By Brennan Robinson
Musto Skiff sailor, Brennan Robinson, tried out the smaller sized Mainsail X at the Stokes Bay Open earlier this month. Here’s what he had to say about how it felt to sail with it compared to the standard mainsail, and what the impact was on his performance in a range of conditions across the weekend.
In case this is unknown to you, the Musto Skiff class recently released the Mainsail X – a smaller mainsail, slightly shorter on the foot. It was developed by Ovington Boats and Hyde Sails in collaboration with the Class Association and top Musto Skiff sailors, including former National and World-Champions.
The sail, which was introduced in early 2024, provides the ideal platform for lighter sailors, newcomers to the class, and people who want to be able to blast off on a breezy day (or any combination of the above, really).
At the most recent Stokes Bay Open, I put the Mainsail X to the test. The current ruling is that all mainsail sizes race together – same start, same course, same results sheet. The only proviso is that one can’t change mainsail sizes during a regatta. The Mainsail X currently retains the same handicap rating as the “standard” main. This is due to be reviewed later this year by the class committee to determine the best way forward for racing both mainsails competitively, and to ultimately drive more growth for the small mainsail fleet.
The conditions: Stokes Bay served up two sunny days, with some gusty NE off the land on Saturday (16 gusting 22), and much lighter breeze (topping off in the high teens) from the NE on Sunday.
Rigging: I sailed with exactly the same rig settings that I used on the square top and the older pin-head sails. The only changes that I made were extending the outhaul rope and shortening the bungee that pulls the tack forward – very straightforward. It’s worth remembering that you need to get the clew strap onto the boom before the sail goes up; you can get away with it on the big mains, not so much with the slender one.
Upwind: The sail has a very similar feel to its larger counterpart, but with a noticeably lighter load on the mainsheet. This massively reduced fatigue in the gusty stuff on Saturday. At 75kg, I’m not used to being able to foot off much in overpowered conditions, but this main made it much easier. Upwind, for speed and height, I was no slower than any of the big mains *as long as* there was enough power to stay flat on the wire. In the lulls on Sunday, it was difficult to keep pace when the breeze was off.
Downwind: Any speed difference off the wind was hard to perceive. If anything, I may have had to sail very slightly higher to maintain the same speed. But in the given conditions, any loss in straight-line speed was recovered on the turns – read on…
Manoeuvres: I could get away with anything with that main on Saturday. I was pulling tricks that I would never have got away with using a big main. It was infinitely more forgiving on the gybes. If I didn’t quite nail the timing on a gybe, or if I had to throw one in quick-time, I could recover without a swim. It is a very forgiving sail. When the chop was up (and boy did it get up!), it was much easier to keep the nose out of the waves on hoists and drops.
This ease of manoeuvring is probably the single biggest benefit for a newcomer to the class. If this main had been around when I joined the class in 2017, it would have completely transformed the journey for me. I think that a large impediment to people joining the class is the perception that sailing the Musto Skiff is too difficult or overpowering.
In the end, out of 27 boats entered, I landed 3x top 5’s on the gusty Saturday and in the teens on the lighter, flukey Sunday.
Verdict: The introduction of the Mainsail X is epochal for the Musto Skiff class. I’m sold.
The Musto Skiff Mainsail X is compatible with the existing rig, and a demo sail can be arranged through the Class Association. Find out more about the Musto Skiff Mainsail X on the Ovington Boats website: https://ovingtonboats.com/product/musto-skiff-mainsail-x/?v=7885444af42e
Feature photo: Brennan Robinson at the Stokes Bay Open 2025 (© Tim Olin)
