Noble Marine UK Musto Skiff National Championship 2024 at Filey Sailing Club - Day 1
by Bill Maughan 15 Jun 2024 17:40 BST
14-16 June 2024
Noble Marine UK Musto Skiff National Championship 2024, day 1 © Filey Sailing Club
This year, the Musto Skiff fleet is at Filey Sailing Club for their UK National Championship, which is kindly sponsored once again by Noble Marine. The stunning bay can be seen a few miles out, and the local members gave us a very warm welcome on arrival.
Day one of the Championship started with a mix of sunshine and rain. Three races were planned, but with the potential for shifty conditions and lighter wind as the day went on, getting in all three races felt rather ambitious.
Race 1 kicked off on time with a 5-8 knot south westerly. The fleet was under way, recall-free, thanks to a strong tide keeping everyone at bay on the start line. With big shifts coming off the shore, the fleet split up the beat. A big right-hander saw Bill Maughan take advantage with a healthy lead from the far right, followed by Rob Richardson, and Danny Boatman at the windward mark.
Rob's blistering pace downwind was only let down by a comical trapeze line failure, costing him half of the fleet. Danny got ahead of Bill by the bottom mark, with Sam Pascoe and Sam Barker chasing back from behind. By the second lap, the breeze had built up to 15-18 knots. Bill and Danny were tussling for the lead, but Bill was just ahead by the top mark. A 'full send' downwind was the plan, but Bill let himself down at the gybe and went swimming, forfeiting the lead. Danny swept it up, with Barker and Pascoe also getting past, finishing in 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
Race 2 was a test of everyone's patience. After a long delay, our faithful race committee did an excellent job getting another race going in a dying breeze. Sam Barker nailed the pin and led from start to finish. This gave Barker the overnight lead on countback, with race 3 abandoned due to lack of wind. Danny Boatman finished in 2nd, putting him in 2nd overall, and despite coming 5th in race 1, Eddie Bridle's 3rd place in race 2 moved him up into 3rd overnight.
After a few social beers at the sailing club, the fleet headed out on mass to sample the local pubs in Filey's town centre before finishing up at the local curry house in preparation for four races on Saturday.
Full results after day one and two races here.