Welcome to the May issue of the eNewsletter. There has been plenty of activity on the water for the fleet since I last wrote, there are reports from the open events hosted by Helensburgh, Ullswater and Northampton later in the newsletter.

Almost everyone in the class has probably spoken with Paul Manning at one time or another. He is a regular on the circuit - although I have yet to see him sail the MPS, he is the man in Burnham with his finger on the pulse of MPS, Finn, Melges and other class developments and on top of that he is pretty good company in the bar or down at the curry house after racing is finished for the day. If there is anything that you still don't know about Paul you can read his bio later in this issue.

Membership of the class association brings many different benefits, this month there are details of how to get special rates on Gerber multi-tools and knives from www.greatkit.com.

Coming up in the next month are the SSR / MPS event at South Shields and the MPS open at Whitstable. There is now only just over 2 months to go until the Gold Cup in Denia so practice time out on the water is getting short.

Paul Clarke GBR 176 - It's Not A Van!

Europeans/UK Nationals
The Notice of Race and Entry Form are now available. There is a late entry surcharge of £25 so get your entries in early to avoid paying extra - you have been warned. Looks like we should get a great turnout this year with the event being a combined Europeans/UK Nationals being held at a fantastic venue, Paignton Sailing Club. The social side should also be pretty interesting as we are sharing the water (and the bar) with the B14 fleet More information >>>

Ullswater Open - April 16th 2005
The Musto Skiff fleet met at Ullswater for a one-day open event on the 16th April with four back-to-back races. Race one started in light conditions. A windshift turned the beat into a fetch but Richard Stenhouse managed to position himself best for incoming puffs, rounding the windward mark first and holding onto the lead to the finish in front of Graeme Oliver and Ian Trotter third. Read the full reports >>>

Special Offers on Gerber & Casio Products
for MPS Owners from www.greatkit.com The MPS Class association is pleased to have created an association with Simon Crowther of www.greatkit.com to be able to offer members of the MPS class association special rates on great kit from Casio and Gerber; Check out the offers >>>

Musto Skiff - First Ever Scottish Traveller Trophy Event - Helensburgh. The first ever Scottish Traveller Trophy event for the Musto Skiff class was held as part of the Helensburgh Sailing Club Spring Regatta, and the 9 competitors from as far a field as Rutland and Aberdeen were greeted by stormy cold conditions. With winds of 20 to 25 knots the Saturday racing was held in the relative shelter of the Gareloch, just off the clubhouse - which made for some interesting spectating. The peak measured gust was 29 knots - and I remember it well! Read more >>>