ACO 13th Musto Skiff 2024 Worlds at the WPNSA - Day 2
by Dan Trotter 17 Jul 10:03 NZST
14-20 July 2024
Early on in the day, competitors were waking up to the sound of a 30 knot whistling wind blowing from the west in Portland Harbour. A few apprehensive faces could be seen in the dinghy park, but thankfully the forecast prevailed, and after a short postponement, day 2 of the ACO 13th Musto Skiff World Championship got under way in champagne conditions of 15-20 knots out of the west and glorious sunshine.
Race 4: Sam Pascoe continued where he left off on day 1, showing his supreme local knowledge by leading the fleet out to the left and dominating the downwind legs to take another bullet. Sam was followed over the finish line by Bill Maughan and Dan Trotter. Shout out to Jono Shelley, who, after battling a sickness bug on day one, managed a very credible fourth place before suffering equipment failure in races 5 and 6, eventually having to retire for the day.
Race 5: Bill Maughan put his shoulders back and used the heavyweight advantage to foot off left, tacking, and clearing the fleet to sail off and take a comfortable win. Sam Pascoe and Rob Richardson initially struggled to clear the roadblock of Dan Henderson, who by all accounts was pointing head to wind, then went on to finish respectfully in second and third.
Race 6: With the wind now moderating down to 15 knots, Bill Maughan showed no sign of slowing down. Despite getting rolled off the start line, he put the afterburners on to lead to the windward mark and take his third bullet in the Championship. Sam Pascoe showed he is human, capsizing on his last gybe, letting Dan Trotter through to take second place. Pascoe recovered to finish third. Rob Richardson suffered the same fate, dropping from third place down to sixth.
Further down the fleet, Tom Moore, who is new to the class, selflessly took evasive action to avoid the leading pack by jumping out of the boat while sailing downwind in full send mode. No-one's quite sure where Tom landed, but his tally and tracker did eventually make it back ashore.
After racing, the fleet enjoyed a BBQ and beers back at the WPNSA club house, joined by class sponsor Musto, who took the opportunity to get out on the water to watch some of today's racing. Also joining the evening social were friends of the class, Keith Musto OBE, Rick Perkins, and Paul Manning, who are all here for the remainder of the week to watch the racing and catch up with old friends.
After six races and two days back-to-back, the fleet is now looking forward to a hard-earned rest day tomorrow before restarting racing on Thursday.