions resulting in himself, boat and foils going in opposite directions. Not a bad effort for the top local performer at the recent nationals. 5mins on water with a capsize resulting in sand, seaweed, and salt water through everything. At least he was smiling.
Results after first days racing:
Musto Skiff Fleet
Sailed: 3, Discards: 0, To count: 3, Entries: 5, Scoring system: Appendix A
Rank
|
SailNo
|
Boat
|
HelmName
|
Club
|
Race 1
|
Race 2
|
Race 3
|
Total
|
Nett
|
1st
|
424
|
Shish Kebab
|
Thor Schoenhoff
|
MBSC/FSC
|
1.0
|
1.0
|
1.0
|
3.0
|
3.0
|
2nd
|
429
|
429
|
Chris Sutherland
|
MBSC/FSC
|
2.0
|
2.0
|
3.0
|
7.0
|
7.0
|
3rd
|
488
|
George
|
Arthur Brett
|
FSC
|
4.0
|
3.0
|
2.0
|
9.0
|
9.0
|
4th
|
489
|
4 Legged Octopus
|
Denis Jones
|
MBSC
|
3.0
|
4.0
|
4.0
|
11.0
|
11.0
|
5th
|
245
|
Geoff
|
Mark Whittington
|
FSC
|
6.0 DNC
|
6.0 DNC
|
6.0 DNC
|
18.0
|
18.0
|
SUNDAY
12knots with gusts up to 21knots with the wind ‘steady’ from the ENE to the EES. 9:00am start ment we were going to have a dying breeze throughout the day. Who knew how long it was going to last was anyone’s guess. Mark hit the water at least half an hour before the next looking to hone his skills to the conditions whilst Thor tested the water with Denis onshore after testing the friendship in race two of yesterday.
Thor helped AB and Chris launch with the tricky onshore conditions before demonstrating his newfound boat handling skills on the back of yesterday’s performance. Struggling to get the boards down he slipped sideways along the length of the beach towards the pens at high speed. A last minute attempt at a tack with the board halfway down was always going to end in a swim. Landing just a couple of meters from shore and even closer to the pens, Dave Mann came charging into the water and assisted in the recovery. Taking 5mins to pull weed from the rigging, spreaders and other bits and pieces he made a successful 2nd attempt with the rest of the competitors none the wiser be it his ego a little damp. Thanks Dave!
Race 5
Denis broke from the fleet and headed out right looking for what we thought was pressure and angle. Turns out he was a bit hungry and headed straight for the local weekend crabbing hot spot. He hooked a crab pot which (in no particular order) resulted in both boards being pulled out and an unfortunate capsize. Needless to say he was a little ‘crabby’ after the ordeal and the four legged octopus was left snapping at the heels of the fleet.
Mark and Thor ended up match racing one another around the course with Mark chasing all the way to the finish. True to form and on the back of his involvement in some spectacular and entertaining finishes from the recent nationals Thor delivered once again. He led Mark by a boat length or two at the final bottom mark with a reach to the finish. Mark bagged his kite at the mark with Thor unaware of this continuing on towards the finish with his still flying. Everything was point towards Thor continuing his run of firsts on the scoreboard until what he described as a ‘freak gust totally out of nowhere’ had other plans for him. A luff to the finish line (with or without said gust) resulted in him taking a dive out the back of the boat whilst the rig gently came down covering the finishing mark. Mark sailed past for the win with Thor finishing second in front of Chris by the smallest of margins.
Race 6
With the wind continuing to drop and becoming more unstable as the land heated up Race 6 got underway. Thor played the shifts up the left hand side of the course and rounded the top mark in first with a handy lead to the rest of the fleet. A gybe set at the top mark and heading out to the right hand side of the course saw him extend his lead down the run to the rest of the fleet who were now coming in red hot from port lay to the bottom mark. Thor left himself a gybe drop to round the bottom mark only to come unstuck during the gybe and put it in the piss. Mark came flying through and rounded with a slick drop with the now recovered Thor a little way behind with AB right behind in third.
The timing of the rounding for the Musto’s wasn’t the greatest with a fleet of 4.7’s roaring up the course on starboard having just been let out of the starting block with Denis and Chris left to thread the needle to the somewhat oblivious 4.7’s. Unfortunately for Chris it was his turn for a swimming lesson and at the bottom of the course found himself upside-down and stuck. By stuck I mean the top of the mast firmly planted into mud with the boat completely capsized and needing some extra help by way of rescue boat to pull him out. Thor chased Mark around the rest of the course with Denis making gains on the pair at every opportunity that presented itself. Mark ended up winning with a small lead over the other two after another great display of finding pressure downwind. Denis managed to close the gap considerably and was applying pressure on Thor all the way down the final run with nothing to lose but ran out of course to finish third with Thor just in front for second with AB a little way back in 4th.
Race 7
Chris with a clean start and a cleaver plan up the first work lead the fleet to the top mark to a sizable lead over Thor with AB and Denis hot on his heels. Chris gybe sets causing Mark (who was still approaching the mark) to pull off an evasive manoeuvre resulting in a swim and relegating him to play catch up. Thor and AB set and continued chasing the pressure in front of them over towards Kings Park foreshore with Chris finding some great pressure on the right hand side of the course. Denis gybes earlier than Thor and AB and has good pressure with big gains. Chris rounds the bottom mark having extended his lead and the rest round in close succession.
Trying to cover the fleet up the next work in the shifty conditions ended up with Chris in a loose loose situation. Denis, AB and Thor managed to skirt around Chris and rounded in a close bunch. Thor managed to get through AB on the run and chased Denis all the way to the bottom mark. With no changes up the next work the final run to the finish saw Denis extend his lead over Thor by picking the quickest route through the congested race course to find the much needed pressure. The fast finishing AB with another stellar downwind closed the gap to Thor and forced buoy room on the final mark only to have Thor slip through to finish ahead. Denis took the win convincingly in the end with Thor and AB picking up the minor placing’s and Mark managing to get through Chris on the final run. Chris headed in to the beach for a cool drink and some much deserved shade.
Race 8
With the breeze getting lighter the fleet started in marginal trapezing conditions. Thor picked the shifts up the first work and Mark went for a swim to cool off. Denis chased Thor around the course with AB right in amongst it also. Mark picked the pressure downwind well and was catching the top three leaders the whole way around. Mark managed to catch AB on the final downwind and Denis showed his experience in skiff sailing and how to sail downwind in light air. With every gybe Denis was catching Thor and at every cross the two were never more than a boat length apart. The final cross saw Denis coming in from the stbd layline and Thor from the Port. At the mark Denis gybed to head towards the finish with Thor having to round on the outside with the boats neck and neck. A couple of other boats on the reach and the light wind manoeuvre by Denis allowed Thor to carry a small amount of speed and somehow manage to sail through the wind shadow of Denis. A close finish saw Thor finish with a very close win over Denis with Mark third.
Race 9
The weather got the better of the Musto’s and with Denis leading the charge for the beach. With the remainder of the fleet in tow they headed for shore just as the preparatory signal was raised in what could be described as a steady 3knots gusting to 4.23654knots (officially). We had some lunch and sat under a tree in the now sweltering conditions debating as to when to go back out in the sun and de-rig whilst watching the remaining fleets drift around for Race 9. Great call Denis!
A big welcome to both Sonia and James to WA who have come all the way from the somewhat cooler UK. We are looking forward to his unveiling of ‘Bruce’ to local waters once customs have given it the all clear. Next event is the States on the 23rd & 24th later this month sailing on the open waters of Fremantle Sailing Club. Final results below with a big thank to officials, volunteers and RPYC for another great ‘mini-series’.
Sailed: 7, Discards: 1, To count: 6, Entries: 5, Scoring system: Appendix A
Rank
|
SailNo
|
Boat
|
HelmName
|
Club
|
Race 1
|
Race 2
|
Race 3
|
Race 5
|
Race 6
|
Race 7
|
Race 8
|
Total
|
Nett
|
1st
|
424
|
Shish Kebab
|
Thor Schoenhoff
|
MBSC/FSC
|
1.0
|
1.0
|
1.0
|
(2.0)
|
2.0
|
2.0
|
1.0
|
10.0
|
8.0
|
2nd
|
489
|
4 Legged Octopus
|
Denis Jones
|
MBSC
|
3.0
|
(4.0)
|
4.0
|
4.0
|
3.0
|
1.0
|
2.0
|
21.0
|
17.0
|
3rd
|
488
|
George
|
Arthur Brett
|
FSC
|
4.0
|
3.0
|
2.0
|
(5.0)
|
4.0
|
3.0
|
4.0
|
25.0
|
20.0
|
4th
|
245
|
Geoff
|
Mark Whittington
|
FSC
|
(6.0 DNC)
|
6.0 DNC
|
6.0 DNC
|
1.0
|
1.0
|
4.0
|
3.0
|
27.0
|
21.0
|
5th
|
429
|
429
|
Chris Sutherland
|
MBSC/FSC
|
2.0
|
2.0
|
3.0
|
3.0
|
(6.0 DNC)
|
5.0
|
6.0 DNC
|
27.0
|
21
|
2012-2013 Season
Australian Championships.
 |
| Will Phillips, National Champion |
The 3rd Australian Mustoskiff 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.
Day 2 Australian MPS Championships held in the slowly building Fremantle
Doctor, in warm sunshine, 38 degrees and 27 degrees water temperature.
Reports by the race's 3rd placed boats.
RACE 3 report by Chris Sutherland
Race 3 of the Musto Australian Championships was the first race on a 3 race day Saturday.
The seabreeze filled slowly at 1:00pm and the PRO got the race started on 245 degrees in 9 to 14 knots
The race was won by Jon Newman, in the end after 2 veterans Arthur Brett legendary Contender and Windsurfing world champion and Chris Sutherland fought all day. Youth won in the end we finished in the order of Jon, Arthur and Chris.
Arthur and Chris were part of the fleet at the Pin end of the start, Arthur did a tack part way up the work then came left again while Chris went hard left, other guys tacked off and went central. Left paid and Arthur led Chris around the top Mark for the first time with heavyweight Ritchie Robertson 3rd. As the breeze slowly built, Arthur and Chris gapped the fleet on the downwind with Chris pulling off a brilliant late drop manoeuvre at the bottom mark to sail around Arthur and take the lead.
On the 2nd work Jon came through with a small shift to take the lead which he held at the top mark and build a small gap down the run. Arthur and Chris continued to battle with Arthur a little quicker as the wind built towards 12 knots,
In the end Jon extended to lead by a small margin while Arthur just made it over the line ahead of Chris.
Its been a perfect Regatta so far Perth is a wonderful place to sail -
RACE 4 report by Marcus Hamilton
The 'Freo Doctor' continued to build to 15-20kts, as the fleet pushed hard for a pin-end start. Phillips, Newman & Hamilton were first to the left side, which was proving to be the favoured side. However, Robertson had worked the shifts perfectly up the centre and had built a commanding lead at the top. Whittington, Schoenoff were in the mix downwind as the fleet closed up, except for Robertson who was still well clear.
The positions of the fleet were unchanged on the second lap as the lead boats protected the left.
On the third & final lap, things got interesting. The lead group was split by a ferry coming up the river. Phillips & Hamilton continued left and Newman tacked up the centre of course. When the boats converged at the top Hamilton, Whittington & Schoenhoff had benefited from the separation and had closed in on Newman.
Robertson was still well clear and determined to avenge his race 2 capsize, which had cost him the race win. With the pressure building on the course and in Robertson's head as he approached the final gybe to the finish line. It was success! The clean gybe gives Robertson the win.
Phillips holds second, and Hamilton follows in third, ahead of Whittington & Schoenhoff in fourth & fifth.
RACE 5 report by Jon Newman
Clear start and the fleet was away in 15-25 knots. Most of the fleet heading to the left hand shore line awaiting the left shift with the pressure. Few opting to tack out early to not risk the shallows ended up paying for it.
Top mark was Phillips, Hamilton, Newman and Hill. Newman having a bad bear away and standing it on the nose to result in a capsize with the remaining fleet having to dodge the mess. Phillips and Hamilton took off to put a large gap on the fleet.
Newman playing good catch up and getting back to 4th behind Thor by the gate. Next upwind. Hamilton and Phillips kept at it but not much changed between them with Phillips holding a clear lead.
Few shifts saw Newman pass Thor to get back in touch with the leaders by the next top mark. Huge downwind gusts saw the Phillips lead reduce to Hamilton and Newman with Thor close behind still. Bad rounding for Thor with a capsize and it was a 3 boat race for the 3rd lap.
Phillips with a loose cover on Hamilton and Newman. With all heading for the left again. Bad tack with a capsize for Newman saw the places locked in and Phillips ended with an easy win. Hamilton surviving a wonkey last gybe to remain second with Newman attacking still to come 3rd. Mark Whittington 4th followed by Tim Hill in 5th.
Day 3 Australian MPS Championship concludes in dramatic fashion 2 boats protested by the Race Committee for not signing on before going afloat, despite one of these boats returning ashore to sign later and still making the start of both race, and a third boat returning undetected and not protested by the Race Committee.
Both boats were penalised 4 points to be added to their regatta totals by the Jury for not signing on prior to going afloat.
Racing was conducted in fading North Westerly breeze. Following reports by Denis Joes and Arthur Brett.
RACE 6 by Denis Jones
After missing the start by 1 minute yesterday and getting flogged at Snap in the morning by my 8 year old, it was time to regroup and focus.
After a final reminder from 18 bowman, Thor Schoenoff to not be late and a perfectly non-polite retort it was time to head off to the course an hour early. Arriving to very little wind, the fleet sweated around for an hour in the above 30 degree heat, until our RO Andy Curnow summand some breeze.
We were answered with a fairly stable 20 knot North easterly. (Amazing work Andy…)
Arthur Brett won the start at the pin, with Marcus Hamilton winning the middle and Denis Jones at the boat. The three leading boats with others close behind all charged to the left hand side, not sure how the breeze was going to oscillate in the 3 lap race.
Arthur, Marcus and also going quick, Richie Robertson, were the first to tack to Port and took a couple of sterns, including Denis’s.
The top mark saw a slight shift to the RHS, which favoured the early tackers, including Jon Newman.
There were a few minor changes on the run, Notably Arthur Brett who nose-dived and swam in some large ferry wake during a gybe. Denis and Jon gybed early and managed to surf the waves to make up a few extra boat lengths.
All the boats converged closely at the bottom mark in fading breeze. Marcus was sailing really smart and held his lead both on the downwind and the next beat. Mark Whittington and Thor pulled a great early shift and Denis gained ground in the middle. The top mark had Marcus still in control with Jon and others chasing. Jon had a weird capsize, looked like he ran over the kite.
Again everyone converged at the bottom and it was time for major decisions. A group worked the left while Denis and Richie saw breeze on the right. Marcus did a great job keeping both groups under his belt. At the top it was Richie, Marcus and Denis all very close.
The final run home was tough in the fading breeze, Marcus did best and got the gun, Tim Hill who was at everyone’s ankle the whole race snuck through for 2nd and Denis third. Richie who gybed through the middle lucked out for a 5th.
RACE 7 by Arthur Brett
Breeze was from north east at the start at 6 knots then swinging 20 degrees to the right up the first beat and then another 20 throughout the rest of the race.
The boats out to the right on the first beat were favoured by the swinging of the breeze but those on the left were favoured by slightly more pressure. Those on the left were forced to hold their nerve and wait for a small shift back near the top. The right side paid but it could have been a whole lot worse for the others. Denis Jones led from Jon Newman.
Because of the 20 degree shift, the downwind was mostly spent on the port gybe. It was important to realise early that the left hand gate looking downwind was going to be heavily biased and to jockey for a smooth rounding position before it was too late. Jon led at the bottom form Denis.
There was a change of course for the second upwind and the breeze continued to drop. The strength was now under 5 knots with some handy and fairly subtle shifts on offer. There were some sizeable gains and losses and it became a real challenge to keep wide vision of the course and still sail the boat fast. Jon led from Denis and then Pickets Whittington.
The last downwind was always going to be tricky. The breeze was just strong enough to keep the kite filled and any gybe was going to cost more than normal. It was important to survey each side of the course on approaching the top mark and be measured and strong with the choice of the first gybe. Most of the fleet gybed and went left with a couple going right. Pickets came from the right and claimed the chocolates with Jon coming in second. Denis got dudded big time and was passed by a big clump of boats.
DAY 5
With no racing possible on Day 4, 3 races were scheduled for Day 5, with a steadily building sea breeze forecast for the middle off the day.
RACE 8
The fleet left the beach in light conditions, the wind swinging from gradient to sea breeze direction and settling in at 8 knots as the fleet started.
The breeze swung right off the line, favouring boats at the boat end, before bending back to the left as the leaders approached the port tack lay line. Newman, Hill, Green, Sutherland and Phillips led the fleet back to the starboard approach and onto the first run. Newman found pressure on the right hand side of the run to lead to the bottom gate from Phillips and Hill.
The second beat followed the same pattern as the first. Hill and Newman took s short hitch to the right, tacked back to the left while Phillips headed immediately to the left hand side. The wind shifted left and strengthened, Phillips making up ground to round in second behind Newman, Hill and Thor following.
Newman held his lead to the finish, while behind him boats gybing early back to the centre of the course passed Phillips leaving him 5th over the line. Hill was 2nd, Thor 3rd and Sutherland 4th.
RACE 9
The breeze freshened to 12 knots at the start of Race 9, shifting to the right again favouring boats at the boat end. Hill and Newman crossed the fleet while Robertson headed to the right hand side of the course. Hill and Newman tacked to cross Robertson on a band of pressure, approaching the starboard tack lay line as the wind suddenly built to 25 knots.
Newman bore away in a cloud of spray at the top mark and gybed while Hill held on on starboard trying to settle his boat. Robertson followed with the of the fleet close behind.
Hill swam briefly on the gybe. Newman reached in to set his kite, ploughed along the the nose in, stepped back to pull the bow out, reached in again, nearly lost it once more and elected to ride the gust out to the bottom mark without setting. The rest of the fleet attempted hoists, gybes and drops to varying degrees of success. Thor managed a gybe set and rode Newman down to round close behind in the ride of the regatta. Hill righted his boat, left his kite in the bag and rounded 3rd, with Hamilton and Phillips close behind.
The breeze stayed in at 20-25 knots. Newman's tiller extension detached from his tiller in his tack to the top mark and he swam, giving the lead to Thor. Hill went right, Phillips went left, following Thor to the top mark with Hill behind. Thor kept his kite in the bag, Phillips set and swam on the gybe, Hill kept his kite down also, made the gybe and finished second, Phillips third, Hamilton fourth, Newman fifth.
RACE 10
Race 10 was epic. 20-25 knots with few lulls and a short chop ricocheting off the headlands making gybing very difficult. The fleet all headed left to the lay line on the first beat, Newman rounding first from Hamilton. Some boats set kites down the run, some didn't, some swam on drops, others on gybes, others on tacks. Newman held it together to lead to the finish, followed by Phillips, Hill, Hamilton and Thor in fifth.
The final results saw just crowned Australian 49er Champion, Will Phillips pip his former crewmate, Jon Newman by just one point. Tim Hill's consistent sailing on the final day lifted him into 3rd overall, one point in front of Marcus Hamilton with promising newcomer Mark Whittington in fifth.
Many thanks to Thor, Chris and the growing WA fleet for putting on a great event and Mounts Bay Yacht Club for making it possible. Special thanks goes to our Race Officer, Andy Curnow, who negotiated the unusual weather conditions and managed to give us a full series in fair racing conditions. The next nationals will be in Victoria, at a venue to be decided later in the year.
2013 Musto Skiff Nationals - Results
2013 Musto Skiff Nationals - Results
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Go for Gold Regatta
Last weekend was the annual mixed class regatta with over 100 boats at Black Rock
Saturday was hot. The heat brings all sorts of people to Half Moon Bay. Salman was there for a swim, he was from the Nunawading triathlon club. Salman found the Musto Skiff intriguing, he was keen to give it a try, he wondered why somebody would go so far out into the bay without an engine.
Race 1, the 10 knot northerly was perfect, Richard was leading by miles but decided to do his own race around the long course. Will showed some rare form leading around the short course from start too finish. Jon had a costly bad tack on the first work, which cost him.
After waiting for Richard to finish his race we eventually got the second one under way, with everyone around the long course. This race was more variable with position changes everywhere and major shifts in wind direction, we finished the race in a light south-westerly. Tim held his nerve to claim victory. The wind then died completely and the Musto fleet led the way back to shore. It took Tim, Robin and Chris 2 hours to drift back to Sandy. Salman was right, they needed an engine.
For Sunday's races 3, 4, 5 and 6 we had 8 knots building to 18 from the south by the final race. Each race followed a similar pattern with every one of the top 4 taking turns in the lead, and any mistakes were costly, it was tight the whole way around. With the exception of the last where Jon got away. Although there was still an epic battle for the rest of the fleet down the last run, until Tim had a swim at the last drop.
Congratulations to Jon, taking all 4 race wins on the final day and the overall regatta win from Tim and me. Also to Robin, Richard, Tim and Chris for the great competition!
Cheers,
Will
| Boat Name | Sailor | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poker Face | Jon Newman | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | [3] | 6 |
| Jet | Tim Hill | [4] | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Skye | Will Phillips | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | [3] | 1 | 11 |
| Black Spot | Richard Ekberg | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | [6] | 19 |
| Wave Train | Robin Dayes | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | [6] | 5 | 19 |
| Erica's Kitchen | Chris Peile | 8 | 8 | [8] | 7 | 5 | 4 | 32 |
Sail Fremantle 2012 (Report & Photo: Chris Sutherland & Mark Whittington) sailed on the 27/ 28th October was the first fleet regatta for the Western Australian Musto fleet ever. This newest of the Musto fleets included Arthur Brett, x world champion in Contenders and Windsurfer who was back from the Olympics, 49er & 14ft Skiff and America’s Cup sailor Denis Jones, Laser gun Mark Whittington and Chris Sutherland and Paul Green, the current Laser radial world champion Tristan Brown has just bought a Musto but could not sail.
Mark Whittington dominated the regatta winning 3 races of the 9 races, and Arthur Brett came 2nd. By winning Mark got to write the article below and his photo on the article
By Mark Whittington
Sail Fremantle kicked off with a healthy 20 knot easterly in the boat park, By the time the musto fleet figured which way the boat should face to pull the main up and got out the heads it was down to 10 knots. By the time we all reached to the start boat we were down to 5 knots.
Not the first time in Perth that the easterly has died on a 35 degree day with no clouds.
Not the first time in Perth that the easterly has died on a 35 degree day with no clouds.
Anyway with all this excitement we started race one, 3 laps, each lap taking what felt like an hour, As the front runners approached the bottom mark one someone yelled out "wanna go to the finish"
The others thought this was a grand idea and replayed "sounds good" This conversation had taken place after a kite was dropped for the bottom mark rounding. Some cheeky guy in pink took advantage of this and keep his kite up and went straight for the race win. Mark Whittington was first, Paul Green was 2nd.
The others thought this was a grand idea and replayed "sounds good" This conversation had taken place after a kite was dropped for the bottom mark rounding. Some cheeky guy in pink took advantage of this and keep his kite up and went straight for the race win. Mark Whittington was first, Paul Green was 2nd.
Following the long race we decided to have a one lapper. Skiff legend Denis Jones sailed away in this race for the win.
After a while waiting we had a soft sea breeze. Arthur Brett (AB) had a killer start rolling that
same cheating guy in pink from the first race to push him out to a big lift on the right, sailing away for the race.
same cheating guy in pink from the first race to push him out to a big lift on the right, sailing away for the race.
The final race for the first day saw Paul and Sutho (Chris Sutherland) start correctly and AB just got Sutho for the heat win
Sunday again started with a nice easterly only to completely die before the first race.
After 30-40 minutes of waiting we were away in 5-10 knots form the south west.
Despite being over on the start Sutho restarted came through the fleet to take the heat win by a nice margin.
After 30-40 minutes of waiting we were away in 5-10 knots form the south west.
Despite being over on the start Sutho restarted came through the fleet to take the heat win by a nice margin.
In race 2 as the wind built Mark used his swift boat handling to capitalise on Paul, despite Paul being the faster boat uphill.
Race 3 no one remembers what happened.
Race 3 no one remembers what happened.
The last two races we held in a left shifting sick dying sea breeze. These final races saw AB and Mark take a race each in some good little battles, especially in last race, AB sutho and Mark stayed in close quarters to each other.
The other WA Musto sailor Thor Schoenhoff could not be there for the regatta having booked a week in Phuket with his girlfriend, sent his report from Thailand via Facebook
"went snorkeling at the location of 'The Beach' yesterday. nice and quiet and very peaceful along with the other 20,000 people that were there."
On a final note it was the very first time the fleet has gone sailing for a day and not have a capsize, and this was on 7 hour day!
The fleet is moving back to Mounts Bay Sailing club in Preparation for the National Championship in January,