34th Mosquito Catamaran Nationals
Jan 2006 at Loch Sport Boat Club, Vic

The 2005-06 National Titles were held at Loch Sport Boat Club, Gippsland Lakes, Vic from Sunday 1 Jan to Friday 6 Jan, 2006.

Reports from the ’06 Nationals, Loch Sport

Report published on the Sail Melbourne web site, 10 January 2006

Australian Mosquito Championships

The Sail Melbourne Australian Mosquito Championships came to a successful conclusion last Friday. The event was held over 5 days at Loch Sport on Lake Victoria, part of the Gippsland Lakes 200km East of Melbourne. Hosted by the Loch Sport Boat Club the 42 competitors on 29 boats enjoyed a range of wind conditions. The invitation race and first heat were sailed on Monday. Scheduled races were postponed Tuesday as strong winds swept the area. Racing recommenced on Wednesday morning in light and variable winds which disappeared altogether resulting in race 2 being abandoned. From then on another 7 races were held in excellent conditions ranging from 10 to 20+ knots.

In the MkI division (cat rigged – single handed) there were 16 entries. In a historic win the title was taken by Gary Maskiell (Gippsland Lakes YC) with a margin of 1 point from Bob Wilson (Port Melbourne YC), who has been the reigning champion for the past 10 years. Gary had not even entered the event until Peter Nikitin had to retire from the series after race 1 due to a pre existing knee injury. Peter then loaned his boat to Gary who entered with a DNC for race 1 so he could not drop another result. The racing was intense for the whole series with both competitors scoring four wins each. The result was only decided in the last race when Gary was able to shake Bob off on the last leg to take the race and the series. Third place was fought out between Neil Joiner and Tim Shepperd (both from Gippsland Lakes YC) with Neil prevailing by 1 point.

The MkII division (sloop rigged – double handed) also saw the reigning champion relegated to second place. Father and son team, Mick and Tom Floyd (Bendigo YC) took out the series with one race to spare from Warwick Kent and Kieran Latter (Adelaide SC). Again the racing was extremely tight throughout the series with many position changes and some very tight action on the finish line. Another father and son team from Bendigo, Peter and Tom Cobden (Cairn Curran SC) took out third place.

Other awards made were: Junior Skipper – Henry Shepperd, Best placed female (Skipper or crew) – Sarah Martin, Spirit of the Nationals – Peter Nikitin, Australian Sailing Magazine Encouragement Award – Matt Kirby and the State Teams Award was taken by Victoria.

Sponsors of the event were Ocean Wetsuits, Goodall Yacht Sails, Australian Sailing Magazine and Sail Melbourne. Sail Melbourne is made possible by the support of event sponsors: Sport & Recreation Victoria, Collex, Parks Victoria; associate sponsors Bayside City Council and Menere’s BMW Brighton and support sponsors Ronstan International, Schenker Australia, City of Kingston and the City of Port Philip.

 

Report from Jon Guymer

WHERE’S THE AEROGARD?

Mosquitoes, zillions of em, ants, all sorts and sizes, GIANT caterpillars, Leopard slugs, rabbits, wallabies, dolphins, jellyfish, parrots, pigeons, miners, magpies and more mosquitoes. What a great place to go camping! We all had a great week of sailing and socializing at Loch Sport. Believe it or not, we really did!

What a terrific venue Peter Nikitin dragged us to for the Mozzie Nationals, wonderful breezes, clement weather, once the HOT 40 plus weekend went by, great water and good launching and boat storing facilities. The Loch Sport Boat Club did us proud with their hospitality and race running for the whole week.We even had one afternoon of land sailing on the waterfront carpark which was great fun for all when it got a bit too windy for water sports.

Now a bit about the sailing itself. We all know the results and congratulations for all who came and won a trophy or simply raced are in order. The racing was fierce all the time between all yachts all of the time in hugely varied conditions and it was not until the very end of racing that we knew who had won the two divisions being contested.

Many thanks to all who came for a great week and made it a memorable occassion for all.

Yours Jon Guymer Prestissimo 1755. See you all next regatta.

 

Report from Gary Maskiell

Re Mosquito Australian Titles

Hi all,

To save you going to F16 Forum, I have copied it to this forum, please allow for it being written for non Mozzie people on F16 Forum.

have just returned from the Mossie Nat’s. After weeks of searching to find a competitive Mossie I could borrow and coming up empty handed, I had decided to go along anyway with Altered and Sailboard to enjoy the company and have a holiday without racing for a change. After all Peter a Mossie friend, had offered for my family to stay with them at thier holiday house.

Monday the Mossies started racing with about 30 boats mixing it on the course. The breeze increased as the day went on, I enjoyed blasting around on Altered reminding the Mossies what they where missing, as they sail without spinnakers for Nat. titles at present.

Tuesday dawned very windy, Peter Nikitin with whom I was staying told me he had injured his knee and would be unable to continue racing and asked if I would like to sail his less than 2 year old cat rigged Mossie. IS THE POPE CATHOLIC!!!!!!!!!!! I jumped at the chance. Luckily racing was cancelled for the day due to high winds, so I spent the day getting my entry organised and setting up Peter’s boat the way I like it. This didn’t take to much as Peter and I have shared set up ideas for years and many things where already the way I like them.

Wednesday dawned with a light flukey wind, the Mossie felt quite strange to sail after Altered, so light and narrow such a long boom, it took me all day to come to grips with it. I had 2 lucky breaks, the first race in which I had done as well as second but finished 5th. went over the time limit so was abandoned. The second race, 10 time Nat’s winner Bob Wilson who I had previously finished second to, while leading had a gear failure which caused his retirement from that race. This meant we both could not afford a bad race, as there was only one drop for the series of 8 races. I finished the day with a 1st. and a 2nd. Bob with 2 1st’s.

Thursday the wind was stronger more to my liking,incredibly fast flat out reaches in flat water with 25kt. bullets in the 3rd. race of the day where the highlight for me, I added another 2 1st’s and a 2nd. This put me one point ahead of Bob.

Friday we had two races to complete the series, Bob won the first with me second, putting us equal on points. It was down to the final race, I took the lead early enjoying the slightly fresher winds, allowing me to trapeze most of the windwards to use my 90 kg. to advantage. Finishing 1st. over the line to win the series by one point. Four 1st’s, three 2nd’s to Bob’s Four 1st’s, two 2nd’s and one 3rd.

Trying to keep it brief, this report may sound like it was a two horse race, but many others mixed it with us at times particuraly Tim and Neil, but rarely got in at the finish. Full results, pictures and story will no doubt be on the Mossie site soon and a write up in Australian Sailing Mag.

The sloop rigs where won by Mick Floyd and son Tom breaking the run of 4 Nat. titles for Wawick Kemp of South Aust. Great to see family crews winning titles.

I must thank Peter Nikitin for giving me this opportunity to win my first Nat. title. Lending a almost new boat is not something that just anybody would do. He certainly deserved the spirit of the Nationals Award, as he worked to make this title happen at his home club, as well as being so generous in lending his boat to me.

Regards Gary.

 

Awards

MkI (Cat rigged)

Outright

1st Gary Maskiell 1790 Bee Alert
2nd Bob Wilson 1781

Voodoo

3rd Neil Joiner 1789 Immunity
Heavyweight (boat > 65Kg)
1st Phil Bovis 832 Half Reddy
Handicap
1st Rob Lott 1786 Grey Area
2nd Tim Shepperd 1775 Karma Cat
3rd Greg Plum 1751 The P

MkII (Sloop rigged)

Outright

1st Mick Floyd & Tom Floyd 1745 Two Obsessed
2nd Warwick Kemp & Kieran Latter 1788 Atreus
3rd Peter Cobden & Tom Cobden 1787 Try Again
Heavyweight (boat > 65Kg)
1st Henry Shepperd & Tim Willersdorf 1659 Whiteside Express
Handicap
1st Andrew Copland & Craig Copland 1746 Hexham
2nd Simon Hallsworth & Sarah Martin 185 The Ancient Mariner
3rd Philip & Anthony Warren-Smith 1794 Loose Screws
Other Awards
Best placed female (Skipper or crew)      
Junior Skipper Henry Shepperd & Tim Willersdorf 1659 Whiteside Express
Encouragement Award Matt Kirby 1740 Jurassic Karp
Spirit of the Nationals Peter Nikitin    
Best Presented Boat Brett Rowe 766 The Langolier
State Teams Award Victoria (Vic 190 pts – SA 270 pts)    
Invitation Race
1st MkI Bob Wilson 1781 Voodoo
1st MkII Warwick Kemp & Kieran Latter 1788 Atreus

 

Results

SERIES RESULTS

(Ties: S=Score R=Race B= Bettered. Penalties: B=BFD C=DNC D=DNE E=ESP F=DNF G=RDG L=Late Entrant M=DGM N=ENP O=OCS P=Protest Q=DSQ R=RAF S=DNS U=DUT X=EXC Z=ZFP Y=SCP #=No Data “(x.y)” Discarded)

Series Results for MkI (Drops = 1)
Place Sail No Boat Name Skipper From Sers Score R 9 R 8 R 7 R 6 R 5 R 4 R 3 R 2 R 1
1 1790 Bee Alert Gary Maskiell GLYC 10.0 1.0 2.0 1.0 2.0 1.0 2.0 1.0 ABN [18.0C]
2 1781 Voo Doo Bob Wilson PMYC 11.0 2.0 1.0 2.0 1.0 3.0 1.0 [18.0F] ABN 1.0
3 1789 Immunity Neil Joiner GLYC 22.0 3.0 [6.0] 5.0 4.0 2.0 3.0 3.0 ABN 2.0
4 1775 Karma Cat Tim Shepperd GLYC 23.0 [5.0] 3.0 3.0 3.0 4.0 4.0 2.0 ABN 4.0
5 1786 Grey Area Rob Lott LMYC 40.0 4.0 4.0 8.0 5.0 7.0 [8.0] 6.0 ABN 6.0
6 1752 Nautical Nuts Stuart Ridge BeYC 49.0 8.0 5.0 [18.0F] 13.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 ABN 8.0
7 1733 Touch’n’Go Garry Johnstone LBYC 52.0 11.0 8.0 4.0 8.0 6.0 11.0 4.0 ABN [11.0]
8 1751 The P Greg Plum MTYC 57.0 7.0 9.0 6.0 11.0 11.0 6.0 7.0 ABN [14.0]
9 1704 Top Gun Darryn Kopp CSC 64.0 6.0 13.0 [13.0] 9.0 12.0 10.0 9.0 ABN 5.0
10 1761 XTC Colin McEwan LMYC 67.0 10.0 7.0 12.0 [18.0F] 13.0 7.0 8.0 ABN 10.0
11 1755 Prestissimo Jon Guymer LLYC 72.0 12.0 [14.0] 9.0 6.0 10.0 12.0 11.0 ABN 12.0
12 1792 Veloce Andrew Neeson BYC 72.0 13.0 10.0 7.0 7.0 8.0 18.0F [18.0F] ABN 9.0
13 1769 First Try Steve Cobden CCSC 73.0 9.0 11.0 11.0 14.0 9.0 [14.0] 12.0 ABN 7.0
14 1720 Air Apparent Gordon Hyde LMYC 82.0 18.0F 12.0 10.0 10.0 [18.0F] 9.0 10.0 ABN 13.0
15 1740 Jurassic Karp Matt Kirby WYC 95.0 14.0 15.0 14.0 12.0 14.0 13.0 13.0 ABN [18.0F]
16 832 Half Reddy Phil Bovis AYC 104.0 15.0 [18.0S] 15.0 15.0 15.0 15.0 14.0 ABN 15.0
17 1790 Bee Alert Peter Nikitin LSBC 111.0 18.0C 18.0C 18.0C 18.0C 18.0C 18.0C [18.0C] ABN 3.0

 

Series Results for MkII (Drops = 1)
Place Sail No Boat Name Skipper Crew From Score R 9 R 8 R 7 R 6 R 5 R 4 R 3 R 2 R 1
1 1745 Two Obsessed Mick Floyd Tom Floyd BeYC 11.0 4.0 1.0 [4.0] 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 ABN 2.0
2 1788 Atreus Warwick Kemp Kieran Latter ASC 14.0 2.0 2.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 3.0 [3.0] ABN 1.0
3 1787 Try Again Peter Cobden Tom Cobden CCSC 20.0 1.0 6.0 3.0 [14.0F] 2.0 2.0 2.0 ABN 4.0
4 185 The Ancient Mariner Simon Hallsworth Sarah Martin ASC 24.0 [5.0] 3.0 2.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 ABN 3.0
5 1765 Aldebaran V Phil Pearce Brad Pearce ASC 33.0 3.0 5.0 [6.0] 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 ABN 5.0
6 1746 Hexham II Andrew Copland Craig Copland LVYC 45.0 7.0 7.0 5.0 3.0 8.0 [9.0] 7.0 ABN 8.0
7 1794 Loose Screws Phil Warren-Smith Anthony Warren-Smith RYC 46.0 [9.0] 8.0 7.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 ABN 7.0
8 1723 Yellow Fever Mark Stillman Phil Flaherty ASC 58.0 8.0 4.0 8.0 9.0 10.0 7.0 12.0 ABN [14.0F]
9 1785 Bear Talk Glenn Hansford Callan Ridge BeYC 58.0 10.0 9.0 10.0 8.0 7.0 [10.0] 8.0 ABN 6.0
10 1659 Whiteside Express Henry Shepperd Tim Willersdorf GLYC 65.0 6.0 10.0 9.0 7.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 ABN [11.0]
11 1658 Heart ‘n’ Soul Peter Dunk Beau Delaine LBYC 77.0 14.0C 14.0S 14.0S [14.0F] 9.0 8.0 9.0 ABN 9.0
12 766 Langolier Brett Rowe Diane Floyd BeYC 80.0 12.0 12.0 11.0 10.0 13.0 [13.0] 10.0 ABN 12.0
13 1601 Sting Sarah Lapthorne Peter Lapthorne AYC 80.0 11.0 11.0 [14.0S] 11.0 12.0 12.0 13.0 ABN 10.0