88th 12ft Skiff Australian Championship at the Sydney Flying Squadron
by Murray Press 27 Mar 23:20 PDT
22-23 March 2025
88th 12ft Skiff Australian Championship © Geraldine Wilkes
The 88th 12ft Skiff Championship was held from the Sydney Flying Squadron on Saturday 22nd & Sunday 23rd March. Testing conditions greeted the 16 skiffs over the 2 days of racing. Saturday saw a southerly breeze gradually turn to the south east with a split in rig choices.
The skiffs that had their No.1 big rig in benefited. Sail Inc sailed by Nick Press & Andrew (Noddy Hay) stamped their authority on the regatta early with 3 bullets on the day. Geotherm, Brett Hobson & Pete Nicholson kept them very honest with solid 2nd's in each race. Red Energy, Murray Press & Mark Murihead followed with two 3rd's & a 4th on the day.
Sunday saw even lighter conditions with two races completed in a variable easterly breeze. Sydney Sailmakers, Josh Tasker & Brendan Jenkins were quick all day winning both races closely followed by Geotherm who continued with their run of 2nd places. Sail Inc had to work hard in both races to grab a 3rd & 4th, enough to give them 1st place overall (The Norman Booth Trophy).
In conjunction with the scratch racing the 1st overall on Handicap (The Colin Clark Memorial Trophy) was Shu-Styx Fabrications sailed by Will Beck & Andrew Stephenson who also finished a well sailed 5th on scratch. The Veteran (H C Press memorial Trophy) was won by Murray Press who with Mark Murihead finished a strong 4th on scratch.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Boat Name | Helm | Crew | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | 17 | Sail Inc. | Nicholas Press | Andrew Hay | Lane Cove | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ‑4 | 6 |
| 2 | 23 | Geotherm | Brett Hobson | Peter Nicholson | SFS | ‑2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| 3 | 15 | Sydney Sailmakers | Josh Tasker | Brendan Jenkins | SFS | 4 | ‑7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| 4 | 1 | Red Energy | Murray Press | Mark Muirhead | Lane Cove | 3 | 3 | 4 | ‑7 | 6 | 16 |
| 5 | 7 | Shu‑Styx Fabrications | Will Beck | Andrew Stephenson | SFS | ‑7 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 21 |
| 6 | 9 | Terms & Conditions | Brad Phillips | Oscar Wilson | SFS | 8 | 6 | (DNS) | 5 | 3 | 22 |
| 7 | 25 | LCC Asia Pacific | Jonathon Temple | Richard Jones | SFS | 6 | 8 | 7 | ‑9 | 9 | 30 |
| 8 | 71 | Your Move Conveyancing | Dave Winning | Cam McDonald | Lane Cove | 5 | 5 | 5 | (DNS) | DNS | 32 |
| 9 | 39 | Stay Connected Electrical | Jakub Ronowicz | Ben Faulkner | SFS | 14 | 10 | (DNS) | 4 | 7 | 35 |
| 10 | 87 | Minerva | Edward Cox | Peter Bevis | Lane Cove | 10 | (DNF) | 12 | 8 | 10 | 40 |
| 11 | 59 | Giddy Up | Paul O'Malley‑Jones | Wayne Richter | DPSS | 9 | 11 | 10 | 10 | ‑14 | 40 |
| 12 | 61 | Arrogant Frog | Peter Hill | Steven Hill | Abb | ‑12 | 9 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 41 |
| 13 | 31 | The Bird | Matt Peat | Glenn Farquhar | Lane Cove | 11 | 13 | 11 | 11 | (DNF) | 46 |
| 14 | 29 | Hey Charger | Nick Bernard | James Glassock | Lane Cove | (DNF) | 12 | 9 | 15 | 13 | 49 |
| 15 | 5 | Skoll | Robbie Polec | Ian Terley | Lane Cove | 15 | 14 | (DNF) | 13 | 8 | 50 |
| 16 | 63 | Slippery When Wet | John Williams | Joe Bourne | Lane Cove | 13 | ‑15 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 51 |