The first regatta in which an F16 class took part in South Africa has been completed as per my earlier post - the Western Cape Open Dinghy & Multihull Champs took place over the Easter weekend 18-21 April 2003.
We had 5 Mosquito`s fitted with spinnakers (F16) and a class of 5 standard Mosquito`s, the event organiser scored us as 2 separate classes.
We started 5 minutes after the Hobie 16 class, in the open class with 6x Hobie Tigers, 1x I-20 and a 2x H14`s.
Most races took 1hr to 1hr20min in varying wind conditions.

Day 1: light <5knots, we compared favourably to Hobie Tigers in the light winds, 3 F16 Mosquito`s beat the eventual Tiger winner Sean Ferry (ex H16 World Champ)over the line in race 2, although conditions were very light.

Day 2: 3 races were held in light to moderate wind, 12 knots average. We passed half the H16 fleet despite their 5min head start, finishing about 5-6min. behind the lead Tigers. By this time a struggle between the 2 top Mozzie sailors had developed, Sarel vd Merwe leading Kevin Webb by a narrow margin, with the rest of us closely contesting 3rd spot. The 2 arch-rivals were passing all but the top 5 H16`s on average, not bad when considering the number of ex. Hobie World Champions in that fleet - Blaine Dodds, WIlliam Edwards & David Kruyt!

Day 3: A carbon-copy of day 2, light to moderate winds. 3 races were held with similar results. Sarel & Kevin extended their dominance at the front of the fleet, while Roley Brown was 3rd, Steve Mellet 4th & Peter Odendaal 5th.
We were still reeling in the H16`s head start of 5 minutes, finishing well up into their fleet. The lead Tigers were finishing 5-8min. ahead of the lead F16 Mosquito`s.

Day 4: Things got interesting with 15-20knot winds waking us up, with 2 more races scheduled for the last day. Gusts peaked at 25 knots, capsizing me on a gybe before the first race. (Hey, I wasn`t the only one !)
Kevin Webb elected not to race after his wife & crew went on strike, Roley also bowed out due to a recent operation which he didn`t want to aggrevate - his doctor told him not to sail at all ! This left Roley`s crew (Darren) free to crew for Sarel, allowing Sarel`s wife to sit the last 2 races out which she did gladly.
And so Sarel & Darren, Peter & Beth, and Steve & Claudia went out to do battle with the last 2 races. And a fine battle it was, staying upright being the main objective.
In the first race Sarel & I were well up in the Tiger fleet at the first mark, Sarel was about 100m (304,8feet for those who are strange to metres)ahead of me, the only way to pass was spinnaker up, so up it went. Sarel glanced nervously over his shoulder to see if I would survive the launch, then raised his in response. A VERY fast downwind leg ensued, with us both reaching the leeward mark together, Sarel managed to drop spinn. faster than me & rounded the mark ahead, pulling away to an unassailable lead which he held for the rest of the race.
I capsized on the 2nd downwind (gybing again - without spinn.),and ended 3rd, ie last of the finishers. Sarel also capsized but righted quickly to finish 1st, although the 1st standard Mosquito had passed him.
In the last race Peter & Beth started the race & sailed past the weather mark, straight back to shore, leaving Sarel & myself as the only 2 finishers in that race - I came 2nd.
Here are the full results :
Class: Mosquito F16. One design (Finish position)
Overall Score: Last Race Date:04/21/03 Sail Skipper Crew Club R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 Total
1 2002 vanderMerwe,Sarel vanderMerwe,Charmaine VYC 1 1 1 1 2* 1 1 2* 1 1 8
2 2000 Webb,Kevin Webb,Diane VYC 2 6*DNF 2 2 1 2 2 1 6*DNC 6 DNC 18
3 2001 Mellet,Steve Richert,Claudia SYC 3 3 3 5* 6*DNC 4 3 5 3 2 26
4 2003 Odendaal,Peter Odendaal,Beth VYC 5 6*DNC 4 3 3 5 5 3 2 6*DNF 30
5 2005 Brown,Roland vanderMerwe,Darren VYC 4 2 5 4 4 3 4 4 6*DNC 6*DNC 30

Our next event is the Mosquito Solo challenge - at least 3 of us will use spinnakers, possibly even all 5 of us if the wind is not too heavy.

Cheers
Steve