March 19, 2020

18FT SKIFFS: JJ GILTINAN CHAMPIONSHIP, RACE 8 and 9

results race 8

results race 9

handicap pointscore 19th March

regatta pointscore 19th March

Series Results – JJ Giltinan 2020 (Drop Number_ 6) – 19_03_2020 19_20_44

Defending champion Honda Marine team of David McDiarmid, Matt Steven and Brad Collins took out the third consecutive JJ Giltinan 18ft Skiff Championship after another impressive performance in the final two races of the regatta on Sydney Harbour today.

Going into today’s final two races, Honda Marine held a four point lead over Winning Group and the scene was set for a spectacular finish between the two champion teams.

Conditions were perfect for the day’s racing on Sydney Harbour.  A warm sunny day with a 10-15 knots North East wind, perfect for the teams to use their big #1 rigs.

Honda Marine, as she had done so often during the series, came from behind with brilliant boat speed to take out the first race (Race8) by 33s, which was enough to take the title before going into the final race (Race 9).

In Race 9, Winning Group led all the way to defeat Honda Marine by 22s, with Tech2 finally producing somewhere near her best form to finish in third place, a further 19s behind Honda Marine.

The final pointscores for the championship are:  Honda Marine 14, Winning Group 18, Smeg  (Micah Lane, Ricky Bridge, Peter Harris) 41, Shaw & Partners Financial Services (James Dorron, Harry Bethwaite, Tim Tim Westwood) 43, Tech2 (Jack Macartney, Charlie Wyatt, Trent Barnabas) 44, Finport Finance (Keagan York, Matt Stenta, Angus Williams) 61.

In the day’s first race, Winning Group, with a 4-times JJ winning crew of Seve Jarvin, Sam Newton and Scott Babbage, sailed a great race but couldn’t hold out against the speed of Honda Marine over the final lap of the two-lap course.

Noakesailing (Sean Langman, Nathan Edwards, Ed Powys) was 36s behind Winning Group in third place, followed by Bird & Bear (Tom Clout), URM (Marcus Ashley-Jones) and Australian champion Tech2 (Jack Macartney).

Determined to reverse the result of the earlier race, the Winning Group team were quick to get into a strong position ahead of Honda Group and, after trailing the early leader Shaw & Partners Financial Services, were 12s ahead of Finport Finance at the top mark, ahead of a tightly bunched group of Smeg, Shaw & Partners and Honda Marine.

Winning Group increased the margin to 30s at the bottom mark and this time were able to retain the lead over the final lap of the course to defeat Honda Marine by 22s, with Tech2 coming home ion third place, a further 19s behind Honda Marine.

Smeg finished in fourth place, ahead of Finport Finance and Shaw & Partners Financial Services.  Smeg’s fourth place in Race 9 enabled the team to finish third overall in the championship, just two points ahead of Shaw & Partners.

Today’s Racing Results, provisional regatta final points are attached.

A pdf copy of the 32-page 2020 JJ Giltinan Championship programme is available at:

https://www.18footers.com.au/18-footers-sailing/documents/

Click on “2020 JJ GILTINAN PROGRAMME” button

Other news about the championship is available at:

Twitter                        @18skiff

Instagram                   @18skiff

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March 18, 2020

18FT SKIFFS: JJ GILTINAN CHAMPIONSHIP, RACE 6 and 7

regatta pointscore 18th March

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jjg_2020__race_7

The defending champion Honda Marine team of David McDiarmid, Matt Steven and Brad Collins hold a narrow points lead over their nearest rival as the fleet goes into the final two races of the JJ Giltinan 18ft Skiff Championship on Sydney Harbour tomorrow.

After each team drops the worst placing from the seven races sailed to date, Honda Marine leads former World champions Seve Jarvin, Sam Newton and Scott Babbage, in Winning Group, by just four points, so every placing in each of the two races will be critical.

Honda Marine has a net total of 11 points, Winning Group is on 15 points.  Shaw & Partners Financial Services (James Dorron, Harry Bethwaite, Tim Westwood) is third on 28, followed by Smeg (Micah Lane) 29, Tech2 (Jack Macartney) 35,  and Finport Finance (Keagan York) 43.

In today’s first race, sailed over a windward-return two-lap course in a 13-18 knots NE wind, Honda Marine came from behind early in the race to defeat Smeg (Micah Lane, Ricky Bridge, Peter Harris) by 44s, with Winning Group a further 35s back in third place.

C-Tech (Alex Vallings) was fourth, followed by Shaw & Partners Financial Services and Finport Finance.

Honda Marine trailed the early leader, Shaw & Partners, to the top mark but powered downwind under her big rig (her opponents had smaller #2 rigs) to hold a 7s margin at the bottom mark.

Over the final lap of the course, Honda Marine out-sailed the rest of the fleet to go on to an impressive 44s victory.

In the latter race (Race 7), Winning Group won the start and quickly opened up a clear 45s break over Noakesailing (Sean Langman), Smeg, Tech2, Noakes Blue (Yvette Heritage), Bird & Bear (Tom Clout), Finport Finance, Vintec (Kirk Mitchell) and Honda Marine, which was 1m30s behind the leaders.

Unlike Race 6, the big rig boats were unable to gain enough time over the smaller rigged boats downwind and Winning Group was still 30s ahead at the bottom markl.  Noakesailing was still in second place but Tech2 had edged just ahead of Smeg in the battle for third place.

Over the final lap of the course, Winning Group had little trouble retaining her lead and was still 45s ahead of Smeg and Tech2 at the top mark.

Smeg and Tech2 then staged a spectacular spinnaker battle on the run down the middle of Sydney Harbour to the finish.  Tech2 finally getting the better of Smeg to take second place by just 8s.

The JJ Giltinan Championship will conclude Thursday with two races (races 8 and 9) being sailed to complete the nine-race regatta.

1996 JJ Giltinan world champion Stephen Quigley will present the traditional blue ribbon to the winning team on the water, immediately after the completion of Race 9.  Mr. Quigley has also won Australian, European, NSW and Australian 18 Footer League Club championships, and has been a Director of the club for the past 20 years.

NOTE:

Unfortunately, due to the present COVID-19 restrictions, the Board of the Australian 18 Footers League have decided to cancel the Club’s spectator ferry until further notice.

Racing will continue, and AeroMedia Live Broadcast team will be out on Sydney Harbour to capture all the action, which can be viewed LIVE online at www.18footers.com and clicking on the ’18 Footers TV’ link..

A pdf copy of the 32-page 2020 JJ Giltinan Championship programme is available at:

https://www.18footers.com.au/18-footers-sailing/documents/

Click on “2020 JJ GILTINAN PROGRAMME” button

JJ Giltinan Championship information, race results, race reports and photographic images are also available on the club website www.18footers.com and other news about the championship is available at:

Twitter                        @18skiff

Instagram                   @18skiff

Facebook                    International 18Ft Skiff

March 17, 2020

18FT SKIFFS: JJ GILTINAN CHAMPIONSHIP, RACE 3, 4 & 5

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jjg_2020__race_4

jjg_2020__race_5regatta pointscore 17th March

Three windward-return course races staged on Day 3 of the JJ Giltinan 18ft Skiff Championship on Sydney Harbour  produced three different winners in the light SE breeze.

In the first race of the day (Race 3 of the championship) Shaw and Partners Financial Services (James Dorron, Harry Bethwaite, Tim Westwood) led all the way over the two-lap course to cross the finish line 13s ahead of Finport Finance (Keagan York, Matt Stenta, Angus Williams).

Defending champion and series leader Honda Marine (David McDiarmid, Matt Steven, Brad Collins) was a further 50s back in third place, followed by Winning Group (Seve Jarvin), C-Tech (Alex Vallings), URM (Marcus Ashley-Jones), Smeg (Micah Lane) and Rag & Famish Hotel (Bryce Edwards).

Race 4 was sailed over three laps and again it produced an all the way winner, Bird & Bear (Tom Clout, John Walter, Cameron McDonald).

Bird & Bear dominated the first two laps of the course then hung on to defeat Honda Marine by 40s, with Yandoo (John Winning, Mike Kennedy, Fand Warren) a further 1m52s back in third place.

Race 3 winner Shaw & Partners Financial Services finished in fourth place, ahead of Winning Group and Sean Langman’s Noakesailing.

The final race of the day was sailed over another two-lap course and once again produced an all-the-way winner when Winning Group (Seve Jarvin Sam Newton, Scott Babbage) cruised home a 45s winner from Rag & Famish Hotel (Bryce Edwards, Jacob Broome, Rory Cox).

Honda Marine was 16s back in third place, followed by Yandoo, Tech2 (Jack Macartney), The Kitchen Maker-Caesarstone (Jordan Girdis) and the previous winner Bird & Bear.

The top six point scores after five races, without a drop, are:  Honda Marine 10, Winning Group 16, Yandoo 36, Shaw & Partners 37, Smeg 39 and Tech2 on 43.

NOTE:

Unfortunately, due to the present COVID-19 restrictions, the Board of the Australian 18 Footers League have decided to cancel the Club’s spectator ferry until further notice.

Racing will continue, and AeroMedia Live Broadcast team will be out on Sydney Harbour to capture all the action, which can be viewed LIVE online at www.18footers.com and clicking on the ’18 Footers TV’ link..

The club’s promotional day on the Island bar, Wednesday (March 18) has also been cancelled.

A pdf copy of the 32-page 2020 JJ Giltinan Championship programme is available at:

https://www.18footers.com.au/18-footers-sailing/documents/

Click on “2020 JJ GILTINAN PROGRAMME” button

JJ Giltinan Championship information, race results, race reports and photographic images are also available on the club website www.18footers.com and other news about the championship is available at:

Twitter                        @18skiff

Instagram                   @18skiff

Facebook                    International 18Ft Skiff

March 15, 2020

18FT SKIFFS: JJ GILTINAN CHAMPIONSHIP, RACE 2

jjg_2020__race_2

regatta pointscore 15th March

The Honda Marine team of David McDiarmid, Matt Steven and Brad Collins tightened their grip slightly on the 2020 JJ Giltinan 18ft Skiff Championship when they scored their second win of the regatta in Race 2 on Sydney Harbour today.

Once again, the defending champion team came from behind in the SSW wind before racing away to win by 1m46s.

The race for second place behind Honda Marine was close over the last two legs of the course and became a thriller in the closing stages as Winning Group (Seve Jarvin, Sam Newton, Scott Babbage) desperately hung on to cross the finish line a mere 5s ahead of Yandoo (John Winning, Mike Kennedy and Fang Warren).

Smeg (Micah Lane) once again came back from a slow start to finish fourth, ahead of The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines (Aron Everett) and the early leader Noakesailing (Sean Langman).

The top 10 placings on the points table after two races shows Honda Marine with a score of two points, followed by Winning Group on 6, Shaw & Partners Financial Services (James Dorron) and Smeg on 9, Australian champion Tech2 (Jack Macartney) on 12, Yandoo 14, The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines 17, Finport Finance (Keagan York) 18, URM (Marcus Ashley-Jones) 19 and Appliancesonline.com.au (Brett Van Munster) on 24.

Today’s race was sailed in a SSW wind between 15-22-knots over the long South course which always produces a spectacular spinnaker run and a lot of hard work for the crews.

As was the situation in Race 1, Sean Langman’s Noakesailing led the fleet at the windward mark then sailed a great downwind leg to Obelisk the establish a clear break over Winning Group and Honda Marine, with The Kitchen Maker-Caesarstone (Jordan Girdis) and Vintec (Kirk Mitchell) close behind.

On the following leg back to the Totem Pole at the south end of Shark Island, Noakes continued to retain her lead but the defending champion Honda Marine was beginning to make her move and started to put pressure on Noakesailing as the pair approached the rounding mark.

Langman and his team elected to go for a spinnaker to try and hold off the charging Honda Marine but it was a move fraught with danger and ultimately cost them the lead.

The two leaders had moved ahead of Winning Group and Yandoo, and a group of boats including Smeg, Tech2, Vintec and Queenslander, skippered by Australian International 14 class champion David Hayter.

Tech2 had also began to improve her position and was in fifth place as the fleet approached the Athol Bay mark, but a capsize on the spinnaker drop ruined their chances and the Australian champion dropped back to finish ninth.

Honda’s lead was 40s at the Clark Island windward mark on the second lap of the course and the team elected to gybe early while the chasing Winning Group continued on a starboard gybe.

Honda Marine had to drop their spinnaker as to clear Bradleys Head and Winning Group got to within a few boat lengths of the leader as the pair raced downwind towards Obelisk.

As hard as they tried, the Winning Group team couldn’t match the downwind speed of Honda Marine and gradually fell back into the clutches of Yandoo, before hanging on to narrowly take second place.

Today’s Race Results, regatta points to date, and images from today’s race are attached.

Races 3 and 4 of the championship will be sailed on Tuesday, March 17).

Other race dates are:

Wednesday                        March 18                             Races 5 & 6

Thursday                              March 19                             Race 7

Saturday                              March 21                             Race 8

Sunday                                 March 22                             Race 9

Spectators can see all the teams while they are rigging, then follow the racing on board the club’s spectator ferry, which leaves Double Bay Wharf, alongside the rigging area, at 2pm.

Book online through the club’s website www.18footers.com

AeroMedia Live Broadcast team will be out on Sydney Harbour to capture all the action.  For those who can’t make it onto the water, live streaming is available at www.18footers.com and clicking on the ’18 Footers TV’ link.

A pdf copy of the 32-page 2020 JJ Giltinan Championship programme is available at:

https://www.18footers.com.au/18-footers-sailing/documents/

Click on “2020 JJ GILTINAN PROGRAMME” button

JJ Giltinan Championship information, race results, race reports and photographic images are also available on the club website www.18footers.com and other news about the championship is available at:

Twitter                        @18skiff

Instagram                   @18skiff

Facebook                    International 18Ft Skiff

March 14, 2020

18ft Skiffs: JJ Giltinan Championship, Race 1

race one results

Defending champion Honda Marine team of David McDiarmid, Matt Steven and Brad Collins began their attempt to win their third consecutive JJ Giltinan Championship when they scored a come-from-behind win in Race i of the 2020 championship on Sydney Harbour today.

It wasn’t until the seventh leg of the nine leg course that Honda Marine finally reached the lead then go on to score a 39s victory over Shaw & Partners Financial Services (James Dorron, Harry Bethwaite, Tim Westwood), which had led for most of the first half of the course.

Current Australian champion Tech2 (Jack Macartney, Charlie Wyatt, Trent Barnabas) showed good downwind speed on the two long spinnaker runs from the Clark Island mark to Obelisk, but lost vital time while leading into Obelisk and eventually dropped back to come home a further 1m3s behind Shaw & Partners.

Winning Group (Seve Jarvin) struggled a touch with a reef mainsail as the expected strong southerly wind faded during the race, but still managed to finish in fourth place, ahead of Smeg (Micah Lane), URM (Marcus Ashley-Jones) and Finport Finance (Keagan York).

Vintec (Kirk Mitchell) continued to show a big improvement over the skiff’s early season form and finished in eighth place ahead of Noakes Blue (Yvette Heritage) which sailed a great race throughout the long course.

The predicted conditions were 26-28-knot southerly winds and early in the day there was concern in the rigging area about the race going ahead, but when the race got underway there was no sign of the winds, which eased after the rain arrived.  By race-end the wind had faded even more and were extremely light.

Sean Langman’s Noakesailing team grabbed the lead at the first windward mark west of Clark Island, closely followed by Winning Group, Noakes Blue, Finport Finance, The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines (Aron Everett), and Honda Marine.

Visibility was a problem for spectators but the downwind action was sensational.

Shaw & Partners Financial Services and Tech2 were fast on the long spinnaker leg of the course to Obelisk where Shaw & Partners now held the lead over Tech2, with Noakesailing back in third place and Honda Marine in fourth.

Working back from Obelisk to the buoy off Shark Island in Rose Bay, Tech2 applied the pressure to Shaw & Partners and was within 20s as the pair headed off on a 2-sail reach  back to Athol Bay East to complete the first lap of the two lap course.

Honda Marine had continued to move through the fleet and was now up to third, ahead of URM, Winning Group, Noakesailing and ‘The Oak’.

Over the next two legs of the course, the three leading teams had moved well ahead of the rest of the fleet and the second spinnaker run from Clark Island to Obelisk was spectacular as Tech2 grabbed a narrow lead over Shaw & Partners.

A small problem as Tech2 approached the mark proved costly and the team never recovered, leaving Shaw & Partners and Honda Marine to race for the win.

Honda Marine’s boat speed was excellent in the lighter air and the defending champion took the lead from Shaw & Partners as the two teams battled their way to the Shark Island mark.

There was no change over the final two legs of the course as the race finished in practically no wind at all.

Today’s Race Results and some images from the racing are attached.

Race 2 of the championship will be sailed tomorrow (Sunday, March 15).

 

Other race dates are:

Tuesday                               March 17                             Races 3 & 4

Wednesday                        March 18                             Races 5 & 6

Thursday                              March 19                             Race 7

Saturday                              March 21                             Race 8

Sunday                                 March 22                             Race 9

 

Spectators can see all the teams while they are rigging, then follow the racing on board the club’s spectator ferry, which leaves Double Bay Wharf, alongside the rigging area, at 2pm.

 

Book online through the club’s website www.18footers.com

 

AeroMedia Live Broadcast team will be out on Sydney Harbour to capture all the action.  For those who can’t make it onto the water, live streaming is available at www.18footers.com and clicking on the ’18 Footers TV’ link.

 

A pdf copy of the 32-page 2020 JJ Giltinan Championship programme is available at:

https://www.18footers.com.au/18-footers-sailing/documents/

Click on “2020 JJ GILTINAN PROGRAMME” button

 

JJ Giltinan Championship information, race results, race reports and photographic images are also available on the club website www.18footers.com and other news about the championship is available at:

 

Twitter                        @18skiff

Instagram                   @18skiff

Facebook                    International 18Ft Skiff

March 8, 2020

Club Championship Final 2020

The Tech2 team of Jack Macartney, Charlie Wyatt and Trent Barnabas became the Australian 18 Footers League Club champion after leading all the way to score a convincing win in Race 16 of the series on Sydney Harbour today.

Tech2 had all the answers for the challengers and, but for a few moments on the first lap of the course, was never in danger of losing as the skiff handled the light Southerly conditions which varied from 15-knots down to just barely a breeze.

Macartney’s team crossed the finish line 1m10s ahead of Noakesailing (Sean Langman, Ed Powys and Nathan Edwards), with Winning Group (John Winning Jr., Sam Newton and Scott Babbage) a further 51s back in third place.

Smeg (Micah Lane) finished in fourth place, followed by Rag & Famish Hotel (Bryce Edwards), Finport Finance (Keagan York), The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines (David O’Connor), Bird & Bear (Tom Clout), The Kitchen Maker-Caesarstone (Jordan Girdis) and Yandoo (John Winning).

Tech2 went into today’s final race of the championship trailing The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines and Shaw & Partners Financial Services (James Dorron) by five points and need to defeat both teams by five placings to win the title.

Shaw & Partners was recalled at the start she lost her chance to retain the series lead while ‘The Oak’ could manage only a seventh placing, which was just not quite good enough to hold off Tech2.

Final points in the championship were: Tech2 81 points, followed by The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines on 82, Shaw & Partners Financial Services on 86, Smeg 108, Rag & Famish Hotel 117, and Appliancesonline.com.au on 120.

The race to the first windward mark off Clark Island was close with Tech2 leading from a close group which included ‘The Oak’, Smeg, Winning Group and Noakesailing, but Tech2’s speed off the wind on the long spinnaker run to Obelisk Bay was outstanding as the skiff quickly opened up a 40s break over her nearest challenger, which was Smeg.

The breeze faded on the work back to Rose Bay. Smeg revelled in the conditions and got to just 7s behind Tech2 at the mark, but once again, Tech2’s speed downwind was too much for her opposition as she again pushed her lead (over Noakesailing) back out to one minute.

Over the final lap of the course, Tech2 was unstoppable and extended her lead to 1m55s at the Shark Island mark before cruising home over the final two legs of the course to her 1m10s victory.

Today’s Race Results, and images from the racing, are attached.

DON’T FORGET:
The 2020 JJ Giltinan 18ft Skiff Championship starts next Saturday
Race dates are:
Saturday March 14 Race 1
Sunday March 15 Race 2
Tuesday March 17 Races 3 & 4
Wednesday March 18 Races 5 & 6
Thursday March 19 Race 7
Saturday March 21 Race 8
Sunday March 22 Race 9

Spectators can see all the teams while they are rigging, then follow the racing on board the club’s spectator ferry, which leaves Double Bay Wharf, alongside the rigging area, at 2pm.

Book online through the club’s website www.18footers.com

March 1, 2020

2020 Australian Championship, Final Result

The Tech2 team of Jack Macartney, Charlie Wyatt and Trent Barnabas became the 2019-2020 Australian 18ft Skiff champions following two more impressive performances in the final two races of the nine-race Championship on Sydney Harbour today.

Tech2 went into the final day with a handy points lead, but the team wanted to finish strongly as it continues the build up to next month’s Giltinan Championship.

After the opening race of the day, Tech2 secured the title and improved the winning margin with a victory in the final race to finish with a total of 19 points, 13 points ahead of defending champions James Dorron, Harry Bethwaite and Tim Westwood, who was replaced for today by Lachlan Gilmour, in Shaw & Partners Financial Services, on 32 points.

Smeg (Micah Lane, Ricky Bridge, Peter Harris) finished in third place on 35 points, followed by Finport Finance (Keagan York) on 42, The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines on 43 and Appliancesonline.com.au on 50.

Today’s opening race was in a 15-18 knots NE wind, over a windward-leeward return course and produced an exciting finish after the Winning Group (John Winning Jr., Seve Jarvin, Sam Newton) looked to have the race at her mercy with a 40s lead over Tech2 at the final windward mark.

Tech2 and Finport Finance gained on the final spinnaker run to the finish but when a harbour ferry crossed the path of the fleet the race took on a different look.

Finport Finance crew (Keagan York, Matt Stenta, Angus Williams) elected to gybe away from Winning Group and Tech2, leaving this pair to ‘fight’ each other while they sailed their own course and grabbed a 2s win over Winning Group, with Tech2 another 5s back in third place.

In the final race, Winning Group again won the start and quickly opened up a clear lead over URM, skippered by Marcus Ashley-Jones, Tech2, Smeg, The Kitchen Maker-Caesarstone (Jordan Girdis) and Dal Zotto (Jack Sprague).

The breeze had increased to around 20-knots and the outgoing tide created conditions which saw the skiffs airborne as they raced downwind to the bottom mark off Clark Island.

Winning Group was again in a strong position after the end of the first lap of the course before a capsize off Bradleys Head forced the team to retire.

Tech2, URM and Smeg then staged a three-boat battle over the final lap of the course before Tech2 crossed the finish line 20s ahead of URM (Marcus Ashley-Jones, Cam Gundy, Lewis Brake), with Smeg just 4s back in third place.

Today’s Race Results, Championship Final Points and images from today’s racing are attached.

Race 16 of the Club Championship will be sailed next Sunday.

Spectators can see all the teams while they are rigging, then follow the racing on board the club’s spectator ferry, which leaves Double Bay Wharf, alongside the rigging area, at 2pm.

Book online through the club’s website www.18footers.co

February 23, 2020

Shaw & Partners Financial Services led all the way against a strong fleet to score a clear victory

The defending champion Shaw & Partners Financial Services team of James Dorron, Harry Bethwaite and Steve Thomas (replacing Tim Westwood on the day) led all the way against a strong fleet to score a clear victory in Race 8 of the Australian 18ft Skiff Championship on an incredibly busy Sydney Harbour today.

Shaw & Partners easily won the start and kept her chances alive to retain the title when the team scored a 1m13s win over a determined Finport Finance team (Keagan York, Angus Williams and Dan Phillips) which challenged for the entire length of the course.

Smeg (Micah Lane, Ricky Bridge, Peter Harris) was a further 3m44s further back in third place, followed by championship leader Tech2 (Jack Macartney), Rag & Famish Hotel (Bryce Edwards) and Appliancesonline.com.au (Brett Van Munster).

With two short-course races scheduled for next Sunday’s final day of the Australian Championship, Tech2 (after each team discards her worst performance to date) leads the points table on 15 points, followed by Finport Finance and Shaw & Partners on 23, Smeg and Appliancesonline.com.au on 28 and The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines on 31.

After a short delay while a large cruise ship moored in the middle of Sydney Harbour, Shaw & Partners easily won the start from the pin end of the line and quickly opened up a break over the rest of the fleet, which was headed by Birkenhead Point Marina (Tom Anderson) and Noakes Blue (Yvette Heritage).

While most of the fleet elected to sail a course towards the middle of the harbour on the long windward leg to the Beashel Buoy, the Shaw & Partners team stuck closely to the northern shore in the 5-10 knot NE breeze.

When the fleet reached the Beashel Buoy, Shaw & Partners held a 27s lead over Finport Finance with Rag & Famish Hotel another 13s back in third place.

Smeg and Birkenhead Point Marina were also in touch with the leading group but there was a break over most of the fleet headed by Vintec (Kirk Mitchell) and Noakes Blue.

The two leaders chose different tactics at the wing mark where Finport Finance gybed inside Shaw & Partners and gained slightly on the run between the islands to the bottom mark off Clark Island. The lead at that point was down to 15s.

The first four positions had remained unchanged on the run from the windward mark, but The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines improved her position as she moved up from 8th to be in a handy fifth place.

On the following windward leg back to the Beashel Buoy, an outgoing tanker played havoc with the fleet and allowed the two leaders to get away from the challengers.

Worst affected was Smeg which was unable to cross ahead of the tanker and lost valuable time, as well as any chance of reducing the lead.

It was now a two boat race over the remaining legs of the course. Shaw & Partners continued to hold the 15s advantage over Finport at the second windward mark then consolidated the lead with an outstanding spinnaker run down the middle of the harbour to Clark Island.

With a 45s break over Finport Finance and only one lap of the course to sail, the Shaw & Partners team were never troubled as the crew sailed faultlessly for their 1m13s victory.

Over the final lap of the course, spectators on the League’s spectator ferry were treated to a close up look at the GP50 boats as they practiced for next week’s event on Sydney Harbour.

Today’s Race Results and images from the day’s racing are attached.

The final two races of the Australian Championship will be sailed next Sunday.

Spectators can see all the teams while they are rigging, then follow the racing on board the club’s spectator ferry, which leaves Double Bay Wharf, alongside the rigging area, at 2pm.

February 16, 2020

Tech2 COMES THROUGH

Two spectacular wins by Jack Macartney, Charlie Wyatt and Trent Barnabas on Tech2 in Races 6 and 7 of the Australian 18ft Skiff Championship on Sydney Harbour today has given the team a nine points lead in the series with just two more races to be contested.

The Tech2 team had to come from behind in both races but showed outstanding crew work over the entire day and thoroughly deserved their victories and lead in the championship.

Pointscores to date have Tech2 on 16 points, followed by Finport Finance on 25, The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines on 34, Shaw & Partners Financial Services on 35, Noakesailing 37, and Appliancesonline.com.au on 41.

A steady SE wind provided good racing conditions on the harbour and spectators weren’t disappointed with the action and spectacular capsizes.

In Race 6, the first of the day’s two races, Tech2 scored a 44s victory over a fast finishing Noakesailing (Sean Langman, Ed Powys, Nathan Edwards), with just a further 10s to Shaw & Partners Financial Services (Michael Coxon, James Dorron, Tim Westwood) which also finished strongly after being further back in the fleet in the early stages of the race.

The Marcus Ashley-Jones R Marine Pittwater team took an early lead and sailed well to lead the fleet to the halfway point before Tech2’s speed grabbed the lead. R Marine Pittwater was still in second place at the final windward mark but couldn’t hold off the Noakesailing and Shaw & Partners final downwind bursts and had to settle for a solid fourth place.

Smeg (Micah Lane) was near the lead throughout the race and finished fifth, ahead of another consistent performer, Appliancesonline.com.au (Brett Van Munster).

Finport Finance (Keagan York) went into the day as championship leader but a series of mishaps over the day’s racing saw the team lose the lead with placings of 10th and 4th in the two races.

In the latter race, the John Winning Jr. led Winning Group grabbed the early lead and dominated the race to the final windward mark where the team still held a 35s lead over Tech2 and a comfortable victory seemed certain before they capsized after a collision with another competitor.

Tech2 had worked her way back into second place after a slow start and grabbed the opportunity before going on to score a 31s win from The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines (Aron Everett, Courtney Mahar, Charlie Gundy) with the much improved The Kitchen Maker-Caesarstone (Jordan Girdis, Lachlan Doyle, Tom Quigley) a further 21s back in third place.

Finport Finance was back to something like her true form to come home in fourth place, ahead of Tom Clout’s Bird & Bear, Yandoo (John Winning) and Noakes Blue (Yvette Heritage).

Race 8 of the Australian Championship will be sailed next Sunday.

Spectators can see all the teams while they are rigging, then follow the racing on board the club’s spectator ferry, which leaves Double Bay Wharf, alongside the rigging area, at 2pm.

Book online through the club’s website www.18footers.com

For those who can’t make it onto the water, live streaming is available at www.18footers.com and clicking on the ’18 Footers TV’ link.

Also follow all the club’s racing throughout the entire 2019-2020 Racing Season:

Club Website www.18footers.com
Twitter @18skiff
Instagram @18skiff
Facebook International 18Ft Skiff
Frank Quealey

February 2, 2020

The Smeg team record a double victory

The Smeg team of Micah Lane, Ricky Bridge and Peter Harris recorded a double victory on Sydney Harbour today when they scored two come-from-behind wins in Races 3 and 4 of the Australian 18ft Skiff Championship.

Trailing Tech2 in Race 3, Smeg showed exceptional downwind speed on the first lap of the course to grab the lead, then extended her lead throughout the rest of the course before going on to a 52s win over the defending champion Shaw & Partners Financial Services team of James Dorron, Harry Bethwaite and Tim Westwood.

Aron Everett, Courtney Mahar and Charlie Gundy continued their consistent form over the entire season when they finished third in The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines, a further 17s behind Shaw & Partners.

In the latter race, Finport Finance (Keagan York, Matt Stenta, Greg Dixon), which won both Race 1 and Race 2 of the championship, held the lead over the first two laps of the three-lap course and looked likely to score another win, but the Smeg team relished the freshening SE breeze to grab the lead and go on to a 24s win.

Jack Macartney, Phil Harmer and Trent Barnabas were never far from the lead and finished in third place, 23s from Finport, and only 5s ahead of fast-finishing Appliancesonline.com.au (Brett Van Munster) and Noakesailing (Sean Langman).

With little between the top teams over the tight courses sailed so far in the championship, the points table reflects the openness of the series with five races still to be sailed.

Finport Finance has a total of 11 points from the four races so far, followed by Tech2 on 14 points, Appliancesonline.com.au on 16, Smeg on 20, Noakesailing 22, Shaw & Partners Financial Services and The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines on 24.

Next Sunday’s Race 5 of the championship will return to the traditional style course and could see a change in placings on the points table.

An unfortunate casualty in today’s racing was Yvette Heritage’s Noakes Blue team whci broke a mast just minutes before the start of the first race.

Although not finishing in the top six placings of either race today, the Rag & Famish Hotel (Bryce Edwards), Birkenhead Point Marina (Tom Anderson) and Bird & Bear (Tom Clout) teams showed glimpses of good form for future improvement.

Today’s Result Sheets and images from the racing are attached

Race 5 of the Australian Championship will be sailed next Sunday.

Spectators can see all the teams while they are rigging, then follow the racing on board the club’s spectator ferry, which leaves Double Bay Wharf, alongside the rigging area, at 2pm.

Book online through the club’s website www.18footers.com

AeroMedia Live Broadcast team will be out on Sydney Harbour to capture all the action. For those who can’t make it onto the water, live streaming is available at www.18footers.com and clicking on the ’18 Footers TV’ link.

Also follow all the club’s racing throughout the entire 2019-2020 Racing Season: