Please select your home edition
Edition
Armstrong 728x90 - Performance Mast Range - TOP

18ft Skiff Australian Championship on Sydney Harbour - Race 1

by Frank Quealey 13 Jan 2024 23:23 PST 14 January 2024
18ft Skiff Australian Championship Race 1: Andoo powering her way to victory © SailMedia

Cordukes Clubhouse Trophy

Current Giltinan 18ft skiff champion Andoo, skippered by John Winning Jr, with Seve Jarvin on the sheet and Peter Harris standing in for Sam Newton in the bow, survived the strengthening South-East breeze to take out Race 1 of the Australian Championship on Sydney Harbour today.

The experienced team was always in or near the lead from the beginning of the race and completed the course safely as the wind strengthened from around 10-20 knots over the second half of the course.

At the finish, Andoo crossed the line 1m36s ahead of Yandoo (Micah Lane, Fang Warren, Lewis Brake), with Your Name Her (Kirk Mitchell, Andrew Stephenson, Daniel Barnett) a further 30s back in third place.

After being recalled for an OCS, Balmain (Henry Larkings) finished in fourth place, ahead of Rag & Famish Hotel (Beau Junk) and Fisher & Paykel (Jordan Girdis).

Andoo was quickly into the lead after the start and led the fleet to the first weather mark in Rose Bay where she enjoyed a 9s lead over Yandoo, which was skippered by Micah Lane, who took over from the skiff's regular skipper John 'Woody' Winning only minutes before the start.

The consistent Your Name Here was in third place, followed by Smeg (Nathan McNamara), Rag & Famish Hotel, Fisher & Paykel, Balmain, Sixt (Nathan Edwards) and The Kitchen Maker (Lachlan Steel).

Yandoo grabbed the lead from Andoo on the long spinnaker run from Rose Bay to the bottom mark off Robertson Point to hold a 15s margin as the two leaders headed for the next weather mark off Clark Island.

Your Name Here was still in third place and only 10s behind Andoo, followed by Rag & Famish Hotel, Fisher & Paykel, Smeg, The Kitchen Maker and defending champion Finport Finance (Keagan York) which was also recovering from an OCS.

The three leaders staged a good battle on the work to Clark Island where Yandoo led Andoo by just 6s. Your Name Here was close to the two leaders but unfortunately ran out of wind as she approached the rounding buoy and lost touch with the other two boats.

Yandoo and Andoo both set a spinnaker for the tight run to Chowder Bay and soon had to reverse the decision as they were taken off the course. Andoo had more trouble than Yandoo and paid the price when Yandoo set up a 48s lead at Chowder Bay.

Rag & Famish Hotel was being well sailed by a crew having its first race, collectively, together in an 18 and had moved up into third place ahead of Your Name Here. Finport Finance and Balmain had both recovered well from their OCS problem to be in fifth and sixth places.

The breeze began to build more as the fleet headed to the next mark in Rose Bay and the Yandoo team was brilliant as the crew took the skiff to a 1m20s lead over Andoo. Rag & Famish Hotel, Finport Finance and You Name Here.

Just when it looked as if Yandoo was going to be hard to catch, she capsized on the RHS of Shark Island as the fleet headed to Taylors Bay. Andoo and Finport Finance both went to the LHS of Shark Island and were the new race leaders.

From that point, Andoo was always in control. Yandoo worked her way back into second place to be 1m10s behind the leader, while Finport Finance was third.

Unfortunately for Finport Finance, she was involved in an incident with a ferry, capsized and forced to retire. As a result, the team has lodged a protest seeking redress.

Balmain's comeback after the poor start was rewarded when she won the handicap section of the race to collect Cordukes Clubhouse trophy, which is part of the season-long club point score series.

Race 2 of the Australian Championship will be sailed next Sunday (21 January). The League's spectator ferry will follow the action, leaving Double Bay Public Wharf at 2pm. Tickets are available 18footers.com/18-footer-racing/spectator-ferry

If you prefer, you can still join the League's 'Alternative Ferry' in the clubhouse and enjoy all the racing action LIVE on the massive screen broadcasting the SailMedia Livestream camera cat coverage. It's a really unique way to celebrate the great racing and all 18 footer supporters are welcome to come down to the clubhouse 'Alternative Ferry'.

If you can't get out onto Sydney Harbour, or come to the club's 'Alternative' Ferry', you can still watch it LIVE by going to the Club's 18footers.com website and clicking on the TV link.

Race 1 Results:

PosBoat NameFinishElapsedHandicapCorrectedHandicap Pos
1Andoo (John Winning Jnr / Seve Jarvin / Peter Harris)15:50:5601:05:56001:05:564
2Yandoo (John Winning Snr / Fang Warren / Lewis Brake)15:52:3201:07:32001:07:328
3Your Name Here (Kirk Mitchell / Andrew Stephenson / Daniel Barnett)15:53:0201:08:02101:07:026
4Balmain (Henry Larkings / Miles Davey / Fynn Sprott)15:53:4701:08:47401:04:471
5Rag & Famish Hotel (Beau Junk / Finn Radowicz / Harry Hall)15:56:2901:11:29301:08:2910
6Fisher & Paykel (Jordan Girdis / Jacob Broome / Josh Feldmann)15:57:0001:12:00701:05:002
7smeg (Nathan McNamara / Jed Cruikshank / Jack Taylor)15:58:2301:13:23601:07:237
8Sixt (Nathan Edwards / Alex Leslie / Locky Pryor)15:58:4201:13:42801:05:423
9Marine Outlet (John Cooley / Cam Gundy / Brandon Buyink)15:58:5101:13:51601:07:519
10The Kitchen Maker/ Ceasarstone (Lachlan Steel / Jerome Watts / Ben Kirkby)15:59:4701:14:47801:06:475
11Burrawang‑Young Henrys (Simon Nearn / Wilbur Finlay / Paddy Bannon)16:12:2501:27:25801:19:2511
DNFFinport Finance (Keagan York / Matt Stenta / Phil Marshall)     
DNFLazarus Capital Partners (Aron Everett / Ben Crawford / Rece Goldsmith)     
DNFThe Oak Double Bay / 4 Pines (Jacob Marks / Alex Marinelli / Matt Doyle)     
DNFShaw and Partners (Emma Rankin / Cam McDonald / Tom Quigley)     
DNC18 Footers Bar and Restaurant (Hugo Stoner / Hugo Leeming / Hamish Vass)     
DNCNoakes Red (Bec Hancock / Henry Stabback / Charlie Gundy)     

Related Articles

18ft Skiffs: Queensland 18 footer history
Decades of successful ideas and achievement Queensland's revival over recent seasons, which resulted in a two-pronged attack by experienced and young teams in new skiffs at the 2025 Giltinan world championship Posted on 2 Jul
18ft Skiff European Championships
Germany's Black Knight takes the title by a single point The International 18 Footer League - European Championship 2025, hosted by Circolo Vela Arco, concluded on Thursday, after five days of spectacular racing featuring some of the fastest and most exciting skiffs in the sailing world. Posted on 27 Jun
Western Australia's 18 footers history
An on-off situation between the 1890s and 2013 Western Australia's participation in the Australian 18 footer scene has been an on-off situation between the 1890s and 2013 but its impact during the early years of the class demands that it is remembered today by all 18 footer supporters and enthusiasts. Posted on 11 Jun
The link between two great Australian sports
A unique connection between brute strength and beauty James Joseph Giltinan was one of Australia's great entrepreneurs of the early 1900s, and the man most responsible for creating a unique link between one of the most confrontational football codes in the world and the beauty of sailing. Posted on 25 May
The last 18' skiff champion before one design
Michael Spies won the 1993 and 1995 JJ Giltinan 18ft Skiff Championships When Michael Spies won the 1993 and 1995 World 18 footer championships, in his Julian Bethwaite-designed Winfield Racing skiff, he became the last winner of the title before the introduction of the new one-design 18 footer won its first title in 1996. Posted on 14 May
Smeg's 29 years of 18ft Skiff sponsorship success
It all began when a Trevor Barnabas-led team raced a skiff named Omega Smeg-2UE The Smeg Australia 18ft skiff sponsorship with the Australian 18 footers League began in 1996-97 and has continued harmoniously, with many great successes, over the following twenty nine seasons on Sydney Harbour. Posted on 7 May
The 18ft Skiff 'Big Boat Era'
The original 18 footers which raced from the 1890s to the mid-1930s We are all familiar with the modern 18 footers as they speed across Sydney Harbour with their carbon fibre hulls and lightweight state-of-the-art sails and spars but they a vastly different to the original 18 footers. Posted on 23 Apr
A look back at the 2003 18ft Skiff JJ Giltinan
The closest of 76 regattas in the greatest championship The recent JJ Giltinan 18ft Skiff Championship regatta produced some nervous moments for the Yandoo team of Tom Needham, Fang Warren and Lewis Brake during the 'crazy' westerly conditions of the last race Posted on 30 Mar
Winnings JJ Giltinan 18ft Skiff Championship Day 7
The Yandoo team of Tom Needham, Fang Warren and Lewis Brake wrap up the win The Yandoo team of Tom Needham, Fang Warren and Lewis Brake became the world 18 footer champions after scoring a brilliant victory in the Winnings 2025 JJ Giltinan 18ft Skiff Championship, which concluded on Sydney Harbour today. Posted on 16 Mar
Winnings JJ Giltinan 18ft Skiff Championship Day 6
Yandoo in pole position going into Sunday's final race The Yandoo team of Tom Needham, Fang Warren and Lewis Brake went into today's Race 8 on Sydney Harbour with a two points lead over Finport Finance, its closest challenger to retaining the coveted title. Posted on 15 Mar
C-Tech 2020 Battens 2 728x90 BOTTOMSelden 2020 - FOOTERZhik 2024 December