Thorpe Bay Yacht Club

Tel: 01702 587 563

Hi all, just a quick follow up from our commodore’s welcome post to honer our new world champion!!!

During all the excitement of these type of events it is easy to forget the tremendously high level of sailing required to compete. Having competed in many world championships in my life I think it is fair to say on both ability level and psychological level, such events are like your best club trophy race x 10.

With this in mind I would personally like to congratulate Ronny the “Rocket” Barns for his achievements as Sam Husk quite elequently put it “Mixing it up at World Level”

Well done Ronny I am sure you would have liked a better result. I also know you are very capable sailor, as your pre-worlds results proved. I look forward to your account of the experience in the Bar back at sweet old TBYC!!!

Dan is flying back this week and i would like to invite you all to join in celebrating this fantastic achievement and welcome the Musto Skiff World Champion Dan Henderson and fellow competitor Ronny Barnes back to TBYC.
lets all raise a glass  for a World Champion.
this thursday 20th Jan 7.30

Bar and kitchen are open from 6,

hope to see you thursday

Peter Thompson Commodore

DAN HENDERSON WORLD CHAMPION MUSTO SKIFF 2011

First we had the ashes now the Musto Skiffs. Go the British !!!

Hi all, It is with great pleasure that I can announce that Dan Henderson has just been crowned Double Musto Skiff World Champion down under.
Dan, with the exception of day 3, has led the championship from start to finish with an impressive score line to count of 2, 2, 3, 4, 1, 1, 3, 6, 4 total score 26 points some 11 points clear of second place.

I think we would all like to join in and congratulate Dan in this awesome achievement

For the Final Results Click Here

Hi all, Yet another quick update

After what can only be described as another master-full display of sailing!!!

TBYC’s Dan Henderson is back on top of the world !!!

For the latest Results Click Here

Hi yet another quick update!!!

Day 3 kicked off with Dan Henderson giving the other competitors a leason in sailing, leading the race from start to finish.

The fleet were then sent in due to weather and did not return to race course until late, where Dan experienced a couple of higher results which has just toppled him off the top spot. However talking to Chris Hederson this morning he told me that for an unfortunate slip in race 7 Dan was just short of the finish in 4th.

Also second discard kicks in after 9 races with 2 days to go!!!

Keep up the good work Dan

For the latest Results Click Here

Hi all, Good news from down under. Dan Henderson still leads the world!!!

Day 2 Report hot off the press from dan

Dan & Ronny

Day 2
At the start of the day, it looked although we would be getting about 5 knots from the east, however the wind wouldnt settle and we were kept onshore for a quick postponement. When we finally got out onto the race course, there was around 16-18 knots, but very gusty and flat water. I had An aweful start at the committee boat end but tacked out to the right for some clean air. When merging back into the boats from the left, I was in about 5th position and this is where i rounded the windward mark. I was supprised to be so far up because all the guys infront of me are alot heavier then me and should be faster in the big breeze. I was the first to gybe into a huge gust that i had seen going down the right hand side of the course. When coming back to the leading pack, i was 1st. I rounded the leeward mark in 1st, however upwind 3 of the heavier guys came past me, which i wasnt too upset about because i know that if i keep putting in consistant top 5 results, thats what can win you a championship. The final downwind was very scary. We had 25 knot gusts and flat water, so boat speeds over 20 knots were recorded down wind. I finished the race in 4th, and this was the only race of the day as we had thunderstorms, squalls, and alot of rain come through for the rest of the day.
Tomorrows forecast is simular to today, so basically we will get anything!

Well done dan impresive first 2 days in mixed conditions and consistent results, with 4 races completed and a 2, 2, 3, 4 score line go TBYC!!!

Dan

For the latest Results Click Here

Hi all just a quick update. The musto skiff world championships kicked off in earnest today, or for us brits in the early hours of the morning as Melbourne is 11 hours in front of us. 3 races have been sailed in light winds on the first day with TBYC’s Dan Henderson Leading the World !!!!

With a 2, 2, 3 score line go Dan !!!

The all important factor here as with most talented sailors is they could not hope to compete in these events without support and this comes in many forms. The first and most obvious one is the bank of Mun & Dad which us parents know all to well. However as the bar is raised and the talent shines out the costs of competing rise and for us brits there is no more expensive regatta than a world championships down under.

With the above in mind this event was just a dream for a hard-up university student, that is until the Wellcom Group steped in and sponsored Dan helping him realise a dream.

It was Dan himself who asked me to recognise his sponsor for whom this event would not be possible for him

So from Dan Henderson a big thank you must be given to Wellcom Group and specifically to Dave Blaker of there london office who initially put Dan forward to there executive chairman, and Wayne Sidwell Executive chairman for sanctioning the sponsorship. Without such people our sport would be a poorer place

You can see the company history here www.wellcomgroup.net/investor/company-history

Hi all hope you are all enjoying the news from down under as much as I am. Here is the round up report from Dan Henderson on the pre-worlds.

Pre Worlds
Saturday: We were due to start racing at 11oclock, however there was a steady 25 knots, gusting 32 from the north. The PRO decided to postpone any racing til 4 oclock where he would make a further decision if we were going to race. When arriving down the club at around 3 oclock, the breeze had done a 180 and come in harder, and due to the direction, 2-3 meter waves. The decision was to start racing at 9 oclock on sunday.
Sunday: Somehow i managed to get my self out of bed and be out on the water for the scheduled 9 oclock start. We had a steady 14-18 knots and short sharp chop. Throughout my training over here, it has payed to go left upwind in the breeze direction we had, so i started down at the pin end, which was favoured. I had a reasonable start, however started underneath one of the GBR boats who weighs about 20kg more than me. Once he had footed over me, i was stuck in my lane, with bad air, heading to the left which was the favoured side, but i rounded the windward mark in around 20th position. Everyone of the top 20 just straight set and followed eachother like sheep out to the layline. I took the decision to gybe set, and gained 9 places downwind. I carried this position to the finish and ended up 11th.I wasn’t too happy with my 1st race but just looked on to the next.
Race 2: I had been watching the breeze between the races and it was clocking right, ony about 10 degrees at this point, so i chose to start at the committee boat end. I ended up being the closest to the committee boat and held a good lane off the start. The breeze continued to clock right upwind, and i started to look pretty nice out on the right. I was 4th around the windward mark, and the leeward mark, but i managed to take a boat up the next beat staying slightly further right than him, and got into 3rd which i held to the finish. Later did i find out the 2 boats ahead of me were OCS and i had won the race.
Race 3: Once again, i started at the boat end and held my lane well off the line. the right still looked favoured, but most of the fleet was going out to the left so i took a short stint out to the right and when i came back, i was leading by about 5 boat lengths from the boats from the left. I held this lead for the next 2 laps, until the finish line when i pulled off what can only be described as the worst gybe ever, and managed to wineglass my kite. this allowed Ian renilson (ex contender world champion) to over take me meters from the finish line, and i ended up 2nd.
Race 4: The race was held in simular conditions to the last, however the waves were larger. Once again i started at the boat end of the line and had a good lane upwind. As we were going upwind, there was a slight knock on starboard, and the boats from the left looked back in contention. 3 boats crossed me from the left, and i rounded the windward mark in 4th. I carried this position round the course, however i managed to take 1 place on the final downwind to get a 3rd.
This left me 2nd overall at the preworlds counting a 1,2,3 with a large gap behind. Im really happy with 2nd place, and hope to go 1 better in the worlds which start on tuesday.

Dan Henderson

Good Luck to both Dan & Ronny for Tuesday where the action begins !!!
 

Hi all a good start from down under!!!

Provisional results just in for the musto skiff pre worlds event.

Dan Henderson TBYC  2nd over all with an impressive (11), 1, 2, 3 score line

Ronny Barns TBYC  23rd out of 38 boats at world level

Go TBYC !!!
 
 

Full Pre-worlds results can be seen at #mce_temp_url#

Hi all just a quick update from Dan Henderson competing in the Musto Skiff world championships in Melbourn Australia

Thursday report

So I have been training for the last 5 days on the water with the aussies from sandringham yacht club, the club just down the bay from black rock which is where the event is being held. for the last 5 days the breeze has been quite big reaching a stable 25 knots on 2 of the days. My upwind pace in the big waves hasnt been too quick compared to the top aussies, however this is what i sort of expected as im shorter, and lighter than them all. However, one day when the breeze was big, around 22 knots but considerably smaller waves, my upwind pace was very simular to the aussies, but my downwind angles and speed seem to be slightly better, and my boathandling that i have practiced seems to be paying off, as im getting through the gybes in the waves. Today was the first light wind day we have had, as the land warmed up much faster than it has any other day, reaching about 32 degrees by about 11 oclock. Due to this, the see breeze didnt come in, and it became a bit hazey. We had about 5-8 knots, and my boat speed and height was better than everyone around me. Hopefully we will have some days like today in the regatta. The preworlds warm up starts on saturday, with a 6 race series over the weekend, and then a day off on the 10th before the worlds starts on the 11th. Ronnies boat arrived yesterday in the container after we had to barter for the container to get out of customs. Tomorrows forecast is 35 degrees so it could go either of 2 ways, it could be light like today, or we will get the typical sea breeze. Ill keep you posted on how the training goes tomorrow, and how the pre worlds go.

Dan GBR 409