Please select your home edition
Edition
March April May June Leaderboard 2023

Australian 16ft Skiff Championships update

by Adam Lucius 23 Jan 08:17 PST
Australian 16ft Skiff Championships © SailMedia

It says a lot about Sail Racing's ambitions and expectations that a top 10 finish at the Australian 16ft Skiff Championships came with a tinge of disappointment.

The Felix Grech-skippered boat finished a creditable sixth overall after winning heat two and reaching the podium in heats three and five. They were being talked about as genuine contenders midway through the series but ultimately fell away to place just outside the first five. An 11th in the final heat cruelled any hope of a top three finish, but there was no sulking or kicking stones.

Grech and crew Paul Darmanin and Tom Potter opted against a breather, returning to the water last Saturday to win Manly's seventh long course pointscore race of the season. "We started the (nationals) regatta in a really good spot and the boat felt great," Grech said. "Unfortunately, we had a few bad races at the end that cost us a possible podium. It was a great regatta, with some very close racing and it was awesome to get to compete with such a strong fleet. "The boat-on-boat racing was amazing. There are so many good sailors in the class now that you really have to work hard for a top ten spot."

In a tricky and bumpy easterly, Sail Racing led at the top mark of Saturday's race and held a comfortable lead for most of the journey. They were momentarily under pressure when IMEI (Sarah Lee) launched a great comeback to challenge at the third top mark, but a capsize soon after handed the ascendancy back to Grech. Grech said: "We're having heaps of fun on the boat and hopefully we can string a few more wins together before the season is over."

Sutech Building Consultants (Michael Koerner) was 48 seconds behind in second, with Cunninghams (Nick Connor) third and Capital Brewing Co (Jessica Iles) fourth.

There was a familiar face just outside the top four after Typhoon's Craig Nicholls resumed steering duties to skipper the Australian championship-winning boat into fifth. It was Nicholls' first sail on a skiff for 10 months and he was still feeling the pain 48 hours later after combining with national champs Brett Davis and Mal Page. "I felt like I was the pinball in a pinball machine at various stages," he laughed.

"You forget how much it takes out of you but it was good to get out there again. I'm pretty pleased with that result."

Related Articles

100 year season presentation at Manly 16ft Skiffs
Red carpet and format dress for awards ceremony It was a Night of Stars as the sailors and volunteers of Manly 16Ft Skiff celebrated the season and winners of the Club Championships in the Centenary Year. Posted on 17 May
Swap day at Manly 16ft Skiff Club
Always the best day of the year There was one moment that perfectly illustrated the impact Manly 16ft Skiff Club's swap day can have on the next generation of sailors. Posted on 4 Apr
Manly 16s - 100th Year Club Champions confirmed
A fourth straight win for Moonen Yachts skipper Daniel Turner Why stop at four? That's what victorious Moonen Yachts skipper Daniel Turner was asking after he muscled himself into rare company with a fourth straight Manly 16ft club championship on Saturday. Posted on 21 Mar
Manly 16s Short-Course Pointscore Heat 19 & 20
A superb day for Felix Grech, Tom Potter and Paul Darmanin SailRacing produced a performance to match the occasion last Saturday, peeling off consecutive short course victories to celebrate 10 years in the Manly 16ft Skiff Club fleet. Posted on 14 Mar
Manly 16s Club Championship Heat 10
Sarah Lee is proving to be a skipper for all conditions and occasions Sarah Lee is proving to be a skipper for all conditions and occasions after effortlessly jumping between two different clubs and boats while still managing to produce the goods. Posted on 9 Mar
Manly 16s Club Championship Heats 8 & 9
A solid day for Cunninghams If you'd seen the Cunninghams crew in the rigging park before Manly's 16ft club championship double header on Saturday, you would have immediately put a red line through their chances. Posted on 28 Feb
Manly Skiff Club Longcourse Race 9
Moonen leads start to finish Manly 16ft skiff skipper Daniel Turner had one message for the Sail GP fraternity dealing with the chaos on Sydney Harbour at the weekend: Welcome to our world. Posted on 20 Feb
113th Botany Bay Championships
Typhoon takes the honours Half of Nathan Wilmot wants the 16ft skiff season to go on forever - the other half is craving a well- deserved breather. Posted on 14 Feb
Manly 16ft Skiff SC to hit 100th birthday
Ready the story of the club's fight through the 1930s-60s You could safety slot the Manly Sailing Club - later to morph into the Manly 16ft Skiff Sailing Club - into that category after an inception that came about by a happy combination of 'right time, right place' happenings 100 years ago. Posted on 3 Feb
Manly 16ft Skiff Club's long course pointscore
Botany Access takes the double At the start of Manly 16ft Skiff Club's long course pointscore heat on Saturday, the boys on Moonen Yachts were jokingly sledging fill-in Botany Access skipper Gerard Smith about being a touch rusty. Posted on 31 Jan
Armstrong-Suptonic-728x90-2 BOTTOMRS Sailing 2021 - FOOTERJ Composites 2022 - J99 FOOTER