18ft Skiff Championship - CNN's 'Mainsail' reports from Sydney

by Frank Quealey on 4 Apr 2014 On the 75th Anniversary JJ Giltinan and Australian 18ft Skiff NationalsThis month on MainSail, CNN host and double Olympic gold medallist, Shirley Robertson, reports from Sydney.

These boats have always been a class rich in tradition and have attracted Australia's best sailors to test themselves in the ultimate arena, racing on Sydney Harbour.

In their heyday in the 1970s, the Aussie 18s were a major draw not just in Sydney, but on TV around the world, with six-time winner Iain Murray the pin-up boy for the class in the legendary boat ‘Color 7’. At this year's regatta, MainSail finds out if Murray’s young protégé Seve Jarvin can equal the great man's record.

Since the 1890s, Sydney Harbour has been home to the 18 footer class. As the harbour has developed, so have the machines: pushing materials, design and sailors to the edge. The boats have always been hard to sail and the class always exciting to watch. It’s also produced some of the best sailors to emerge from Australia.

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