Musto Skiff Open at Thorpe Bay Yacht Club

Musto Skiffs at Thorpe Bay © Tania Samus / www.photoblink.co.uk

Musto Skiffs at Thorpe Bay © Tania Samus / www.photoblink.co.uk

Saturday's forecast may have put some people off, however 20 Musto Skiffs arrived at Thorpe Bay Yacht Club for what promised to be a pretty full on first day. Being an offshore breeze, from the beach some may have thought they were in the Mediterranean with the new palm trees that have popped up down Southend sea front, however off shore where the committee boat was positioned, there was around 20-25 knots, with some vicious gusts.

Race 1 got underway and I would like to be able to tell you what happened at the front of the fleet, however, I was adamant to try and loose 12 places on the final down wind, going from 3rd place, to 15th. Andy Peake showed his phenomenal upwind pace to take the first race of the day, closely followed by young gun Tom Wright, who you can tell has been at university because he now weights somewhere around 92kg, and following in 3rd place was Graeme Oliver from the dark side of the estuary (Whitstable). Nigel Wallbank and Richard Pelley rounded up the top 5 with some impressive sailing in the strong breeze. However, race 1 mental victory however had to go to Jon Simpson, because I don’t think for the whole weekend he managed to not talk about finishing 6th in race one, and beating me, (Dan Henderson).

Race 2 was followed as soon as possible after race one, however being one the same race course as the 49ers, b14’s and 29er’s it meant some waiting around in-between races was necessary for the race committee to get ready and for the tail enders of the fleets to finish. Race 2 was probably sailed in the most wind of the weekend with some mammoth gusts, especially on the first downwind leg where is felt as if the boat was taking the sailor where it wanted to go, instead of where you wanted it to go. Finally Bruce Keen felt like making an appearance in the top 10, winning the race showing some good boat handling and pointing upwind. Our very own postman pat (Dan Vincent) make his way to 2nd place showing that maybe he should give up the day job, but then most people wouldn’t get there mail, so best you don’t Dan! Andy Peake once again showed good speed to work his way into 3rd place, followed by Graeme Oliver and myself Dan Henderson.

Race 3 followed, and once again, Tom Wright showed both upwind and downwind speed to find himself at the front of the fleet, after a capsize in race 2 which left him 7th. This time in race 3 it wasn’t all about the heavy people at the front of the fleet. Mike Palfremen took advantage of the capsizes that the heavier sailors where doing, and keeping the stick up in the air found himself 2nd, followed by Dan Henderson in 3rd. However, in race 3, the credit has to go to Sergei Samus who battled his way around the course to earn 4th place, beating Graeme Oliver, and current national champion Bruce Keen.

After what felt like Armageddon during Saturdays racing, there’s nothing like a good old party, once again organised and sponsored by Steve Hopper of EITS. Year after year, Steve commits himself to throw a party because of his love for skiff sailing. Huge thanks to Steve from the Musto Skiff class for the Hog Roast, and DJ Craig Asquith. Some skiffs sailors were seen taking advantage of the music and dancing on Saturday night, no names being thrown around here, (Dan Vincent), doing what he called “pulling shapes” on the dance floor. A video of Dan “pulling shapes” can soon be seen on you-tube.

Sunday's forecast was for the breeze to be slightly lighter, however awaking after a pretty heavy night; the wind was similar, maybe even more than the Saturday. The race officer postponed racing for an hour, and the breeze seemed to drop slightly allowing racing to commence.

Race 4 was sailed in quite similar breeze to the Saturday, again with some nasty gusts to catch people out. Andy Peake showed the same form as his did in race 1 to win the race, followed by Bruce Keen, and once again young gun Tom Wright. The top 5 was rounded up with Dan Vincent in 4th and Graeme Oliver in 5th. Tom Wright and Andy Peake were putting together a solid series, so it looked although it would be down to them two to fight it out for the win.

Race 5 followed sailed in around 20 knots of wind. Dan Henderson had a strong start at the pin end to win the start, however lacked on upwind pace, which allowed Tom Wright and Andy Peake to overtake. Tom continued in the excellent form he had been in all weekend to win race 5, followed by Andy Peake and Dan Henderson in 3rd. National champion Bruce Keen finished in 4th, followed by Graeme Oliver in 5th.

The final race of the weekend was sailed in a dying but still gusty force 3. Tom Wright popped out of the right hand side of the race course with Dan Vincent and Graeme Oliver, followed by Dan Henderson and Andy Peake from the left. The first downwind would decide the race, with some gusts and wind shifts as the breeze was still coming off the land. Towards the end of the run, there were a few large gusts which meant that Tom Wright sailed away from the fleet, however Dan Vincent and Graeme Oliver went too far on the port lay line into the leeward mark meaning they couldn’t make the mark. This allowed Dan Henderson to overtake and gain a comfortable gap between 2nd and 3rd. Tom Wright extended his lead, followed by Dan Henderson in 2nd, Graeme Oliver in 3rd, Dan Vincent in 4th and Mike Palfreman rounding up the top 5.

Tom Wright gained his first event win sailing excellently in the big breeze. Andy Peake retained 2nd place which he seems to be making his own, just with a different person finishing in front of him every time and Dan Henderson finishing 3rd.

A big thanks goes to Thorpe Bay Yacht Club and Steve Hopper once again for the Hog roast and DJ on Saturday night.

Overall Results: