ACO 10th MUSTO Skiff World Championship 2019 attracts strong international fleet

ACO MUSTO Skiff World Championship © Event Media

The ACO 10th Musto Skiff World Championship 2019 in Medemblik, Netherlands attracts a 110 strong international fleet of Musto Skiffs. They represent 11 countries worldwide and amongst them are two double World Champions in this High-Performance single-handed sailing skiff. The first starting gun will be fired in two weeks' time on Monday July 8 with the podium positions to be decided on Saturday July 13.

Last year, reigning world champion Jon Newman (AUS) won the championship with two races to spare. That was in his own country. Now Newman will defend his title, which he also won in 2014, on the other side of the world. He will have to compete against Bruce Keen (GBR), who also has two world titles to his name (2012 and 2015). Newman won both times on Australian water and Keen in Europe. This will result in an undoubtedly interesting showdown on the IJsselmeer off the coast of Medemblik. Furthermore, the bronze medallist of 2018, Jamie Hilton from Britain, will line up at the start. Just like his compatriot Peter Greenhalgh, who holds the unique score of four overall wins in the Extreme Sailing Series (40-foot catamarans).

Greenhalgh also completed 3 Olympic campaigns in the 49er, a two-person skiff. This Olympic sailing class has been a source of growth in the Musto Skiff for years. Dutch 49er sailor Pim van Vugt, for example, will try his luck in the Musto Skiff this year. In 2016, Van Vught and his sister became world champions in the RS500. In the meantime, he and Bart Lambriex are sailing in the 49er within the High-Performance project of the Royal Netherlands Yachting Association. The duo hopes to qualify for the Olympic Games of 2020. Their talent coach and experienced 49-er sailor Rick Peacock (GBR) will also swap the Olympic skiff for the Musto Skiff in early July.

This year, Great Britain will delegate the largest fleet with 62 boats, followed by Germany and the Netherlands with 12 participants each. Back in 2018 when the Netherlands won the bid for the 2019 Musto Skiff Worlds, eight Dutch/English sailors decided to keep their boats in Andijk close to Medemblik, in order to train together on the racing water. Recently they sailed the Medemblik Regatta with Rick Peacock as the winner. Dutchman Paul Dijkstra finished second ahead of Pim van Vugt. The British Elaine Turner finished fourth. She is the only woman to participate in the ACO 2019 Musto Skiff Worlds.

At the 2018 test event in Medemblik, it was the President of the International Musto Skiff class, Andy Tarboton from South-Africa, who won with a significant lead on Paul Dijkstra in second place out of 19 participants. The favourites from Australia and Great Britain were not present at the time.

The following countries are to compete at the ACO 10th Musto Skiff World Championship 2019: Australia, Germany, Ireland, Belgium, Spain, Great-Britain, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, South-Africa and the United States.