Musto Skiff UK Nationals confirmed for September 2020

Jamie Hilton racing his Musto Skiff © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk

The GBR MUSTO Skiff Class Association has confirmed that their annual UK Nationals event will take place over 3-6 September 2020 at Brixham Yacht Club (BYC). Over the last few months, the GBR Committee has been working closely with BYC to develop an event that could safely go ahead in accordance with current Government regulations, RYA guidelines, and BYC's event risk planning in response to the COVID-19 situation.

A decision was made last week to proceed with a capped entry number of 52 boats with an adapted racing format to accommodate social distancing. Registration opened at 5pm on Friday 17th July 2020 and, despite the changed format, more than half of the available places were booked within 15 minutes of opening. By midnight that day, all 52 places were taken and the event was oversubscribed with entry requests continuing to flood in. The class is now operating a waiting list system for any drop outs ahead of the event and urging registered competitors to complete registration by paying their entry fees without delay.

MUSTO Skiff GBR Class Chairman, Ben Schooling, said:

"Brixham Yacht Club has been excellent throughout the co-ordination and set up of our event. It's a challenging situation but the safety of the class and everyone involved is a top priority and we could not have asked for a more professional and organised club. The class has also been overwhelmingly supportive of the event going ahead. A special mention goes to Dave Hivey and Sam Pascoe who were sailing in Weymouth when the registration opened and entered from the water via their mobile phones to ensure their places! Hopefully, it will be a fantastic Nationals and the COVID-19 situation will remain stable and continue to improve so we can proceed as planned come September."

To keep the event as safe as possible for both sailors and club volunteers, BYC has put in a huge amount of planning and liaised directly with RYA to reduce risks and promote safety for club volunteers, race organisers and competitors. Some of the changes include racing in flights, briefings by video, socially distanced boat bays within the Dinghy Park, and limitations on organised social activities. The usual prize-giving at the close of the event also remains under review.

The class and BYC acknowledge that the event may be subject to further adaption, or even cancellation, should the COVID-19 situation change. However, as it stands, the event will go ahead as planned and the 2020 Noble Marine UK MUSTO Skiff National Championship winner will be decided in September.

To keep the class fully informed on the event status over the coming weeks, the GBR committee will provide regular updates on a dedicated event page at mustoskiff2020.sport.blog/2020/07/17/2020-uk-nationals and via their social media channels.

The entry fee for this year's event is £135 and the Notice of Race (NoR) is currently available on the dedicated event page. Whilst there is no guarantee of a place, people can still join the event waiting list by visiting the event registration page at www.brixhamyachtclub.com/regattas-and-special-events-2020/musto-skiff-nationals-entry-form and adding their details without payment.

Musto Skiffs racing - photo © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk