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

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?

Peter Greenhalgh - photo © Bernardi´ Bibiloni

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?

Andy Tarboton - photo © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk

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.

Sam Barker - photo © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk

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!

Matthias Houvenagel - photo © MSCA

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.

Justo Martinez - photo © Bernardi´ Bibiloni

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?

Danny Boatman - photo © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk

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?

Paul Dykstra - photo © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk

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?

Jamie Hilton - photo © Bernardi´ Bibiloni

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?

Eddie Bridle - photo © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk

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.

Rob Richardson - photo © Bernardi´ Bibiloni

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!

Musto Skiffs arrive at Torbole - photo © MSCA

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: