Report from the 2007-08 Nationals, Warrnambool Vic

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.

Tim Shepperd