36th Mosquito Catamaran Nationals
Jan 2008 at Warrnambool, Vic

The 2007-08 Nationals were held at Warrnambool, Vic from 6 Jan 2008 to 11 Jan 2008.

The 36th Mosquito Catamaran Nationals were hosted by Warrnambool Yacht Club in Victoria. The threat of big seas and big winds kept a few away but nevertheless 27 Mosquitoes made the trip from Vic, SA and NSW.

The week began with 4 metre swells and little wind and ended with 1.5 metre swells and 20 knots, so there were some interesting and challenging sailing conditions experienced.

On the first day the gybe mark was particularly interesting as competitors could be faced with looking down a trough as wide as a football pitch or having to outrun a breaking peak – all in 5 knots of breeze! In the Mk1 (cat rigged) fleet Tim Shepperd made the best of the light stuff in the invitation race, but in the 3 races that followed with a little more pressure the reigning champion Bob Wilson made no mistakes and fought off Peter Nikitin, Darryn Kopp and Tim Shepperd to start his series with 3 straight wins. In every case the winning margin was 30 seconds or less and the first 6 places were all up for grabs into the final leg. This set the pattern for the week in the Mk1s.

In the Mk2 (sloop rigged) fleet last year’s champion Warwick Kemp with Emily Finck crewing started well, winning the Invitation race and the first two series races but he was being pressured by Simon Hallsworth & Sarah Martin on The Young Mariner and Ben Clark and Lisa-Kate Pearce on Chicken Skin. The margins between these three were only seconds and in the third race Hallsworth and Martin finally took the gun.

The next day the swell had eased to 2 metres and the wind started at 10 knots and was gusting to 15 by the end. Three more races were run, in which Wilson and Kemp & Finck both kept their cool to score three wins each. They won by less than a minute every time but were starting to look unbeatable in the series.

The 3rd day of racing started with 3 to 8 knot winds which became more flukey as the first race progressed. In the Mk 1s Shepperd once again enjoyed the fickle stuff and after some dramatic place changing just before the finish was followed closely over the line by Neil Joiner and Ben Cutmore. In the Mk2s Kemp & Finck scored another win but behind them Philip & Anthony Warren-Smith on More than a Splash read the wind well and came through for second. The wind picked up to 12 knots for the next two races and a surprise came in the last when Kopp came through from 3rd to 1st on the final reach of the day to take his first win for the week. In the sloops the Warren-Smiths had another good race picking up a 3rd.

With 9 races completed and only one more to run on the final day, Bob Wilson and Warwick Kemp had both secured their titles and chose to watch the others fight it out in a solid 20 knot final race. In the cats Shepperd and Kopp were tied on points in 2nd place so it all came down to this race. Kopp quickly recovered from a disastrous start and took a lone flyer to the right which brought him to the first windward mark with a clear lead, while Garry Johnston and Andrew Neeson tussled for 2nd, with Shepperd right behind them. Shepperd was only able to steal the 3rd spot in the race and 3rd overall behind Kopp. In the sloops the Cobdens started strongly leading the Warren-Smiths but snapped a diamond wire leaving the Warren-Smiths to stay out of trouble and pick up their first win for the week.

Congratulations must go to Bob Wilson, Warwick Kemp and Emily Finck for their convincing wins, and to Don Allen and his team at Warrnambool YC for running the event so well and making the Mosquitoes very welcome at their club.

Tim Shepperd

Pictures are available on the VMCA web photo album.

Sponsors

The following organisations have all supported this event. Please support them.

Ronstan; Oceansuits; Irwin Sails – 03 9555 7328; Goodall Sails;

Awards

MkI (Cat rigged)

Outright
1st Bob Wilson 1781 Voodoo
2nd Darryn Kopp 1782

Bullet
3rd Tim Shepperd 1775 Karma Cat
Handicap
1st Matt Stone 1705 The Tiger
2nd Tim Kennedy 1787 Try Again
3rd Peter Nikitin 1790 Bee Alert
Heavy Weight Boat (+65 kg) Peter Nicholson 177 Spot

MkII (Sloop rigged)

Outright
1st Warwick Kemp & Emily Finck 1761 Atreus
2nd Simon Hallsworth & Sarah Martin 1800 The Young Mariner
3rd Ben Clark & Lisa-Kate Pearce 1786 Chicken Skin
Handicap
1st Philip and Anthony Warren-Smith 1794 More than a splash
2nd Peter and Tom Cobden 1805 Try Hard
3rd Trevor Armstrong & Jake Sheffield 321 Another Toy
Heavy Weight Boat (+65 kg) Trevor Armstrong & Jake Sheffield 321 Another Toy
Other Awards
Best placed female (skipper or crew) Emily Finck 1761 Atreus
Junior Skipper Beau Delaine 1745 Two Obsessed
Veteran Skipper Bob Wilson 1781 Voodoo
Encouragement Award Ben Cutmore 1704 Top Gun
Spirit of the Nationals Robert Lott 1808 Grey Matter
Best Presented Boat Beau Delaine 1745 Two Obsessed
State Teams Award South Australia 14 points to 17  
Invitation Race
1st MkI Tim Shepperd 1775 Karma Cat
1st MkII Warwick Kemp & Emily Finck 1761 Atreus

 

Series Results

Mk I Series Results

Place Sail No. Boat Name Skipper HT1 HT 2 HT 3 HT 4 HT 5 HT 6 HT 7 HT 8 HT 9 HT 10 Total Discard Final
1 1781 Voodoo Bob Wilson 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 2 17 29 20 9
2 1782 Bullet Darryn Kopp 5 2 3 2 3 2 6 3 1 1 28 11 17
3 1775 Karma Cat Tim Shepperd 4 3 2 3 2 4 1 2 3 3 27 8 19
4 1789 Immunity Neil Joiner 3 6 4 4 5 3 2 5 6 17 55 23 32
5 1774 No Turbulence Ross Bennett 11 10 7 8 4 8 8 7 4 17 84 28 56
6 1704 Top Gun Ben Cutmore 7 7 8 9 11 6 4 8 8 8 76 20 56
7 1790 Bee Alert Peter Nikitin 2 14 12 5 9 7 13 4 5 17 88 31 57
8 1733 Touch ‘N’ Go Garry Johnstone 8 8 11 13 6 10 11 10 9 2 88 24 64
9 1705 The Tiger Matthew Stone 15 17 17 7 7 5 10 6 7 7 98 34 64
10 1745 Two Obsessed Beau Delaine 6 5 5 11 12 9 14 9 10 17 98 31 67
11 1755 Prestissimo Jon Guymer 10 4 6 6 8 12 12 14 11 17 100 31 69
12 1787 Try Again Tim Kennedy 9 11 9 12 15 14 7 13 13 5 108 29 79
13 1792 Veloce Andrew Neeson 12 9 13 10 13 11 5 12 15 17 117 32 85
14 1808 Grey Matter Robert Lott 13 13 17 17 10 13 9 11 12 6 121 34 87
15 1740 Jurassic Karp Matt Kirby 14 12 10 14 14 17 16 15 14 4 130 33 97
16 177 Spot (H) Peter Nicholson 17 15 15 15 16 15 15 16 16 17 157 34 123

 

Mk II Series Results

Place Sail No Boat Name Skipper Crew HT1 HT 2 HT 3 HT 4 HT 5 HT 6 HT 7 HT 8 HT 9 HT 10 Total Discard Final
1 1761 Atreus Warwick Kemp Emily Finck 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 22 14 8
2 1800 The Young Mariner Simon Hallsworth Sarah Martin 2 2 1 2 2 2 5 4 2 12 34 17 17
3 1786 Chicken Skin Ben Clark Lisa-Kate Pearce 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 4 12 39 16 23
4 1794 More Than a Spalsh Philip Warren-Smith Anthony 4 6 6 6 6 6 2 5 3 1 45 12 33
5 1805 Try Hard Peter Cobden Tom Cobden 5 5 4 5 4 5 6 6 5 12 57 18 39
6 1707 Natural Progression Peter Dunk Kirsten Thomas 8 12 12 4 7 4 4 3 9 12 75 24 51
7 1728 To Be Sure Phillip Flaherty Mark Stillmain 9 4 7 7 5 7 7 7 7 12 72 21 51
8 321 Another Toy (H) Trevor Armstrong Jake sheffield 7 8 12 9 9 10 8 8 8 2 81 22 59
9 1650 Slow Poke (H) Gary Lane Brad Lane 6 6 5 8 11 8 10 9 10 12 85 23 62
10 1769 First Try Steven Cobden Lisa Haines 12 12 12 12 8 12 9 12 6 12 107 24 83
11 1658 Banh Sidhe David Dunk Jaimee Broekers 12 12 12 12 10 9 12 12 12 12 115 24 91