The Vaikobi 18ft Skiff Team 2025
by Frank Quealey 7 Sep 14:34 HKT
One of the young teams expected to be amongst the leading group in the Australian 18 Footers League's 2025-26 season fleet on Sydney Harbour is the Vaikobi 18ft Skiff Team led by former Australian Cherub class champion Kirk Mitchell.
Mitchell, Andrew Stephenson (sheet) and Daniel Barnett (bow) will be having their fourth season together and their third in the present skiff.
All three graduated from the Cherub 12ft dinghy class and are experienced at winning regattas, despite a lack of the success they expect from themselves in the 18s.
The trio have had three good seasons together and have recorded many top class performances each season, without putting it all together at the high point of the season - the JJ Giltinan World 18 Footer Championship.
Vaikobi has finished in the top-5 at both the Australian and NSW championships over the last two seasons and are always competing in the leading group despite finishing only 11th in each of the past three Giltinans.
Kirk and Andrew teamed to win the 2013-14 Australian Cherub Championship then were runner-up in the following season. Kirk, without Andrew in the team, was runner-up again in 2015-16 before moving into the 18s with Daniel Barnett and Tim Westwood on Noakes Youth/Vintec in the 2017-18 season and finishing 12th in the 2018 Giltinan Championship.
Skippering the same Vintec skiff in the 2018-19 season, Kirk and his same team finished 14th.
Andrew continued to compete in the Cherubs and won the 2016-17 Australian Championship with Ali Chapman. During a five-season period, he scored two victories, two second placings and a third placing in the Australian championship.
Daniel Barnett, who will be having his sixth season with Kirk in the 18s, is a member of one of the most famous families ever to compete in the 18 footer class.
His grand-father Don Barnett (together with Don's brother, Les) won the 1967 World 18 Footer Championship in Associated Motor Club.
Daniel's father, Phil Barnett won two World championships with Trevor Barnabas on Chesty Bond in 1987 and 1988, then a third with Michael Walsh (Prudential) in 1989. He also won the 1985-86 Australian Championship with Trevor Barnabas on Chesty Bond before skippering Xerox to victory in 1991-92.
It's obvious to followers of the 18s that the team has far more talent than the Giltinan results indicate and Kirk is the first to acknowledge the disappointment and frustration. "It's frustrating and disappointing as we know that our performance level is better than the overall results show at the JJs."
"We've sailed well for most of the past three seasons but a couple of small errors and some bad luck at times have proved costly at the major championship."
"We're confident in our ability as a team and are looking forward to the coming season and a change of fortune at the JJs."
"Another reason why we're hoping for a better result in the JJs is for our sponsor, Vaikobi, because it is such a good sponsor and is very supportive of us and the League club fleet."
There is no doubt that the Vaikobi team will be at the 'pointy-end' of the fleet throughout the 2025-26 League season and a change of fortune in March 2026 should see the team record its best result at the Giltinan Championship.
The League's season gets under way on October 12 when Race 1 of the Spring Championship will be sailed on Sydney Harbour. The highly-professional SailMedia team will again livestream all the racing action from the course, while the League's regular spectator ferry will take supporters onto the course to follow the racing each week.