18ft Skiffs build up to the 'Big One'
by Frank Quealey 11 Feb 2025 22:34 PST
8-16 March 2025
With less than one month to go before the JJ Giltinan 18ft Skiff Championship is contested on Sydney Harbour, from March 8-16, next Sunday's Australian 18 Footers League Club Championship race is critical to the build-up for all teams from the League's fleet.
The recently-crowned Australian champion Rag & Famish Hotel team has all but already won the League's championship and has been unbeatable over the championship length course set down for Sunday's race.
Harry Price, Max Paul and Finn Rodowicz won all three championship races earlier in the season then had two wins and three second placings in the six short-course races contested during the NSW Championship in December.
The team's form continued after the break over Christmas and the New Year when the Australian Championship was sailed on Waterloo Bay, Brisbane. Slick crew work and exceptional boat speed over the entire course set a standard which all teams will need to overcome if they want to put pressure on The Rag.
Going into Sunday's race, Rag & Famish Hotel has a 24 points lead over her nearest rival, present Giltinan world champion Yandoo, skippered by Tom Needham.
The biggest threats to The Rag before the JJs look likely to come from Yandoo and the former Australian champion Finport Finance, skippered by Keagan York, which has shown good potential in a number of races.
Just behind the experienced combinations are a number of young teams showing potential and their closeness on the race track is going to be an asset as they push each other closer to the more experienced 'big three'.
Balmain (Henry Larkings), Vaikobi (Kirk Mitchell), Lazarus Capital Partners (Tom Cunich), Sixt (Jacob Marks) and Smeg (Natham McNamara) have all shown the potential to match it at the top level and only the ability to maintain the consistency is now needed to become a bigger threat as we move toward the Giltinan Championship.
The League's fleet will be challenged by New Zealand and European teams, led by the German Black Knight, as well as strong teams from Queensland and Victoria.
Progress points, going into Sunday's race, are:
15 Rag & Famish Hotel
39 Yandoo
47 Balmain
50 Finport Finance
53 Vaikobi
65 Lazarus Capital Partners
74 Sixt
76 Smeg
76 Burrawang-Young Henrys
80 The Kitchen Maker
The Australian 18 Footers League has a spectator ferry, leaving Double Bay Public Wharf, at 2pm next Sunday and booking can be made by going to the club website www.18footers.com.
The experienced SailMedia team will also live stream the action with professional commentators Peter Shipway, Andrew Divola and James Bury broadcasting directly from the course. The link to catch the action is youtube.com/video/PSoIt9fU2Pk/livestreaming.