Danny Boatman steps down from Musto Skiff Chairman role

 

After two terms as the International Chairman, Danny Boatman has stepped down from his committee role in the Musto Skiff class, with Brennan Robinson taking on the role from February 2025.

Danny has held the International Chairman role for two years after joining the committee in December 2022. During his chairmanship, Danny has been instrumental in steering the class through some major projects.

Danny hit the ground running after inheriting the long-term project to determine if class members wanted a new mainsail design for the Musto Skiff. This was eventually voted in, with the production of a new square top mainsail being given the go-ahead in partnership with Ovington Boats and Hyde Sails. To support the transition to the new design, first orders were discounted for a limited period for class members. This was funded by the international class, as well as Ovington and Hyde Sails, enabling the first batch of new mainsails to be produced at the end of 2023 in line with the start of the Australian sailing season.

Since taking on the Chairman role, Danny has also worked on three major regattas as part of the event organising committee team, including delivering World Championship events in Lake Garda in 2023, Weymouth and Portland in July 2024, and more recently in Sydney for the 2025 World Championships, which was hosted in January.

However, after a busy two years overseeing some major projects and events for the class, Danny made the decision to step back due to work and family commitments but will remain as an active member of the committee in the Vice Chairman role for the foreseeable future. As one of the top-level sailors in the class, with many accolades and podium places under his belt, Danny will also continue to sail in the Musto Skiff fleet in the UK, representing his home club, Sunderland Yacht Club.

Whilst the International Committee all voted in favour of electing Brennan Robinson at the end of last year, enabling a smooth transition upon Danny stepping down, the handover to Brennan was formalised at the close of the 2024 Annual Class Survey on 7th February 2025, when class members voted by majority for Brennan to be elected.

Originally from South Africa, Brennan is currently based in Cambridge in the UK and is an active member of Grafham Water Sailing Club. As a popular sailor in the class, he has become well known for his witty and humorous MC stand-ups as part of hosting the daily prize-giving's at recent World Championships. He is also well known in sailing circles for his skills on the water having topped the silver fleet in a major regatta in the Musto Skiff class, in addition to some sailing successes on the South African dinghy and keelboat circuits whilst representing his homeland sailing club, Boskop Yacht Club, Noordwes.