Noble Marine UK Musto Skiff National Championships at Sunderland Yacht Club - Day 1

62 boats racing on day 1 of the Noble Marine UK Musto Skiff National Championships at Sunderland © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk

Day 1 of the 2021 Noble Marine UK Musto Skiff National Championships and Sunderland lit up for us. 60-something very excited sailors have descended on the fantastic sunny Sunderland Yacht Club for four days of intense racing.

Race 1

The race committee are a wealth of experience and it showed throughout the day.

Blasting down to the start line in 20kts and sunshine, the fleet were in high spirits. Lining up for the first race one felt a shiver of excitement and had to be careful not to jump the gun.

Despite the lack of regattas since the start of Covid, the sailors didn’t show any rust and the competition was hotter than an Aussie barbecue in the sand. After a very tough battle all the way round the course, Andy Tarboton managed to squeak ahead of Sam Pascoe and Ben Clegg.

Dolphins on day 1 of the Noble Marine UK Musto Skiff National Championships at Sunderland - photo © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk

Race 2

The breeze was around 15-18kts with a shifty and gusty racetrack making for interesting racing. The majority planned to start at the committee boat but the wind shifted mid sequence so the fleet sailed down the line to hedge their bets.

Shelley and Molesworth were trucking along in front and rounded first. Ben Clegg gybe-set on the down wind and hooked in to a punchy gust which took him into a narrow lead from Hilton and Munro who picked solid lanes down the middle. Hilton and Clegg jostled for the lead with Clegg finally taking the win with Maughan pulling through for a second place after a great roll of the dice up the final beat.

Ben Clegg on day 1 of the Noble Marine UK Musto Skiff National Championships at Sunderland - photo © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk

Race 3

The race officer waited patiently for the breeze to settle back in at 280 deg and 10 to 18 kts. We saw a right hand shift off the line and the boats that got cleanly out the pin were perfectly lined up heading towards more pressure and a left phase on the horizon meant that the pack of boats were a long way ahead led by Shelley, Ian Turnbull and Dan Trotter.

The race gave plenty of opportunities with some big shifts and pressure changes on the downwind. It was a good battle at the front with Turnbull and Tarboton fighting it out. Turnbull was very unlucky down the second run when he gybed and got a kite twist, which reduced his 300 metre lead to 150 m on Andy Tarboton; then Peter Greenhalgh got lucky on a shift up the last beat and managed to squeeze by to steal the lead.

Start line on day 1 of the Noble Marine UK Musto Skiff National Championships at Sunderland - photo © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk

Back ashore the fleet were treated to a well-earned pint and sausage roll as a starter before fish and chips. A snappy AGM rounded out a great day.

After day 1, Ben Clegg is leading, with Andy Tarboton in second place and Sam Pascoe in third.

Results after day 1: