ACO 13th Musto Skiff 2024 Worlds at the WPNSA Day 1
by Eddie Bridle and Euan Hurter 16 Jul 2024 10:31 EST
14-20 July 2024
After glorious warm sunshine over the weekend, the 73-strong fleet was greeted with a typical beautiful British summer day of 20 knots and torrential rain.
A 1 p.m. start was planned for the first race of the ACO 13th Musto Skiff World Championship, with the fleet launching on time in an easterly breeze of around 10-15 knots. This was forecast to build through the day, with the potential for 20 knot gusts. However, with poor visibility, racing was moved to the harbour area.
Race 1: The fleet got away with a clean start. Jono Shelley, still midway through a stomach bug, led the pack into the top mark, taking the favoured left-hand side of the course. Bill Maughan, showing his speed, took to the right-hand side of the course, eventually rounding with the leading pack of boats. By the end of the two laps, Sam Pascoe had shown his boat speed to take the win, with Rob Richardson in second and Bill in third.
Race 2: With a moderating breeze, the fleet got away cleanly again. However, this time, the left side of the course was showing a bias, and the boats at the pin took an early lead on that side. After some furious racing, it was close to the finish, but Bill Maughan took the win, with Rob Richardson in second and Dan Trotter in third.
Race 3: The course shifted further down the harbour, and the breeze continued to drop between races 2 and 3. The fleet was pushing the line for prime position but went too far, leading to the first general recall of the day. The race officer switched to a black flag, and the fleet stepped back slightly for the recall.
There was a continuous threat of wind shifting right over Portland Bill. As a result, much of the fleet tried to reach out for the right-hand side of the course. Unfortunately, this didn't work as the wind, dressed in the disguise of a squall, came strong from the left. The 2022 World Champion, Rick Peacock, led into the top mark, followed by Pascoe and Boatman, but Pascoe and Boatman showed their form and managed to work past Peacock to take first and second, with Peacock coming out in third.
As the fleet made their way up the first beat, the breeze began to build again towards 18-20 knots, but it was less consistent. The bigger breeze and tired sailors led to a few more swims around the course. However, Sam Pascoe, who had taken an early lead, secured another first place, making him the overall winner of the day with a 1,4,1. Danny Boatman sealed second place overall, and close behind him was Dan Trotter in third.
With three races done, the sailors came ashore for the Opening Ceremony in the Spinnaker room and some 'light' grub to recover. Danny Boatman stepped into his International Chairman role and welcomed the fleets to the event before RSA sailor Brennan Robinson shared some key highlights of the day's racing, including some interesting capsizes and a tussle of boats in race one!
At the close of Day 1, the leaderboard was dominated by GBR sailors for the top 10 places, and Netherlands sailor Paul Dijkstra in the mix in 8th place with a fairly consistent 8,10,12. With four more days of racing, there is still everything to sail for in this Championship and some great competitive racing ahead across the full international fleet.