Welcome to the Musto Skiff Newsletter,
it has been a fantastic time in the class since the
Europeans; we have loads of new faces in the class with
the UK fleet growing very quickly and the Swiss boys
doing a great job as well. Garda looks like it is going
to be a blinder !!
On the UK front we have had some
great racing when the weather has played ball and also
a spectacular weekend invitational on the River Tyne
(Newcastle) with loads of spectators and some incredibly
close racing on frighteningly short courses. Thanks
to Ovi and Bov for the organisation and to Glenys Ovi
for the great breakfasts!!
On other fronts, I would like to
congratulate Kay Tavinor on her appointment to Director
at Ovington Boats, and wish Tim Tavinor good luck in
his new ventures after leaving Devoti and thank him
for all of his hard work in getting us to where we are
now. Also ...... congratulations and good luck to Luca
Devoti for being selected as the skipper of the Italian
+39 America's cup team, Sten as a grinder .........
I wonder!
Good
sailing, Graeme Oliver Musto Performance Skiff Class
Chairman
|
| Tuning Guide - The top boys
numbers  There
are no secrets in the class when it comes to the tuning
of rigs and the top guys are always keen to share their
setting to help bring others up the fleet. At the recent
open meeting at Whitstable I measured the rig settings
of the top 5 boats.
The measurements covered spreader length
and deflection, lower and shroud tension, lower and
shroud settings and mast foot position. I also asked
the sailors height and weight.
The settings were very similar for
a wide range of helms. Heights ranged from 5'10"
to 6'2" and there was 18Kgs between the heaviest
and the lightest.
See the details ....
|
Tips from the Top
 This
is the first in a series of articles where the top sailors
share their insights and knowledge in an attempt to
help out the mere mortals in the fleet.
Question 1 - What is the best way to get out of irons
if I have messed up a tack?
Kev Anderson Said: "Simple - Just
don't do it !! There is no fast way out of it and once
you are there your race is over" I can already
see a follow-up question coming. Richard Stenhouse gave
a more detailed answer; "There are several things
that you can use to get you sailing again. 1 - the Sail,
this can be pulled to windward to push the bow round,
backed to leeward to reverse out or trimmed to sail
forwards. 2 - the hull shape, this can be used to steer
the boat in the skiff it over rides the rudder at low
speeds 3 - Centre of Effort, use this is like a windsurfer
it is the relationship between the rig foils and you
4 - Rudder, get better with this and you wont be in
irons in the first place 5 - Kinetics - the boat will
move in relationship to how you move 6 - Rig settings
- this can be  used
to make tacking easy i.e. rake up, doownhaul on ,outhaul
on, kicker off and board slightly raised. this isn't
so fast in a straight line. So a combination of these
will get you going quicker. Back the sail to leeward
heel to leeward helm to leeward trim forward to reverse
out of irons to beam reach. Then trim the sail in, heel
to windward, bear away step out on the wire keep trim
forward until rudder gains flow.
Question 2: Its blowing dogs off chains,
I am approaching the lay line down wind at warp speed,
what is the top tip for surviving the gybe? See the
web for the answer to this question and question 3 ....
Find out
more ... »
|
Whitstable
Yacht Club Open - 22 &23rd May 2004
The
19 sailors who made the trip to Whitstable had 5-10
knots of breeze and a slight chop on the racecourse.
The first two races saw the usual suspects hit the front
with Sten taking the first race and trotter the second.
Read
the full report >>>
16
Boats battle it out in testing condition at Derwent
A
good entry of 16 Skiffs arrived at Derwent and were
greeted with grey skies. The first race started in 12
to 15 knots with Martin Boatman leading the pack at
the first mark only to hit it which let Ian trotter
though to first. Who was in turn past by Kev Anderson
down the run. At the finish it was Anderson, Trotter
and Ian Turnbull third. Read
the full report >>> |
For
those who recieve the newsletter who aren't lucky enough
to own an MPS there are a few boats for sale second hand
(in various countries) 
