Keith Musto receives British honour

Unlike most of his contemporaries, Keith Musto (GBR) was never happy to accept that being cold and wet were necessary inconveniences of sailing.

“We sailed in Guernsey sweaters and old flannel trousers for years. You got wet and you accepted it. But, as we progressed up the ladder in terms of competition, we realised that this was a problem that needed to be solved.”

So Mr Musto went to one or two manufacturers who were making clothing at that time and spoke to them about improving the designs and there wasn’t a lot of interest. “So we soon made our minds up that although we didn’t know how to make clothing, we’d learn quicker than the manufacturers at the time could catch on to the fact that there was a need and a demand for better clothing. So we started working on what sailors really needed to make conditions better for them.”

And Musto has been around keeping sailors – and horsemen and women – warm and dry ever since.

He came to public notice when he won the Silver Medal in the Flying Dutchman Class at the Tokyo Olympic Games with his crew, Tony Morgan.

Franklyn Keith Musto got his OBE (Order of the British Empire) for services to the economy, being awarded in the New Year’s Honours List.

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