Event: ACO 11th Musto Skiff World Championship 2022 – Day 5 (Sun, 26.06.22)
Event sponsored by ACO Group
Photography by © Bernardí Bibiloni / www.bernardibibiloni.com
Report by Jamie Hilton
The ACO 11th Musto Skiff World Championships 2022 ended at Kiel Week on Sunday with GBR sailor, Rick Peacock, claiming the title win.
The win for the former 49’er campaigner was confirmed on the final day when the last 3 scheduled races of the Championship were cancelled due to lack of wind. This meant all positions from the previous day’s leaderboard stood as the final results, putting Peacock on top with 22 points.
It was a close battle right to the end, with RSA sailor, Andy Tarboton only 3 points back from Peacock to finish 2nd on the podium. After the first day of racing, Tarboton was leading, but Peacock snatched the lead on Day 3 of the Championships. However, Tarboton put in a fighting effort to try and keep Peacock off the top spot, closing the gap from 10 to 3 points by the end of Day 4. With everything to race for on the final day, but racing then cancelled with no wind, Tarboton could do no more and respectively took his well-deserved 2nd place, leaving Peacock to be crowned as the 2022 Champion.
Commenting on his win, Peacock said: “The World Championships here in Kiel was very enjoyable. Personally, I missed racing for three years, so it was fun to get back in a big fleet. We had one day of epic 15-20 knots and challenging waves. This really was the highlight for me. I had some nice tight battles with a range of sailors depending on windspeed. Many had their turns at the top. It’s a really fun and friendly fleet. I’m looking forward to next year!”
There was another closely fought battle for 3rd place between GBR sailors Rob Richardson, Jamie Hilton, and Peter Greenhalgh, but it was Greenhalgh who came out on top, showing the best consistency all week in some very challenging conditions.
Greenhalgh said: “The final day of racing on Day 4 was a marathon day with very light winds of 4 to 8 knots. We managed 2 races that, despite some slightly ugly starts, I converted to a 3rd and 2nd, which dragged me to 3rd place. Overall, I was very happy with my result as I wasn’t on particularly good form and felt I salvaged what I could. The level that Rick and Andy sailed at was out of my reach this week, and so I will have to wait until next year. I am looking forward to more Musto Skiff racing!”
First in the youth category, and 4th Place overall, was GBR sailor, Rob Richardson who had an impressive first World Championship in the Musto Skiff class. The former 29’er sailor took the win in the 2022 Pre-Worlds, before completing his Championship week with no less than four 1st places. At just 21 years of age, the talented youth sailor from Windermere is undoubtedly one to watch in the class.
Once the results were confirmed, the class came together for a prize giving ceremony at the Heineken Tent, before heading to the main Kieler Woche stage for the formal Closing Ceremony and Prize Giving. Awards were given to the top 10 overall places in the Musto Skiff class, as well as 1st place awards for the various age categories, 1st Silver fleet, and 1st Woman. This award went to German sailor, Bettina Möller, who was the only female sailor to compete in the event.
Summing up the 2022 World Championships, Tarboton who is the current International Musto Skiff Class Chairman, said: “The quality of the fleet was as high as ever, and the pace was relentless. In the end, Rick Peacock was a worthy winner, showing his class all week and publishing consistent results in each race. I am happy to share the podium with Rick and Peter Greenhalgh – two very formidable competitors. I can take many positives from the week, not least being the friendly nature of the class. The week has felt more like family than foes, a true character trait of the Musto Skiff class. We can all look back at the week with fond memories of a memorable trip to Schilksee for the Worlds.”
The podium winners then promptly ended the week in true Kieler Woche style – soaked in champagne with medals around their necks and a podium celebration in front of a cheering crowd. The class then packed up their boats and headed home, already looking forward to coming together once again for the next World Championships in 2023.
With thanks to all the Musto Skiff competitors, the event organising committee for hosting the class in Germany, and the very impressive event organisers and Race Team at Kieler Woche. The class was hugely impressed with the size of the regatta and the slick and highly organised management of this impressive regatta team. It was an honour for the class to have the opportunity to hold their Musto Skiff 2022 Worlds as part of Kiel Week 2022 and join the many Olympic classes at one of the largest sailing events in Europe.
A big thanks, also, to the Worlds Title Event Sponsor, ACO Group, who made this year’s Worlds extra special to commemorate 10 consecutive years of ACO sponsorship for the World Championships. Long-term Title Class Sponsor, Musto, also showed their continued support of the class with a very generous allocation of Musto clothing and dinghy kit to award the overall winners on the final day and provide a range of daily prizes for several of the sailors across the week.
Representatives from Boat builder and class partner, Ovington Boats, were also on hand all week to provide boat support, and finally, the class was pleased to have the fantastic sailing photographer, Bernardí Bibiloni, who captured all the action each day for the fleet and their friends and family back at home.
Final Results - Day 5
1st Place Overall – GBR 630, Rick Peacock
2nd Place Overall – RSA 590, Andy Tarboton
3rd Place Overall – GBR 632, Peter Greenhalgh
4th Place Overall – GBR 549, Rob Richardson
5th Place Overall – GBR 566, Jono Shelley
6th Place Overall – GBR 618, Jamie Hilton
7th Place Overall – GBR 622, Dan Vincent
8th Place Overall – GBR 619, Stuart Keegan
9th Place Overall – GBR 546, Ian Trotter
10th Place Overall – RSA 464, Euan Hurter
Age Category Results:
1st Place Youth – GBR 549, Rob Richardson
1st Place Master – GBR 632, Peter Greenhalgh
1st Place Grand Master – GBR 546, Ian Trotter
1st Place Legend – GBR 394, Nigel Walbank
Other Award Category Results:
1st Place Silver – NED 595, Karsten Groth
1st Place Woman – GER 368, Bettina Möller
View Full Results >> HERE
