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Who will top the podium in the Musto Skiff 2023 Worlds at Garda?

by Paul Molesworth 13 Jul 2023 16:56 BST 15-21 July 2023
Sam Pascoe © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk

With just two days to go until the start of the ACO 12th Musto Skiff World Championships in Torbole, thoughts are focusing on who will be walking away with the prestigious trophy for 2023, and how will the rest of the fleet perform.

To answer these questions, we have dived into the past performances for the last three ACO Musto World Championships, as well as the open circuit across the globe, to put forward a predicted finishing order. Will history and statistics be correct, or will the Ora winds of Garda blow it all to pieces?

With so many of the great sailors from across our class competing in this year's 2023 Worlds, it is sure to be tight at the top and fiercely competitive all the way down the fleet. From the top performers to those having their first Worlds experience in the class, there are too many greats to mention, but here are just a few to watch out for.

For most people, British sailor, Sam Pascoe, is the favourite to win, and the seeding agrees. He has been putting in some serious time on the water when not working, so no doubt he will be disappointed with anything but a front of the fleet result. Sam is a current UK National Champion. Will he add a Worlds title to his accolades?

British sailor, Peter Greenhalgh, and South African, Andrew Tarboton: the Warsash pair who are out day and literally night over winter (with some interesting video replay predicaments), are predicted to place second and fourth respectively. However, both can turn the pace on when needed, with the skill and experience to push Sam off the top step. The ace up Turbos sleave is his ability to hold station on the committee boat. Winning that end of the line should mean a tack off early for the cliffs and onto the elevator of success. Will their summer yachting commitments hamper their performance, or is that part of their professional tapering for the main event?

Sam Barker is certainly one to watch, having trained with Pascoe, and when he sails, he does well. However, the results to count for the seeding were from generally light wind events. Should the Garda Ora give us its full blow, it could be difficult to hold his seeding.

Matthias Houvenagel is our sole sailor from Australia, representing the Aussie fleet here in Garda. Having not sailed against the rest of the European fleets before, his ranking could be deceptive. That said, he seems to hold his own with the best of the Australian fleet when sailing on his home waters, and they are not a slow bunch. Coming to Garda early for some training and showing no mercy downwind, he won't be the one to flinch first!

Justo Martínez, is the top sailor coming over to Garda from Spain, and he has always been around the podium. With his home waters of Palma being perfect training ground, and a former Musto Skiff Worlds location, he should feature well.

While the stats have Danny Boatman lower down, and more recent events indicate his performance preference is light winds, this British sailor has the weight and skill to excel in the Ora. Could the International Class Chairman take his role a step further and lead the class on the water as well?

Paul Dykstra is another skilled sailor out here to represent the Netherlands. Having been seen out in his self-built Solo earlier this year, was that a sign of him accepting defeat of the skiff, or was that a ploy to take the target off his usual blistering performance in the Musto?

Jamie Hilton, another UK representative and a long-standing member of the class with plenty of wins under his belt, seized the opportunity for some training on the way to Garda with a stop off in Germany for the Walchensee regatta. He loves the breeze and is one to watch out for. Although, without his sailing husband, Ben Schooling, or his mistress, Robbie Wilson, to train with, will his mind be distracted?

Eddie Bridle, representing the flourishing Brightlingsea Club back in the UK definitely has the speed, and has some impressive Moth circuit results. Can this be converted into a Musto Skiff win to top the youth category?

Another British youth sailor who has his eye on the top prize is Rob Richardson (RoRi). He burst onto the scene in 2020 with some stellar results in the UK Nationals, backing that up further with a card full of bullets at the 2022 Worlds at Kiel, where he went on to finish 4th overall and 1st youth. An upward trajectory for this young man. Let's see how he deals with what Garda has to throw at him.

With a record Worlds entry of 11 Youth Sailors for 2023, perhaps one of the other youth sailors will disrupt the standings. It has not gone unnoticed that the performance of many of these youth sailors has been improving year-on-year, and their historic results may be hiding their current form. Or perhaps the disruption will come from one of the unseeded sailors, who have honed their skills in private and are yet to show what they can do out there in the fleet.

These seedings and predictions are purely based on the results found, so we hope this year's competitors take this in the good spirit intended. If nothing else, it is a point of conversation (and banter!) ahead of the Championships kicking off. As we all know with sailing - anything can happen!

Whatever the result out here in the stunning Italian Lakes at Torbole, this looks to be a fantastic event, both on and off the water, with special thanks to our official Worlds Event Sponsor, ACO, and long-time class sponsor, Musto, as well as our 2023 Worlds event host and team at Circolo Vela Torbole.

If you want to follow the 2023 Worlds and keep track of the daily races and leaderboard for yourself, tune into our live GPS tracking for this year's event. Once the event starts on the 16th July, you can follow all the action in real-time using this GPS tracker link, which is being hosted and provided in partnership with SailRacer.

Ranking Table:

PosSailorNatSail NoClubNumber of counting eventsPredicted Average result
1Sam PascoeGBR636Castle cove41.66
2Peter Greenhalgh GBR633Warsash sc53.56
3Sam BarkerGBR638Castle Cove Sailing club 33.61
4Andy TarbotonRSA612Henley Midmar Yacht Club75.43
5Eddie BridleGBR624Brightlingsea SC27.44
6Matthias HouvenagelAUS408Pmyc39.20
7Dan VincentGBR622Stokes Bay/ RNSA 8101
8Dan TrotterGBR 610Derwent Reservoir510.27
9Euan HurterRSA464Point Yacht Club710.85
10Robert RichardsonGBR549RWYC611.52
11Benjamin CleggGBR614Brightlingsea Sailing Club 311.91
12Alexander GreillSUI486Yacht Club Horgen413.15
13Paul DijkstraNED601kws sneek513.29
14jamie hiltonGBR618Wormit / Dalgety Bay SC1213.75
15Justo Martinez BalaguerESP623C N Arenal314.93
16Danny BoatmanGBR639Sunderland Yacht Club715.62
17BARCELO MARIOESP603CLUB NAUTIC S'ARENAL216.26
18Bill MaughanGBR637Sunderland Yacht Club616.64
19Andy RiceGBR534Stokes Bay SC418.61
20Mike MatthewsGBR601SYC518.89
21Joshua BelbenGBR375Stokes Bay Sailing Club719.26
22George CousinsGBR605Restronguet SC421.80
23Pierre‑Yves PfirterSUI353CNM2225
24Paul MolesworthGBR 582Spinnaker SC823.53
25Junis RindermannGER558SCLW225.55
26Gilbert BrietzkeGER580Segelclub Walchensee825.98
27Andrew GouldGBR584Emsworth Slipper SC5265
28Brennan RobinsonRSA561Royal Natal Yacht Club726.11
29Joan Rosselló GelabertESP602Club Nautic S'Arenal226.40
30Guy RivingtonGRR216Stokes Bay Sailing Club428.33
31Karsten GrothNED595WV De Kreupel728.86
32Dirk RotherGER591LYC329.40
33Richard SmithGBR615Medway Yacht Club929.74
34Hendrik SCHÜRKÖTTERGER177SCFL130.29
35Griff TannerGBR568QMSC1317
36Nathan StanierGBR469Stoke Bay sailing Club631.35
37David AnnanGBR535Grafham Water SC933.18
38Jamie FreemanGBR432Brightlingsea sailing club 434.12
39Fabrice KohlerSUI152Segelclub St.Moritz135.33
40Jon GayGBR483Lochaber YC235.60
41Ollie BullGBR410Chanonry Sailing Club 3362
42Edgar StalleickenGER569NSV137.34
43John PiattGBR178Stokesbay639.63
44Huud OuwehandNED525Wsv de Kreupel341.12
45Andrew WhittleGBR588Brightlingsea Sailing Club641.31
46Alexandre EMANUELFRA293A.C. Treffort Voile142.16
47TOM CONWAYGBR628DERWENT RESERVOIR S C843.51
48toM kyneGBR310Brightlingsea Sailing Club 243.79
49Stephen WrightGBR543Stokes Bay Sailing Club749.85
50Steve RobsonGBR620Largs551.85
51Luca De JongGBR305Largs Sailing Club153
UnseededJesper van der HarstNED360WSV De Kreupel  
UnseededFabian RossbacherGER475Club Nautic Arenal  

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