The Australian Musto Skiff Class are just days away from competing in their much-anticipated Nationals Title Championships, to be held at McCrae Yacht Club on the Mornington Peninsula on 23 to 26 January 2021.
The Title Championship was originally scheduled for late December 2020 at Black Rock Yacht Club in Melbourne. However, due to the Covid-19 situation, the committee reluctantly made the decision to push the dates back. As a result, the class had to find a new home for their 2021 Musto Skiff Nationals Title Championship, which was subsequently moved to McCrae Yacht Club. The Musto Class will now be part of the Ronstan Regatta, which is taking place over the Australia Day long weekend.
A Race to Book a Place
With the promise of a great event and sailors keen to get out on the water for some competitive sailing, it was no surprise that the four-day Regatta was soon fully booked. The organising host also had to cap the 12 race event at 155 boats and 200 sailors to ensure a COVID-safe and compliant event.
Luckily, many of the Musto Skiff sailors were quick off the mark to secure an early bird place. A waiting list is now in motion for those who missed out on registering. Whilst the 2021 Ronstan Regatta entry has been suspended due to unprecedented demand, you can still add your name to the waiting list here and hope for a place on the start line.
For those that are already registered to attend, all Regatta information, including the NOR and event activities can be found here: https://mccraeyc.com.au/regattas/2020-ronstan-regatta/
This page includes important deadlines, such as the 22nd January deadline to pre-order your lunch for the first day of the Regatta, and how to order your pies and lamingtons for Australia Day on 26th January. Hopefully, there is no need to pre-order the sunshine and you will all be in for a cracking weekend of champagne sailing.
'Up there with the Best of the Best'
There are currently 16 Musto Skiffs registered for the Regatta, including the defending 2019 Title Champion, Marcus Hamilton.
After the battle at the top that unfolded on the final day of the 2019 MUSTO Skiff National Championship at Wangi RSL Amateur Sailing Club, we are all expecting next weekend to be an exciting Championship.
The 2019 Nationals saw Marcus Hamilton, Richie Robertson, Paul Newman, and Tim Hill fight it out for a podium place. The final day ended with Marcus winning the 2019 Title; Richie taking second place; and Paul Newman taking a well-deserved third place following an impressive 2, 1 ,2 result on the final day. This helped him to edge ahead of Tim, who finished in fourth place, despite a bullet in the final race of the day. You can revisit the full 2019 Nationals report here.
The latest entry list for the 2021 Musto Skiff National Title Championship includes:
- Wayne Bates – Musto Skiff 554
- Casey Bates – Musto Skiff 440
- Hayden Brown – Musto Skiff 117
- Robin Days – Musto Skiff 565
- Paul Dijkstra – Musto Skiff 878
- David Etherton – Musto Skiff 241
- Marcus Hamilton – Musto Skiff 576
- Hayden Harding – Musto Skiff 491
- Tim Hill – Musto Skiff 579
- Ricky Ironmonger – Musto Skiff 555
- Brett Morris – Musto Skiff 418
- Jon Newman – Musto Skiff 492
- Paul Newman – Musto Skiff 578
- Chris Peile – Musto Skiff 488
- Richie Robertson – Musto Skiff 452
- James Sly – Musto Skiff 572
To see the latest entry list and follow the results, download the free ‘Sailor app’ here and select the “2021 Ronstan Australia Day Regatta” in the ‘Regatta’ tab.
All the very best to the Australian Musto Skiff sailors taking part in the 2021 Nationals Title this weekend. We wish you all a great Nationals with good wind conditions and lots of warm sunshine to celebrate the Title win on Australia Day. Event reports to follow.
Photo Credit: AUS MUSTO Skiff National Championship 2019 (Photo by Phil Mayo)
