12ft skiff fleet gears up for NSW Championship
by Di Pearson / 12ft Skiff media 26 Nov 21:26 PST
29-30 November & 6-7 December 2025
Sydnney Sailmakers in flight - NSW Championsh © Garrick Cameron
The 12 foot skiff fleet is gearing up for the NSW Championship to be held over four days and two weekends - 29 and 30 November at Sydney Flying Squadron and 6 and 7 December out of Lane Cove 12ft Sailing Skiff Club (LCSSC).
With the NSW Upper Harbour and Paramatta River Championships behind them, the skiffies now have some practice and tune-up time ahead of the NSW Championship.
Knocking on the door are 'young guns' Huon Saul and Simon Mercer from Abbotsford,12ft Sailing Club. Last year they bought and began racing Hit & Run while in the process of bringing the boat up to standard.
"We got the boat together for the second half of last season and didn't finish races till the end. Brett Hobson owned it at one point and brought it up to date a bit and now we've brought it further up to-date. It started out pretty rough, but we're getting there. We're doing all the races in lead up to the NSW Championship and Interdominion," Saul said.
He and Mercer have come from the Cherub class and are still on the learning curve: "Peter Hill (Arrogant Frog) needed crew and he's trying to get younger people into the class He took us for a sail and we're hooked," Saul explained.
"It's good to be scared again. I feel like a little kid starting out sailing again," a laughing Saul said.
"I'm too big for the Cherub now, so it's nice getting on the 12 at the optimum weight and to be able to tune it how you want it. It's a big, big learning curve though.
"It's addictive. I'm more than happy to die sailing these boats. I couldn't ask for anything better. And Simon (24 years old), who is sailing with me, is really good. We like the skiffie side and building parts of the boat and we're happy for advice and criticism.
"I've sailed a lot of classes and dabbled in others, but I've never found such a competitive class - and one where your competitors are happy to help you out," Huon said.
By the Interdominion in January, Saul said, "I'm hoping we'll have it together. In club racing, the Frog guys have been a great benchmark. Sailing at Abbotsford, you learn to sail with the tides and shifts and capsize and hold up the river cats," the 23-year-old skipper said laughing.
"I'm trying to edge my 18-year-old brother into the class and others as well," Saul ended.
Josh Tasker and his for'ward hand, Brendan Jenkins, are making inroads in this development class with their 12 footer, Sydney Sailmakers. Second in the 2025 Upper Harbour Championship, they missed third place in the Parramatta River Championship by 28 seconds, so tight is the racing in the class.
"This is my second season in the 12s. It's a fun but difficult boat to sail," Tasker shared.
Asked what its going to take to beat the top ranked crews, Sail Inc. and Geotherm, Tasker said with a laugh, "I wish I knew - if you find out, let me know. It's hard to beat spending time in the boat and they've both been sailing the class for a long time and they're consistently good."
Sydney Sailmakers races out of Sydney Flying Squadron most Sundays. "We're fairly settled with the boat at the moment. We are getting new sails and doing a bit of development work," says Tasker, a boat builder with Marine Element.
Also flirting with the top of the leaderboard are Dave Winning and Cam Gundy on Your Move Conveyancing. The pair won the Upper Harbour and Parramatta River Championships on handicap. And then there is the ever reliable pair of Murray Press and Mark Muirhead (Red Energy) who are great starters and continue to chip away and land on the podium more often than not.
But these teams and others first have to get past Nick Press and Andrew Hay (Sails Inc.), winners of the opening NSW Championship and Geotherm's Brett Hobson and Peter Nicholson, who won the Paramatta River Championship. These are undoubtedly the two teams to beat in Australia, but they can - and have - been beaten.
What it all boils down to is getting everything right on the day. No breakages, no bad calls and limited capsizes. This is where the top two shine. They leave nothing to chance and nothing in the tank.
Following the NSW Championship, with practice time and club racing in between, is the Interdominion - the one everyone wants to win.
Sponsored by triSearch, a subsidiary of InfoTrack www.trisearch.com.au, with support sponsorship from Your Move Conveyancing yourmoveconveyancing.com.au and Pete's Home Loans www.peteshomeloans.com.au, the Interdominion is the pinnacle of 12ft skiff sailing.
To be hosted by the Australian 18 Footers League on Sydney Harbour between 3-10 January 2026 when north easterly sea breezes are the norm, the event between Australia and New Zealand will not only provide great sailing, but a perfect viewing platform for fans of the development class.
For all information on the 12ft Skiff class and its events, please visit: www.skiff.org.au.