January 19, 2020

Finport Finance Dominate First 2 Heats

The Finport Finance team of Keagan York, Matt Stenta and David Ewings totally dominated the racing in a 8-12 knots SSE wind to lead the fleet after the two-race opening day of the Australian 18ft Skiff Championship on Sydney Harbour today.
York and his team won the start with a risky port hand start at the pin end of the line in Race 1 and were rarely challenged as they led at every mark of the three-lap windward-return course set in Rose Bay.
Finport Finance increased her lead at every mark before crossing the finish line 2m27s ahead of tech2 (Jack Macartney, Charlie Wyatt, Trent Barnabas), with Shaw & Partners Financial Services (James Dorron, Harry Bethwaite, Tim Westwood) a further 25s back in third place.
Brett Van Munster’s appliancesonline.com.au was near the leaders throughout the race to finish in fourth place, ahead of Noakesailing (Sean Langman), R Marine Pittwater (Marcus Ashley-Jones) and the NSW Champion Winning Group, sailed by Seve Jarvin.
It was an outstanding performance by the winner and onlookers were left to wonder could the Finport Finance team repeat the effort in the latter race.
Team tactics changed for the start of Race 2 as York elected to start at the windward end of the line.  Despite the different tactics, the result was the same as Finport Finance led appliancesonline.com.au at the windward mark.
Once again, Finport Finance led at every rounding mark but had to survive a very strong challenge from the Rag & Famish Hotel team (Bryce Edwards, Rory Cox, Jacob Broom) to win Race 2 by a mere 4s from ‘The Rag’.
Appliancesonline.com.au continued her good performance throughout the day’s racing to come home a further 37s back in third place.
The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines (Aron Everett) was just 2s further back in fourth place, ahead of tech2, Noakesailing and Winning Group.
Progress points after the two races are: Finport Finance on 2, Tech2 and appliancesonline.com.au equal on 7, Rag & Famish Hotel on 10, Noakesailing on 11 and Winning Group on 14.
While a few of the top teams in the fleet were not at their best today, there was a marked improvement in the performances by Rag & Famish Hotel and RMarine Pittwater.
The results have now set a challenge for the Winning Group, Shaw & Partners Financial Services and Smeg teams over the following seven races of the championship.
There is no club racing next Sunday as the fleet will contest the Lord Mayor’s Cup as part of the Australia Day Regatta.  There will be no ferry to follow the race.
It will be back to normal on Sunday, 2 February when Australian 18 Footers League club racing resumes with Races 3 & 4 of the Australian Championship being contested.
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.
January 12, 2020

NSW Championship Decider

The Winning Group team of John Winning Jr., Seve Jarvin and Sam Newton didn’t start in today’s final race of the NSW Championship as the team had already won the title title but today’s winner Tech2 showed that the Winning Group may have a tougher battle on their hands when they line up in next week’s Australian Championship on Sydney Harbour.
Jack Macartney, Charlie Wyatt and Trent Barnabas handled the 10-15 knots SSE wind brilliantly in Tech2 to score an easy 2m25s win over the very consistent The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines team of Aron Everett, Courtney Mahar and Charlie Gundy.
Noakesailing (Steven Thomas, Ed Powys, Nathan Edwards) was with the leading group throughout the race and finished a further 31s back in third place.
Birkenhead Point Marina (Tom Anderson) held the lead midway through the first lap of the long Southerly course but faded over the final leg of the course to finish in fourth place, ahead of Appliancesonline.com.au (Brett Van Munster) and Shaw & Partners Financial Services (Harry Bethwaite).
Final pointscores in the NSW Championship showed that Winning Group finished with a score of five points, ahead of The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines on 12, Shaw & Partners Financial Services on 15, Appliancesonline.com.au 17, Tech2 on 18 and Smeg (Micah Lane) on 21.
The Oak team continued to show very consistent form and held a narrow lead over Noakesailing, Smeg and Dal Zotto (Jack Sprague) at the first windward mark off Clark Island, but the experience of Jack Macartney and his team proved a winner when they elected to reach with just two sails before setting their spinnaker on the long run to Obelisk Bay.
Tech2 held a 25s lead over Smeg and The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines as the trio set off on the work back to the Shark Island mark in Rose Bay.
Tech2 and The Oak tacked first while Smeg and the improving Birkenhead Point Marina sailed a course further to the middle of the harbour.
Smeg suffered gear problems and was forced to retire but Birkenhead Point Marina team were superb as they closed in on Tech2, before grabbing the race lead as the pair rounded the Rose Bay mark.
Once again, the Tech2 team was brilliant as they opened up a 30s lead over Birkenhead Point Marina at the Athol Bay mark, and from that point the result was never really in doubt.
The race for the minor placings was far from settled as The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines, Birkenhead Point Marina, Noakesailing and Appliancesonline staged a wonderful battle over the final lap of the course.
The Australian 18 Footer League’s 2019-2020 Season continues next Sunday when the club will stage Races 1 and 2 of the Australian Championship.
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, livestreaming 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
December 15, 2019

NSW CHAMPIONSHIP, RACE 4 SUNDAY, 15 DECEMBER 2019 SYDNEY HARBOUR

The Smeg crew of Micah Lane, Ricky Bridge and Peter Mackie sailed beautifully in the 12-16 knot NE wind to take out Race 4 of the NSW Championship, but it was the second-placed Winning Group which has wrapped up the championship with still one more race to be sailed after the fleet resumes racing on January 12.
Smeg led the fleet at every rounding mark and finally crossed the finish line just 7s ahead of Winning Group (John Winning Jr., Seve Jarvin and Lachlan Gilmore, who was replacing the injured Sam Newton).
Tech2 (Jack Macartney, Charlie Wyatt, Rhys Mara) battled with both Smeg and Winning Group throughout the race and came home a very good third, 22s behind Winning Group.
The extremely consistent, and ever-improving The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines (Aron Everett) was fourth, followed by Shaw and Partners Financial Services (James Dorron), Noakesailing (Sean Langman), Noakes Blue (Rory Hunter), The Kitchen Maker-Caesarstone (Jordan Girdis) and Birkenhead Point Marina (Tom Anderson).
Despite each team being allowed a discard of the worst performance, Winning Group has a score now of only five points from the four races, and no other team can get a better score from the final race.
After each team discards the worst result to date, the table shows Winning Group on net 3 points, followed by Shaw and Partners Financial Services on 9, The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines on 10, Smeg on 12, Appliancesonline.com.au (Brett Van Munster) on 12 and Tech2 on 17.
The Oak took the lead shortly after the start in today’s race, but a battle soon developed between Smeg, Shaw and Partners and Tech2 as the race settled down on the windward leg to the Beashel Buoy.
Smeg held a 10s lead from the defending champion Shaw and Partners team, while Tech2 was a further 15s back, followed by Winning Group and The Oak.
A large group, headed by The Kitchen Maker-Caesarstone (Jordan Girdis) was next with Appliancesonline, Noakesailing (Sean Langman), Rag & Famish Hotel (Bryce Edwards), Noakes Blue (Rory Hunter), Dal Zotto (Jack Sprague), Yandoo (John Winning), Vintec (Kirk Mitchell), Finport Finance (Matt Stenta), and Birkenhead Point Marina.
The three leaders continued their battle on the spinnaker run to the wing mark off the southern end of Shark Island, then the run between Shark Island and the bottom mark off Clark Island.
Tech2 showed good downwind speed to move ahead of Shaw and Partners and was only 3s behind Smeg as the fleet turned for the second windward beat up to the Beashel Buoy.
Winning Group was still fourth, 35s from the leader.
Smeg was outstanding on the long work from Clark Island to the Beashel Buoy and pulled out a 1m lead over Tech2, which was still 20s ahead of Shaw and Partners and Winning Group.
From that point, Smeg was never really challenged for the lead but the battle amongst the challengers was intense as Winning Group continued her charge through the fleet.
Over the final lap of the course, Winning Group reduced Smeg’s lead to 35s at the final windward mark then challenged strongly on the final spinnaker run between the islands to get to just 7s behind the winner, Smeg.
The Australian 18 Footer League’s racing will now go into recess for the Christmas-New Year period.  Racing will resume on Sunday, 12 January when the club will stage Race 5 (final) of the NSW Championship.
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
The livestreaming is available by going to www.18footers.com and clicking on the ’18 Footers TV’ link.
December 15, 2019

2019 Supercup Friday 13th December

The Australian 18 Footers League officials conducted the second ‘Supercup’ on Sydney harbour this evening when they invited eight former JJ Giltinan (world) champions as well as several other top names from the world of 18ft Skiff Racing to become guest skippers, for the day, of the club’s 2019-2020 fleet.

Among the former JJ Giltinan (world) champions invited were Michael Coxon, Lee Knapton, David Witt, John Winning, Michael Spies, Seve Jarvin, and Phil Barnett. Other well known former 18ft Skiff competitors, and top class sailors, including Chris Nicholson, Adrienne Cahalan, Anthony Scali, Adam Beashel, Emmett Lazich, Andrew Divola and Olivia Price were also invited to take the tiller.

Unlike the original ‘Supercup’ series in 2018, this evening’s short course races were sailed in clear skies and a 10 knot ENE. breeze.

Lee Knapton showed that he had lost none of his 18ft Skiff racing skills, when he teamed with Ricky Bridge and Trent Barnabas. to bring Smeg home the overall winner with placings of 1 , 3 , and 4.

Race 1 had Smeg leading the first leg followed around the top mark by The Oak Double Bay ( MIchael Coxon ) , tech2 (David Witt), Shaw & Partners ( Chris Nicholson), Finport Finance ( Andrew Divola), AppliancesOnline ( Adam Beashel) , Noakes Blue ( Olivia Price), Rag&Famish Hotel ( Dave O’Connor ) , theKitchenMaker ( Jordan Girdis ) , Dal Zotto ( Michael Spies ), Birkenhead Point Marina ( Anthony Scali ) , Yandoo ( John Winning Snr ) , RMarine Pittwater ( Adrienne Cahalan ) . Smeg led easily on the second leg with no change in the top 3 as they passed through the gate . Knapton showed the fleet the way to the top mark a second time with a substantial lead with Shaw & Partners edging through before tech2, with AOL and Finport swapping places . Smeg ran home ahead of The Oak Double Bay in second then Shaw & Partners doing battle with tech2 but holding their placing.

Race 2 saw Smeg start well again and Rag & Famish Hotel and Tech2 looking to challenge. At the top mark roundings were in order The Oak Double Bay, Rag & Famish Hotel , tech2, AppliancesOnline, Finport Finance, Shaw & Partners, Yandoo, Smeg, Bird & Bear. the Kitchen Maker , Noakes Blue, Birkenhead Point Marina , Vintec and Dalzotto. Finport Finance fought well to cross the finish line first followed by The Oak Double Bay , Yandoo, Smeg, Shaw & Partners, tech2 and Appliances Online. The rest of the fleet finished within good enough time for the race committee to hold a third sprint race .

After an initial general recall for race 3 , the fleet lined up in a 6 knot breeze and a small tangle between the Kitchen Maker and tech2 with 30 seconds before the start. 3 skiffs were again deemed over – Finport Finance , Rag & famish and Birkenhead Point Marina. They elected to sail with the fleet to the end despite the black flag . The fleet was hunting pressure on the first leg and at the top mark placings were Bird&Bear, Appliances Online , Noakes Blue, The Royal Oak Double Bay . Bird& Bear led the pack back down the track being chased by Appliances Online. Bird & Bear then took control of the race and crossed the line first in their very first day out on Sydney Harbour .

Overall results saw Lee Knapton win the series for Smeg in the very same boat that he won the 2016 JJ Giltinan Series with .

December 9, 2019

NSW CHAMPIONSHIP, RACE 3 SUNDAY, 8 DECEMBER 2019 SYDNEY HARBOUR

18ft Skiffs
NSW Championship, Race 3
Sunday, 8 December 2019
Sydney Harbour

After two outstanding wins in the first two races of the NSW 18ft Skiff Championship, Winning Group went into today’s Race 4 on Sydney Harbour as a hot favourite to extend her lead in the championship and didn’t disappoint her supporters when the team brought the skiff home a clear winner in the 15-knot ENE breeze.

Winning Group continued her outstanding performances in the championship when John Winning Jr, Seve Jarvin and Sam Newton cleared out from the rest of the fleet over the final lap of the three-lap Easterly course to win by 2m1s from Yandoo, sailed by John Winning, Matt Coutts and Mike Kennedy.

The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines (Aron Everett, Courtney Mahar and Charlie Gundy) gave another strong performance to finish 1m10s behind Yandoo, in third place.

Following another slow start, appliancesonline.com.au (Brett Van Munster) again finished strongly to take fourth place, ahead of Smeg (Micah Lane), Shaw and Partners Financial Services (James Dorron) and Rag & Famish Hotel (Bryce Edwards).

Winning Group now leads the championship pointscore table with a perfect score of three points, followed by Shaw and Partners Financial Services of 10, The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines and appliancesonline.com.au on 12, Rag & Famish Hotel on 18. Yandoo and Smeg are then equal next on 20 points.

While John (Herman) Winning Jr’s Winning Group team led shortly after the start, it was his father’s Yandoo team which won the day on the windward leg from the start to the windward mark in Rose Bay, where Yandoo led by 25s from Smeg, The Oak, The Kitchen Maker-Caesarstone (Jordan Girdis), Noakes Blue (Yvette Heritage), Winning Group, tech2 (Jack Macartney) and appliancesonline.com.au.

Once the fleet cleared the wing mark off Clark Island the teams had a battle on the ‘tight’ run to Kurraba Point, where Yandoo still held the lead.

Appliancesonline elected to use just a main and jib on the run and moved up from eighth to third as the fleet set off for the long windward leg back to the Rose Bay mark.

The split in the thinking of the fleet now became critical as the smaller rigs on Yandoo and Winning Group dominated the leg. Yandoo was still in front, only by 5s from Winning Group, but the pair had stretched the margin over the rest of the fleet. Smeg was in third place, but now trailed the leaders by 40s.

From that point the race became a battle of father and son as the two teams fought for the lead.

Over the final lap of the course, the experienced Winning Group proved too strong and led by the winning margin as she headed for home on the short spinnaker run between Shark and Clark Islands.

Today’s result sheet and images from the race are attached.

Next week the Australian 18 Footers League will conduct races on Friday evening as well as Race 4 of the NSW Championship next Sunday.

There will be a spectator ferry following both events and AeroMedia Live Broadcast team will be there on each day to catch all the live action.

Friday’s Supercup (three short-course races) will start at 5pm, with the spectator ferry leaving at 4.15pm. Sunday’s Race 4 of the NSW Championship will start at 2.45pm with the spectator ferry leaving Double Bay Public Wharf at 2pm.

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

December 1, 2019

NSW CHAMPIONSHIP, RACE 2 SUNDAY, 1 DECEMBER 2019 SYDNEY HARBOUR

The Winning Group team of John Winning Jr., Seve Jarvin and Sam Newton gave a brilliant exhibition to dominate the fleet and take out Race 2 of the NSW 18ft Skiff Championship on Sydney Harbour today.

After leading narrowly over the first lap of the course, Winning Group raced away over the second windward leg from Clark Island to the Beashel Buoy to defeat Shaw and Partners Financial Services (James Dorron, Harry Bethwaite, Tim Westwood) by 2m59s.

Spring Championship winner appliancesonline.com.au (Brett Van Munster, Phil Marshall, Kurt Fatouris) was just another 2s behind Shaw and Partners, in third place.

Rag & Famish Hotel (Michael Coxon) finished in fourth place ahead of the new Tech2 skiff (Jack Macartney) which was having her first race today.

Incredibly, the next four teams The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines (Aron Everett), The Kitchen Maker-Caesarstone (Jordan Girdis), Yandoo (John Winning) and Smeg (Micah Lane) were all separated by just 3s. with one sec. separating each skiff.

After taking a 10s. lead from Shaw and Partners Financial Service and The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines at the first windward mark, Winning Group led for the entire North-East course, although Shaw and Partners was only one boat-length behind Winning Group at the bottom mark on the first lap of 3-laps.

At that point in the race, it looked as though it would develop into a great match race between the two champion teams, but the long second windward leg was devastating as the Winning Group team opened up a race-winning 2mins lead.

The race for minor placings was far closer and produced some dramatic finishes.

Appliancesonline had recovered from a seventh placing at the first windward mark to cross Shaw and Partners only 400 metres from the finish, but the defending champion team came back to cross the line 2s ahead of Appliancesonline.

A similar thing happened only 50 metres from the finish when Smeg sailed across the bow of The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines, only to have The Oak come back and beat Smeg home by 2s.

After a slow start to the season, The Kitchen Maker-Caesarstone team showed better pace and the Tech2 skiff is certain to be much better following an impressive 5th place after getting a slow start off the line.

Points standings after the two races so far are Winning Group on 2, Shaw and Partners Financial Services on 4, appliancesonline.com.au on 8, The oak Double Bay-4 Pines 9, Rag & Famish Hotel on 11, and Smeg on 15.

Today’s result sheet and images from the race are attached.

The Australian 18 Footer League’s 2019-2020 Season continues next Sunday when the club will stage Race 3 of the NSW Championship.

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, each race day at 2pm.

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

The AeroMedia Live Broadcast team will also be out on Sydney Harbour to capture all the action for those who can’t make it onto the water. The livestreaming is available by going to www.18footers.com and clicking on the ’18 Footers TV’ link.

As well as watching the livestreaming coverage, you can 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

November 24, 2019

NSW Championship, Race 1 Sunday, 24 November 2019 Sydney Harbour

A last minute crew change brought the 2010 JJ Giltinan Championship-winning team of Seve Jarvin, Sam Newton and Tom Clout back together again and the combination showed they had lost none of their 18ft Skiff handling skills when they brought Winning Group home an easy winner of Race 1 of the NSW Championship on Sydney Harbour today.

With the skiff’s regular skipper John Winning Jr. unable to return to Sydney in time to compete, and Tom Clout’s new skiff not ready to contest today’s race, regular sheet hand Jarvin moved to skipper while Clout took his place on the sheet.

After trailing the leader Shaw and Partners Financial Services (James Dorron, Harry Bethwaite, Tim Westwood) over the first two legs of the course, Winning Group gradually edged away from the fleet before clearing out to cross the finish line 2m35s ahead of Shaw and Partners Financial Services.

The race behind the winner was close with six teams battling for second place.

In another impressive performance, following a second place overall in the Spring Championship, The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines (Aron Everett, Charlie Gundy, Ryan Wilmot) came back from seventh place at the first windward mark to finish in third place, 32s behind Shaw and Partners.

Finport Finance (Keagan York) finished fourth, ahead of Appliancesonline.com.au (Brett Van Munster), Smeg (Michael Coxon) and Rag & Famish Hotel (Bryce Edwards).

The race, which was sailed in a 8-10 knot SE wind, saw the fleet split into two separate groups on the windward leg from the start in Taylor Bay, across the harbour to Rose Bay.

Shaw and Partners was always in, or close to the lead, on this leg of the course although the young Rag & Famish Hotel team was always putting pressure on the defending champions.

Shaw and Partners led by 15s from Winning Group and Rag & Famish Hotel, which rounded the mark together, followed by Finport Finance, R Marine Pittwater (Marcus Ashley-Jones), Smeg, The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines and The Kitchen Maker-Caesarstone (Jordan Girdis).

After a long spinnaker run from Rose Bay to Robertson Point, the leading positions saw little change in the leading group.

Winning Group and Shaw and Partners took opposing courses for the windward leg back to Clark Island, a move which enabled Winning Group to establish a 20s lead over the fleet, with Smeg third, followed byFinport Finance, Rag & Famish Hotel and The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines.

After a two-sail reaching leg from Clark Island to the Chowder Bay mark, then another windward leg across the harbour into Rose Bay, Winning Group established a 30s. lead of Shaw and Partners. The third placed Smeg was now another one minute behind Shaw and Partners, followed by Finport, Appliancesonline.com.au and The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines.

The following spinnaker run to Taylor Bay sealed the fate of the fleet. Jarvin elected to sail a course west of Shark Island, while the rest of the fleet kept to the east. When the fleet reached the Taylor Bay mark, Winning Group’s lead had gone from 30s to 55s and the race was all but over.

In true champions form, the Winning Group’s crew continued to dominate over the remaining three legs of the course as they powered away for the easy victory.

Shaw and Partners, The Oak and Finport were together at Rose Bay before The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines headed for home in second place, but Shaw and Partners was just a little stronger over the final windward leg to the finish

A special mention has to go to Yvette Heritage and her team on Noakes Blue, which finished in eighth place, ahead of R Marine Pittwater, Yandoo (John Winning) and The Kitchen Maker-Caesarstone.

Today’s result sheet and images from the race are attached.

The Australian 18 Footer League’s 2019-2020 Season continues next Sunday when the club will stage Race 2 of the NSW Championship.

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, each race day at 2pm.

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

The AeroMedia Live Broadcast team will also be out on Sydney Harbour to capture all the action for those who can’t make it onto the water. The livestreaming is available by going to www.18footers.com and clicking on the ’18 Footers TV’ link.

As well as watching the livestreaming coverage, you can 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

November 17, 2019

18ft Skiffs: Final of 2019-2020 Spring Championship

The Appliancesonline.com.au team Brett Van Munster, Phil Marshall and Kurt Fatouris) became the 2019-2020 Australian 18 Footers League Spring champions, but it was The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines team of Jack Macartney, Courtney Mahar, Charlie Gundy which took honours on the day with a 2m49s victory in Race 7 of the series on Sydney Harbour today.

Both teams were outstanding throughout the seven-race championship.

Appliancesonline.com.au finished with a total of 26 points, while the consistent The Oaks Double Bay-4 Pines was runner-up on 36 points. Third placed overall was Yandoo on 50 points, followed by Finport Finance on 54, Rag & Famish Hotel (Bryce Edwards) on 57 and Noakesailing (Sean Langman) on 58.

A 22-knots SE breeze enabled all teams to use their smaller #2 rigs for the first time this season and the fleet provided spectators with a great spectacle as they raced downwind at top speed.

Second place in today’s race went to Smeg (Micah Lane, Scott Babbage, Peter Harris), with Yandoo (John Winning, Tom Clout, Brandon Buyink), just another 9s behind Smeg.

Noakes Blue (Yvette Heritage) was only another 6s. back in fourth place, followed by Winning Group (John Winning Jr.) in fifth and Ilve (Pedro Vozone) sixth.

A good breeze, some close racing throughout the fleet, and lead changes brought about by the 3-Buoys handicap system which operated at the Rose Bay windward mark, produced an interesting and exciting race.

Yandoo took the early lead from R Marine Pittwater (Marcus Ashley-Jones) and Noakes Blue before the fleet set spinnakers for an action packed, speed spectacle run from Rose Bay on the south side of Sydney Harbour to Robertson Point on the north.

Yandoo retained her lead at Robertson Point, but Birkenhead Point Marina (Tom Anderson) had taken over second place ahead of The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines, Ilve, Vintec (Dave Hayter) and The Kitchen Maker-Caesarstone (Jordan Girdis).

On the next windward leg to Clark Island, The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines grabbed the lead from Yandoo with Ilve in third place and appliancesonline.com.au closing in on the group..

Sporting brand new #2 sails, appliancesonline.com.au was superb on the third windward leg as the fleet sailed from Chowder Bay to Rose Bay but The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines took advantage of the 3-Buoys system to grab the lead back, ahead of Yandoo, appliancesonline and Ilve.

The Oak’s team were confident about their speed and tacked soon after rounding the buoy in Taylor Bay while most of the chasing teams preferred to stay on a port tack across the harbour.

Over the last two legs of the long SE course, The Oak’s supremacy was never tested as the team sailed faultlessly to record a comfortable win.

Appliancesonline had worked her way back into second place on the final leg of the course before the team were caught out in the lee of an outgoing ship.

Today’s result sheet and images from the race are attached.

The Australian 18 Footer League’s 2019-2020 Season continues next Sunday when the club will stage Race 1 of the NSW Championship.

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, each race day at 2pm.

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

November 10, 2019

Races 5 & 6, Spring Championship 2019

The Appliancesonline.com.au team of Brett Van Munster, Phil Marshall and Kurt Fatouris only have to appear at the starting line next Sunday to take off the Australian 18 Footers League’s 2019-2020 Spring Championship after a totally dominant performance in both races sailed on Sydney Harbour today.

In Race 5 of the championship, the Appliancesonline team won by 2m22s, then backed it up by also taking out Race 6 by 1m34s.

The team’s points total, with only next Sunday’s race of the championship to be sailed in the series, is 18 points, which is a staggering 17 points clear of the equal second placed The Oaks Double Bay-4 Pines (Aron Everett, Tom Clout, Charlie Gundy) and Finport Finance (Keagan York, Matt Stenta, Angus Williams) on 35.

Noakesailing (Sean Langman) is fourth on 39 points, followed by Yandoo (John Winning) on 47, with Dal Zotto (Jack Sprague) and Rag & Famish Hotel, both on 48.

With the breeze 10-12 knots from the ESE, Appliancesonline.com.au quickly led the fleet on the windward leg to the windward marks in Rose Bay. Dal Zotto continued her good form over recent weeks to be in second place, followed by The Kitchen Maker-Caesarstone (Jordan Girdis) and Yandoo, which was sailed by replacement skipper on the day, Harry West.

The AOL boat speed was incredible in the conditions and the team soon opened up a break over the fleet on the long spinnaker run back to the bottom mark at the end of the first lap of the 2-lap windward-leeward course.

The Kitchen Maker-Caesarstone and Dal Zotto both retained their placings behind the leader, while Finport Finance, Rag & Famish Hotel (Bryce Edwards) and Noakes Blue (Yvette Heritage) gained to round out the keading group.

Over the final lap of the course, Appliancesonline continued her domination to score the 2m22s victory over The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines, while Shaw & Partners Financial Services (James Dorron, Harry Bethwaite, Tim Westwood) finished strongly to take third place.

In the following Race 6, AOL’s start wasn’t quite as good as in the earlier race, but the boatspeed was so dominating that the team had established a 45s lead over the nearest rival, Vintec (Kirk Mitchell) as spinnakers were set for the run back to the bottom mark.

The Shaw & Partners Financial Services team continued the form from Race 5 and finished the day with a second placing, just 1S ahead of Finport Finance.

Another big improver on the day was Marcus Ashley-Jones on R Marine Pittwater, who recorded fifth and sixth placings in the two races.

Today’s result sheets and images from the races are attached.

The Australian 18 Footers League’s 2019-2020 Season continues next Sunday when the club will stage Race 7 of the Spring Championship. The race is the last race of the Spring Championship.

Spectators can see all the teams in the rigging, then follow the racing on board the spectator ferry, which leaves Double Bay Wharf, alongside the rigging area, each race day at 2pm.

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

The livestream video team is also out on Sydney Harbour to capture all the action for those who can’t make it onto the water. Livestreaming is available by going to www.18footers.com and clicking on the ’18 Footers TV’ link.

As well as watching the livestreaming coverage, you can 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

November 3, 2019

Race 4 – Spring Championships 2019

The Smeg team of Micah Lane, Ricky Bridge and Peter Mackie finshed an incredible day of survival racing to take out Race 4 of the Australian 18 Footer League’s Spring Championship on Sydney Harbour today.

In one of the most dramatic days for many years, Smeg won the race by just 23s from Appliancesonline.com.au (Brett Van Munster, Phil Marshall, Kurt Fatouris), with The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines (Aron Everett, Courtney Mahar, Charlie Gundy) a further 27s back in third place.

Finport Finance (Keagan York) came home only 5s behind “The Oak’ in fourth place with the backmarker, Noakesailing (Sean Langman), another 20s back in fifth place.

Only three more boats, Yandoo (John Winning), Rag & Famish Hotel (Bryce Edwards) and The Kitchen Maker-Caesarstone (Jordan Girdis) completed the race from the 16 starters.

After today’s racing, Appliancesonline.com.au leads the pointscore in the seven-race championship, with a total of 16 points, followed by Noakesailing on 20, Finport Finance on 26, The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines on 28, Yandoo on 29 and Smeg on 34.

With No. 1 rigs set for a moderate North East wind, the fleet set out from the rigging area in Double Bay, to the start line off Clark Island, but were hit by the first of the day’s dramatic conditions even before the starter signaled a start.

The wind settled as the fleet made its way to the first set of windward marks and the battle for the lead developed between Finport Finance, The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines and Winning Group, with Noakesailing, The Kitchen Maker-Caesarstone and Vintec (Kirk Mitchell) leading the next group.

As the fleet approached the 3-buoys windward marks, the wind roared up to around 25-knots and none of the skiffs could do a bear-away and the fleet was forced in towards Watson’s Bay as the fleet ‘disappeared’ from view as the weather closed in.

No team survived the battering.

Every team capsized and a number of skiffs came away with damaged gear, before the visibility improved and Yandoo’s red and blue spinnaker appeared from the gloom.

John Winning, Mike Kennedy and Nick Daly, the Yandoo team, are all experienced skiff sailors and set off for the wing mark at the south end of Shark Island but even with their experience couldn’t overcome the strong wind and nose-dived as they tried to sail into the Rose Bay mark.

Smeg and Rag & Famish Hotel then became the two leaders before they also capsized as they attempted to gybe at the wing mark.

Finport Finance had now recovered from the earlier capsize and joined Smeg (now recovered from their capsize) in the lead as the pair completed the first lap of the three-lap course with only a few boat-lengths separating the two teams.

Noakesailing, Yandoo and Appliancesonline.com.au had also recovered from capsizes and were in a battle for the placings behind the two leaders.

The weather settled down a little over the second lap of the course and the race for the lead was a thriller as Finport Finance and Smeg raced downwind to the bottom mark with only 10s separating them.

Series leader, Appliancesonline.com.au was outstanding on the run and moved into third place just ahead of Noakesailing, The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines and Dal Zotto (Jack Sprague).

Conditions became extreme once again when a NW storm hit the fleet on the final windward beat then left the leading five boats with almost no wind afterwards as they each tried to reach their final rounding buoys.

As the five boats finally set their spinnakers for the run home, conditions suddenly became ‘normal’ and the race to the finish line was a tribute to the skills of each crew as the five boats completed the long course with only 1m15s separating them after a truly unbelievable day on Sydney Harbour.

Today’s result sheet and images from the race are attached.

The Australian 18 Footers League’s 2019-2020 Season continues next Sunday when the club will stage Races 5 and 6 of the Spring Championship.

Spectators can see all the teams in the rigging, then follow the racing on board the spectator ferry, which leaves Double Bay Wharf, alongside the rigging area, each race day at 2pm.