ACO Musto Skiff World Championship 2026 at Yacht Club de Carnac - Day 2
by Dave Annan 9 Jun 19:55 BST
8-12 June 2026
Carnac delivered today. The fleet launched just after midday for the planned three races in fantastic conditions for skiff sailing. Despite getting near to 20 knots by the third race, the breeze was like a little tickle compared to yesterday's punch in the face.
Now, I know most of you reading this will be here to find out what happened at the sharp end of the fleet. I'm sorry to disappoint, but I'm afraid your correspondent today is more of a, err..., let's be kind and say mid-fleeter. As a result, I have no clue what happened at the front in the first two races of the day (we'll come back to race 5 later). Looking at the results, I can report that defending World Champion Andy "Turbo" Tarboton (RSA) won race 3, and our World number two from Sydney 2025, Rob Richardson (GBR), won race 4. Overnight leader Ben Clegg (GBR) and Eddie Bridle (GBR) were always in the mix. How that all came about I have no idea. So instead, I'll tell you about my day.
I don't sail well when I'm in the pack, so my starting strategy all day was to make sure I had space, clean air and clear water to allow me to sail a mode that suits me. Today, that meant being towards the pin end and heading left off the start. Unfortunately, Andy Rice (GBR) had the same idea. He's sailing remarkably well considering how little practice he's had due to his globe-trotting lifestyle doing media coverage of various professional sailing circuits. Is hob-knobbing with the super stars imparting skill by osmosis?
We came off the pin and charged left. I managed to live on Andy's shoulder for quite a while before an awkward wave caught out my inner pond sailor and I dropped into Andy's wake. I tacked off and found a bit of a lift on port bringing me up to the mark in the leading pack. Most of the fleet had been hunting a wind bend near the shore on the right. The wind softened a touch during the run and the second lap, which doesn't suit my more ample frame, and I dropped a couple of places.
On the second beat I went left again and swapped tacks with Pierre-Yves Pfirter (SUI) and Gilles Peeters (FRA). I got some places back on the beat but then had a moment of panic on the run when I gybed early and found a lull, but fortunately the wind came back, and I met Alex Greil (SUI) and Pierre-Yves on the starboard lay line into the finish. I pipped Pierre-Yves on the line to score a 9th. A good race for me.
The breeze was back for race 2. Again, I started towards the pin with Andy Rice to leeward and fleet newcomer Duncan Ward between us. This time, I failed to hold my lane and dived below Duncan and Andy hoping to use the speed to pop out into clear air. That didn't work. By the time we tacked I was deep in the fleet and had overstood the port lay line. I used the speed to get down to the mark at the back of the pack. Down the run I was dodging the lobster pots kindly laid by a French fisherman near the lay line, trying hard to make up places. I think I sailed a good second beat overtaking several boats, but it was all ruined by a "Musto moment" with the mother of all knots in my kite halyard when I attempted to hoist. By the time I sorted that mess out, several boats had gone screaming past me. But, to my credit I judged the lay line to perfection, whereas the boats that had overtaken me overstood and I got past a few of them, with Wayne Bates (AUS) and Karsten Groth (NED) finishing just ahead of me in 22nd. Normal service had resumed.
Now, I said I'd come back to race 5, and it was a cracker for me! The breeze was up a notch. Just like races 3 and 4, I started towards the pin. Duncan Ward (GBR) absolutely launched it off the pin and got a great lane. This time, Andy Rice was on my shoulder alongside Dan Vincent (GBR) with his borrowed mast having broken one yesterday. Dan got squeezed out and tacked off. Andy and I charged left. I nailed my tack. Andy went for his and I heard some grumbling as it didn't go well. Looking upwind I could see Rob Richardson well ahead. How the hell did he get there so fast? Did he start half-way up the beat? The left seemed to pay, and I had my hero moment as I rounded the windward mark in third behind Rob Richardson (who was already well on his way downwind) and Ben Clegg. Eddie Bridle (GBR), Brian Greensmith (GBR) and Jamie Hilton (GBR) were chasing hard. The panic about what to do if you find yourself at the front of the fleet set in and Jamie and Brian passed me on the run.
On the second beat I had Jamie ahead of me sailing a similar angle. Brian was going low and fast. At the top mark I has a little tighter on the starboard lay line than I would have liked, and Brian charged in on port, tacking right on my lee bow and I had a little dunk as I headed up to avoid contact. The breeze was up now, and I was going for a "low risk" one gybe wonder. Brian had soaked a bit lower and gybed earlier. I survived my gybe but was tight on the lay line but made it through the finish in fifth behind Rob, Ben, Eddie, and Jamie. Brian had suffered from a case of guilt for his top mark tack and dropped his kite early to allow me through (what a gentleman!), but he also let Andy Tarboton past in the process. A great race to end the day.
So, after day two of the Worlds, Rob Richardson has snatched the lead from Ben Clegg and Andy Tarboton. The points are tight and it's all to play for at the front. Away from the front of the fleet there is some great racing going on, proving it's not all about being at the front of the fleet. The camaraderie and banter are first class. Special mention must go to 16-year-old Greta Müller sailing in her first Musto Skiff Worlds and using the small mainsail to great effect, completing all the races today and doing some impressively good gybes in the process, proving that the small mainsail really opens the class up to lighter weight sailors.
The start for tomorrow has been pulled forward by two hours (with the first warning signal at 11am local time). Get online to watch the live tracking for the next installment of the ACO Musto Skiff World Championship 2026.
Results overall (PDF)
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