Matthias Houvenagel wins the 2026 Musto Skiff Australian Nationals at Mornington Yacht Club

Winners - 2026 Musto Skiff Australian National Championship © Jono Neate

The first day of the 2026 Musto Skiff Australian Nationals kicked off with a solid 20 knots southerly, and seven Musto's ready to compete for the Champion Title.

Hayden, Paul, and I pushed hard, but it was a day that would see Jon and Matty's skills on display. Both appeared to be match racing in the challenging conditions, but a last gybe swim cost Jon a few extra points for the day.

Back onshore, I received some very positive feedback on how impressive the boat and fleet looked racing in those conditions!

Our second day of racing was a 4pm scheduled start time. We were delighted to have absolute champagne conditions. Sun, oscillating sea breeze, and around 10-18 knots. However, the shifts were there, and you almost had to get in six to seven tacks to stay in phase. Downwind was all about trying to hook into a gust and do some passing or get further in front.

The fleet racing levelled up from day one and it was a truly special late afternoon racing in warm February conditions. Matty and Jon scored well for the day, with Matty finishing a few points ahead after six races.

Day three was the start of Mornington Yacht Club's annual summer regatta for off the beach boats, and the club and race areas were full of youth and adult classes. The fleet got ready to launch for a 1:30pm start in a 5-8 knot westerly breeze in hot conditions.

For the opening race of the day, it was a change of guard with Paul and I leading. Paul, however, made a pass at the top of the second beat, taking the race win. By the next race the sea breeze was slowly building with plenty of shifts and holes to navigate. Paul backed it up again to win this race - he is an absolute force in lighter planning conditions!

In the last race of the day, Matty popped up to have a say, taking the bullet only a few boat lengths ahead of Jon.

For our final day of the Championship, we had a 10am start on a hot sunny morning with a light northly. Although we were 9 races down, there was still opportunity for some overall position difference.

Race 10 got under way in 5 knots max. It was pretty light. Trying to avoid too many tacks, the fleet split and committed to the side that they thought would work on the opening beat. Matty, who had been reading the wind well all regatta got the correct side and led at the top mark with Hayden. Downwind was a similar situation, gybes were expensive and the wind was starting to drop pretty quickly.

With a small gap to fourth place, I took the risk of two extra gybes and was able to slide inside the leading two to take the final race win in the fading northerly wind. But it was Matty who crossed the line in second place, putting a stamp on the overall win - and his second consecutive National Champ title!

After 10 races over four days with mixed wind strengths and direction, the small fleet had gained a lot of learning. But overall, it was good racing in the best of spirits!

Shout out to Riordan for his first Musto Skiff Nationals. He did a fantastic job in the regatta and sailing in Port Phillip Bay after learning the boat in lake conditions. Thank you, also, to Mornington Yacht Club for running the regatta and giving the Musto Skiffs great exposure to other off the beach classes.

If you missed this one, we hope to see you for the next Aussie National Championship.

Overall Results: