Whitstable Open - 12-13th May

Report written by Andy Peake; Photography by Tania & Sergei Samus

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Despite an awful forecast 23 Musto Skiffs arrived at Whitstable Yacht Club on Saturday 12th May and were greeted by the predicted 30 knots of breeze. The race officer soon came to the conclusion that boats were best left on shore, particularly as Sunday’s forecast was looking more promising.

Race one on Sunday got underway in around 8 knots. Ex Solo National Champion, Dan Vincent, showed early promise by leading the fleet round the windward mark, closely pursued by Kit Stenhouse. With the breeze building, boat handling skills started to come into play which didn’t work in Vincent’s favour. His capsize allowed Kit to capitalise on the lead she had earlier taken and Rick Perkins to pull through into second. Michael Palfreman from Starcross was third.



Race two and the breeze was now allowing flat out trapezing. Rich Stenhouse started his campaign in clear air at the port end and a perfectly timed tack on the port layline. Rick Perkins continued where he’d left off in the last race and put in a solid second place. Behind him, third was being fought over by Andy Peake, Daniel Henderson and Mark Addison. Peake prevailed after some very close racing down the second run.

Race three and still all to play for. Stenhouse rounded first, followed by Dave Poston. Poston was coming under increasing pressure from Peake who managed to overhaul him down the second run. The finishing order did not change.

The final race saw the breeze increase and started with a port bias line. Several of the front runners struggled off the line, which saw some new faces at the first windward mark. Neil Ashby and Dave Poston fought over the lead, until they were caught and overtaken by Stenhouse. Behind them, Peake and Perkins were battling for fourth place in the race for second overall. The race finished with Rich Stenhouse stamping his authority on the event, Poston second and Ashby third. Peake overhauled Perkins down the last run, but had only done enough to finish on equal points. This left him third in the overall standings. Perkins grabbed second and Stenhouse took first position.

Thanks must go to Whitstable Yacht Club, who came to a very quick conclusion on Saturday’s abandonment and put on four great races on Sunday. Thanks must also go to Aquastraps, who supported the event with some of their new safety toe loops. After receiving theirs, Tim Chapman and Tony Coulson can pitch pole at will without fear of a broken ankle!

The Musto Skiff fleet is brimming with excitement and anticipation at the imminent World Championships in Lake Garda in just five weeks and with only one more event to go it is difficult to see a credible challenger to Rich Stenhouse from the UK. It will be down to the rest of the World to mix things up a little.

Overall results Results on WYC Website

Place Sail No Boat Helm Crew Club Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Race 4 Gr Pts Nt Pts

1 265 Richard Stenhouse Rutland SC (4) 1 1 1 7 3
2 293 Rick Perkins WYC 2 2 (9) 5 18 9
3 288 Andy Peake Eastbourne SC (5) 3 2 4 14 9
4 305 Daniel Henderson Thorpe Bay YC 7 5 (8) 6 26 18
5 167 Mark Addison RYA 8 4 (12) 7 31 19
6 290 Gareth Davies Stowe SC (11) 6 5 8 30 19
7 153 Dave Poston Datchet SC 15 (17) 3 2 37 20
8 193 Dan Vincent RNSA/Stokes Bay SC 6 9 6 (13) 34 21
9 252 Kit Stenhouse Rutland SC 1 (20) 11 11 43 23
10 295 Michael Palfreman Starcross SC 3 8 (15) 12 38 23
11 222 Neil Ashby WYC (10) 10 10 3 33 23
12 169 Tim Chapman Rutland SC 12 7 (24) 9 52 28
13 114 Simon Dodds WYC (24) 11 4 14 53 29
14 209 Tom Wright Rutland SC 9 12 (18) 10 49 31
15 283 Mick Keates King George SC 14 14 7 (17) 52 35
16 207 Tony Phillips Thorpe Bay YC 13 18 13 (24) 68 44
17 291 Grahame Smith Wilsonian SC (20) 13 19 15 67 47
18 60 Dan Parsons WYC (18) 15 14 18 65 47
19 304 Tony Coulson WYC (19) 16 17 16 68 49
20 260 Jason Wild WYC 16 19 20 (24) 79 55
21 225 Francis Stileman WYC 22 (24) 16 24 86 62
22 152 Keith Borders WYC 17 (24) 24 24 89 65
23 302 Charlie Baker WYC 21 (24) 24 24 93 69

Races in brackets () are discards.
There were 4 races scheduled in this series,
4 races have been sailed.
3 have been counted.

Photography by Tania & Sergei Samus More photos here >>>