Musto Skiff Scottish Championship 2025 at Dalgety Bay Sailing Club
by Euan Hurter 1 Oct 12:27 PDT
27-28 September 2025
Racing by Forth Bridge - Annual Regatta at Dalgety Bay SC © Norman Burns
The 2025 Scottish Musto Skiff Nationals, also being the final Scottish and Northern Skiff event of the year, was held at Dalgety Bay Sailing Club's annual regatta on 27th and 28th September, hosting 88 boats in total.
Being only a week after the Musto Skiff UK Nationals, the fleet was well primed for a final showdown. The 13-strong skiff fleet comprised 7 Musto Skiffs, 3 RS800s, and 3 International 14s (all sailed by Musto Sailors...).
This event also counted as the 2025 Musto Skiff Scottish Championship and the final event in the 2025 Magic Marine SailJuice Challenge.
Special mention must go to Steve Robson, who once again travelled all the way from the south coast to join the Scottish Circuit. He's made every event this season, which is even more impressive considering each trek is at least 6 hours of travel.
Day 1 Races
Day 1 was a truly 'dreich' Scottish day, with no sun and intermittent patches of sometimes no rain. Very unusual. With the wind being in the South more than normal, the shifts were big and consequential and between 5 and 12 knots. In race 1, Ali Kerr showed he still had pace by leading for the first 2 laps before Euan Hurter managed to reel him in on the final lap. Ali held off Jamie Hilton for 2nd, with Hilton taking 3rd.
The I14's were left licking their wounds after the first race, having been beaten on the water in the first race, let alone on handicap. Additionally, Jono Shelley, having ditched his Musto for his new I14 toy with Graham Priestly, played bumper karts with a rogue Osprey and spent the day managing that sinking feeling (some stern words were apparently heard).
Race 2 saw the I14s find a new gear and disappear off into the distance. Adam Ovington and Stu Keegan had the legs to take the win, followed by Paul Anderson and Luca De Jong. Oli Bull in his Musto had 3rd all tied up until missing a large shift on the final downwind to let Hurter through. Oli was using a pinhead mainsail for the event, showing that it can still match for pace in the right hands.
The 3rd and final race of the day saw Hurter get ahead and keep the lead to the end. Paul and Luca were lined up for 2nd before a final lap slow-speed swim (oh no!), letting Adam and Stu get 2nd, and Oli Bull beat the rest of the Mustos to take 3rd.
The post-sailing patter and craic lived up to expectations, according to credible sources, but this author was unfortunately not in attendance due to the brownie-point black hole he'd created (something about sailing on your partner's birthday and leaving her alone with a small baby...).
Day 2 Races
Day 2 brought on the Scottish weather we all know - blue skies, good breeze, and lots of sun (there are pictures for proof). There were a few overnight casualties with Jamie Hilton, Andrew Scott, and Steve Robson missing from action. One of them put their back out putting their wetsuit boot on in the morning - heartbreaking to watch.
But moving on swiftly, the sailing was good! A 6-10 knot Westerly kept everyone on their toes under the awesome backdrop of the three Bridges of the Forth. Oli Bull was the Musto on form in the first 2 races, but the lack of practice showed as he swam in pressure gybes. Hopefully we will see him more next season!
Euan Hurter managed to keep everything together to take a trio of bullets for the day and also the event win.
The I14s tussled it out in the 3 races for the remainder of the chocolate's positions. Paul and Luca showed flashes of unmatched pace to take 2nd in races 4 and 6, while Adam and Stu set the standard in terms of consistency, bagging a 3,2,3 for the day. Jono and Graham worked out how to finish a race, taking 3rd place in race 5. The pair managed to finish 2 races in 2 days, so they should be okay for the I14 Prince of Wales next year at Largs (1 race a day).
In terms of final standings, Alex Oyston and Philip Cowans were the first RS800 in 8th place, Paul Anderson and Luca De Jong took 3rd overall, Adam Ovington and Stu Keegan 2nd overall and first I14, and Euan Hurter took home the Scottish Champion Trophy in his Musto Skiff. And, with the Dalgety Bay Annual Regatta counting as the final event of the 2025 Magic Marine SailJuice Challenge, Euan also topped the leaderboard in the SailJuice Dalgety Bay Challenge.
A massive thank you to Dalgety Bay Sailing Club for another great event. That is a wrap for the Scottish and Northern Skiff Tour, so on to 2026 we go. Have a good winter, and don't hibernate too hard, everyone!
Full results: www.dalgetybaysc.org/series/12069