Musto Skiff Winter Open 2026 at Itchenor Sailing Club

Musto Skiff Winter Open 2026 © Steve Robson

With the sun setting on the summer season and the hardy sailors readying themselves for winter sailing, this was the perfect transitional event. The legendary Itchenor Sailing Club welcomed 16 Musto Skiffs for the final gathering of this year's UK class events calendar.

Day one brought bright skies with a gentle warmth, a slow building breeze, and a strong incoming tide along with a shared racecourse that seemed busier than a night out in Newcastle. The Race Officer got the fleet away first time and the games of snakes and ladders commenced.

Trying not to run aground, going left or right didn't seem to matter, with steady Eddie Bridle taking bullets in Races 1, 2 and 3. Hot on his heels was Ben Clegg with a hat-trick of second places. Dave Poston looked set to follow suit with a clean sweep of third places, before Tom Scott moved up the fleet to take third in the final race of the day.

This left the rest of us vying for the remaining places. Tactical manoeuvres and tight tacking and gybing up and down the shoreline (sometimes just feet away from the edge) resulted in some great racing throughout the fleet.

Eddie Bridle - Musto Skiff Winter Open 2026 - photo © George Day

After a long afternoon and a dying breeze, the fleet made it back ashore and headed straight to the clubhouse where a roaring fire and some beverages brought the fleet together to regale each other with stories of the day. As the afternoon moved into the early evening, some ventured into 'Chi' (as the locals like to call it) to experience the nightlife of Chichester.

Day two greeted the fleet with an overcast sky, a different wind direction, and lots of debate on whether extra layers would be needed to keep warm. With an earlier start there was of course less water to race on, and being a Sunday, the many pleasure crafts coming out to play made it even more interesting!

Eddie's dominating run looked set to continue, but the pesky shifts and determination from the fleet saw various leaders in the first race of the day. After some battles for the race win, it was David Annan who came out on top. You could see his smile from a long way away.

The fleet were clearly too eager for the next race, which started with a general recall and restart under a black flag. Once the fleet got away, Tom Kyne found his form and pretty much led from start to finish to take the win in Race 5.

A lighter breeze came in for the final race, and with a clean start this time, the fleet split either side of the channel. Eddie finally pulled through to lead home and take his fourth bullet of the weekend.

The next four boats to cross the line were separated by around five seconds, and after a gybing duel between them, it was Tom Hirst who finished up in 2nd, with Steve Robson in 3rd, Tom Goodman in 4th, and Brian Greensmith in 5th.

The race team deserve a huge round of thanks for managing multiple class staggered starts on different courses with very little waiting.

After two discards, the top places overall included Eddie Bridle in 1st with 4 points, David Poston in 2nd with 11 points, Steve Robson in 3rd with 16 points, and Brian Greensmith just missing the podium by a single point, finishing in 4th place overall with 17 points.

Overall Results:

Full Results for the Musto Skiff Winter Open 2026