Over-canvassed and over-here

by Sail-World / 12ft skiff on 17 Sep 2006
The 12ft Skiff class has recently been seen sailing on the south coast of England, some way from its origins in Australia and New Zealand. In typical downunder skiff style the 12ft version carries a staggering amount of sail - to UK eyes.

The 45kg hull (that´s all up weight) can carry an unlimited sail area. This means that the No. 1 rig will have a 30ft mast carrying more sail than an International 14 and can fly a 58sqm asymmetric from a 14ft pole - on a 12ft hull with two crew on trapeze.

Originating out of Sydney in the early 1900s when they were crewed by up to five people, this gradually reduced to two over the years and the class took on battened sails, trapezes and fixed poles to become what we now recognise as the modern asymmetric skiff - but more normally seen in the UK in the form of the three-man 18ft Skiff.

But the recent upsurge in interest in 'extreme everything' has not bypassed sailing and the 12ft Skiff could well find a niche - especially for a younger generation looking to break out of the 420/470 route laid out by the (old) sailing powers looking for the next Olympic star.

The success of the 29er and now the (slightly) revved-up XX version is pointing the way, its just that the 12ft Skiff cuts straight to the chase - the learning curve may be steep (and wet) but it´s going to be fun!

Another antipodeon import, the Cherub, has long been a low key feature of the UK scene - and can race as a 12ft Skiff, but has less sail area - so it will take some considerable work on the part of the new enthusiasts to sweep the 12ft Skiff onto the regular sailing scene.

But they do seem to be going at it the right way - nothing weird and wacky - but getting some solid sponsorship for their first events, a decent website and some good media coverage that makes a lot of what, at the moment is a small fleet, pitching well above its weight.

Below are the reports for the Bartercard 12ft Skiff event at Weston SC and the Nationals at Royal Torbay YC.

The Bartercard 12ft Skiffs attended Weston this weekend to give the boats a first taste of Solent water. Greeted by sunshine, flat water and light breezes, number one rigs seemed like the order of the day.

This proved to be some what foolhardy as the sea breeze subsequently kicked in to about 15 to 18 knots and trying to fly a 58 square meter kite on a 12 foot boat in that sort of wind was not for the faint hearted.

After running back to shore for a quick change onto No.3 rigs, the afternoon was filled with spectacular three sail reaches out past the yachts, ferries and other competitors (who at times had a very close look at what its like to sail a twelve).

Sunday dawned equally as calm but having remembered the lesson learnt from the previous day, we choose No.3 rigs and where comfortably powered up all round the course. It was another great day to enjoy 12ft Skiff sailing in sunshine, flat water and fair breeze - it really doesn’t get any better.

We would like to thank Weston SC for their hospitality, and our thanks go out to all those who came down to watch the boats both on and off the water. It was a great chance to get new people out into the boats to give them a taste of how exceptional a 12ft Skiff really is. Having the use of a dedicated rib made it easy to swap people in and out of the boats and enabled us to get some great video footage and still photography.

Bartercard 12 Foot Skiff Nationals

This weekend saw six boats compete at the inaugural Bartercard 12 Foot Skiff Nationals held at Royal Torbay Yacht Club. This is the first time that the 12 Foot Skiff's have been seen at any event in the UK. Congratulations go to Team Practicus, helmed by Iain Christie and crewed by Tom Vian, for winning the 2006 national title and the Bartercard Cup.

Sunday 20th August - practice and registration day.
Bit of a pain to get out of the harbour but when out great sailing conditions. Pop the kite on Team Practicus and go really quickly out into Tor Bay. Grumble & Grunt looking totally awesome on the no2 rig, big air and big speed. Big eyes from the crew when they fail to gybe (rig just loading up, more rake required!), sensibly they get the kite down and let themselves
and heart rate recover slightly.

Team Practicus goes past in a plume of spray and silly squealing and 15 minutes later they arrive in Brixham. Team Practicus fetch back to Torquay on 1 tack and chuck it in to windward just outside the harbour. Oops. The Red Arrows then provide fantastic entertainment, those guys must get almost as much of a buzz as we do going downwind in waves in a 12' boat!

Monday 21st August - Day 1
Team Practicus makes it out almost on time, occupants looking very much the worse for wear. The Slug follows and soon gets past them in the lightish wind. Team Practicus makes some up as the big rig boats struggle to fly their kites down to the comedy wing mark.

Grumble & Grunt comes out briefly but has to head back with a broken gooseneck. The Slug takes the bullet (or is it a pellet?) despite having to two sail a lot of the downwind stuff due to a big shift, Team Practicus second.

Race 2 and Havoc has joined the line-up at the start complete with mad looking monster roach no3 main, fantastic. Breeze freshens, sun comes out, serious champagne sailing conditions, accompanied by a fair amount of swimming by Andy Lang! Full on twin wiring uphill and stupid speed down, however about half way round the Slug and Havoc had to retire due to knackered crews. Team Practicus took the bullet and sail home in awesome conditions, leading overnight.

Tuesday 22 August - Day 2
The wind was looking light, and Havoc and Grumble & Grunt elect for no1 rigs. Everyone paddles out of the harbour, however sadly The Slug's Nationals are over with two spreaders peeling away from their shiny CTech carbon rig.

Seriously light out to the start, although the race officer sensibly postponed until the breeze filled in. The whole fleet gasped in amazement as Havoc and Grumble & Grunt came out flying over 55sqm of kite each with masts towering over the Folkboat fleet.

The start was predictable with Havoc and Grumble powering off into the distance with their big rigs, although Havoc elected for an early finish to rest aching muscles. Andy Lang had a swim and had to jury rig a kicker, allowing Team Practicus to seize the opportunity to attack them on the beat. Grumble & Grunt get the bullet with a huge lead over team Practicus...when a race committee RIB not realizing that Practicus was a a whole lap behind makes off with the windward mark!

Race 4 - twin wiring on Grumble & Grunt for the bullet, as 30 minutes later Team Practicus plods over the line with both crew in the boat in the dying breeze, however still in the top slot overall.

Wednesday - 23 August - Day 3
Race 5 and there seems to be more wind than the forecast 10 mph. It's soon a good 3-4 albeit a bit drizzly and the fleet sets off again, Grumble & Grunt were on their No2 rig now with Simon Roberts on the stick and Havoc was on their a No3, although they are both a bit late for the start and chasing Team Practicus and Andy Lang who both made a cracking start.

Team Practicus just pipped Andy Lang to the top mark but a bungled hoist lets Andy through until a swim on the gybe mark puts them back a place again. The breeze comes up, and there's a bit of confusion as Grumble & Grunt head to the wrong mark, leaving them with an impossible distance to make up on Team Practicus.

With four days of skiff sailing and a long drive ahead of them Grumble & Grunt and Havoc decide to head home, leaving Team Practicus to take the bullet and the title. Andy stays out to take the bullet and accompanying silver salver in race 6, and the sponsors get a great chance during the day to see the 12s at their