Singlehanded skiffing in Lymington

Dave Poston reports on the Musto Skiffs, with some great shots

Sun and wind greeted the Musto Skiff fleet for two days of good racing at Lymington Town SC over the weekend of 24-25 May.

The first race set the scene for the rest of the regatta with Richard Stenhouse leading at the first mark, leaving the rest of the fleet to fight it out behind him. Graeme Oliver was second with Dave Poston just managing to keep ahead of Simon Rosier to get third. Race 2 followed a similar pattern but with Oliver attempting to trapeze off something he shouldn't, breaking his tiller and ending up fifth, giving second to Poston and third to Rosier. Then, as if two hours of good racing weren't enough, the whole fleet went for a blast downwind all the way to Cowes before returning home!

Similar conditions were had on Sunday with more fast, tight racing in Race 3. Stenhouse emerged from a large downwind battle to lead the way, with Poston and Oliver following close behind. However Poston was forced to retire with gear failure leaving Oliver to finish second and Jamie Stevenson in third. Several large shifts turned Race 4 into a reach-a-thon but this did not cramp Stenhouse's style, as he lead to a perfect set of bullets. Some large shifts and gusts meant consistent upright sailing was key and Oliver pulled through to second with Kit Stenhouse close behind.

Many thanks to Lymington Town SC for putting on a very enjoyable event and for letting the skiffs stay an extra day for some more wave-jumping!

Overall Results:
1st Musto Skiff 107 Richard Stenhouse (Rutland ) 3pts
2nd Musto Skiff 111 Graeme Oliver (Whitstable) 6pts
3rd Musto Skiff 080 Dave Poston (Datchet) 10pts
4th Musto Skiff 090 Kit Stenhouse (Rutland) 11pts
5th Musto Skiff 082 Simon Rosier (Lymington Town) 14pts.

See following page for some great pics...