Another day of incredibly tough racing conditions during the 2025-26 season couldn’t stop the reigning world 18ft skiff champion Yandoo team of John Winning Jr, Fang Warren and Lewis Brake from scoring a hard-fought victory in the Australian 18 Footers League’s Season Point Score Race 19 on Sydney Harbour today. In light SE winds which dropped to near zero for a good section of the long course, Yandoo outlasted the gallant crew (Joel Beashel, Trent Barnabas and Andy Martin) of the German Black Knight skiff to cross the finish line with a winning margin of 28s. The youngest crew in the fleet (Ben Crafoord, Ryan Ewings and Max Nearn) produced probably their best race since joining the 18s this season to bring Rag & Famish Hotel home in third place 2m6s behind Black Knight. Australian champion Balmain (Henry Larkings) finished in fourth place, ahead of Brisbane’s Big Foot Bags & Covers (Dave Hayter) and fast-finishing Lazarus Capital Partners (Tom Cunich). The race began in just 5knots of breeze with the leaders in the fleet splitting into two separate groups, each side of Shark Island, as they headed for the weather mark off the southern end of the island. Yandoo’s crew, which went to the LHS grabbed a 20s break over Rag & Famish Hotel and Black Knght, which both went to the RHS, and the trio set up what would become a great three-way battle for more than half the course. The Yandoo crew did some running repairs on the long spinnaker run across the harbour to Robertson Point but managed to retain a 20s break over their nearest rival, which was now Black Knight. Rag & Famish was thirs ahead Of Big Foot, Balmain, The Kitchen Maker (Lachlan Steel), and Shaw and Partners Financial Services (Keagan York). A slight change of wind direction on the beat to Clark Island allowed Black Knight to take advantage of the RHS of the course and grab a 40s break over Yandoo and Rag & Famish Hotel as spinnakers were set for the run to Chowder Bay. The first part of the run produced a good, close spinnaker battle between the two leaders before the wind dropped and created massive problems to the leaders as well as half the which were left spread across the harbour. In little breeze, Black Knight finally rounded the Chowder Bay mark with a 30s advantage over Yandoo with Rag & Famish just 15s further back in third place. The following leg into the weather mark south of Shark Island was slow as the leaders struggled to find breeze until they cleared Steel Point. The Black Knight crew were first to pick up the breeze but the experienced Yandoo team elected to go futher to the LHS of the course and reduced the margin back to 20s and the challenge was back on. Unfortunately for the young Rag team, they went closer to Shark Island and didn’t get the ‘lift’ and dropped off the three-way battle after a great effort to match their more experienced opponents. On the loop across to Taylor’s Bay (under spinnaker) and back to the weather mark off Shark Island, Black Knight held a 7s lead over Yandoo and the pair of champion crews produced an exciting race in ‘ordinary’ conditions. The final spinnaker to Robertson Point was going to be critical to both teams as they raced alongside each other for most of the run before Yandoo finally ‘rolled over’ Black Knight and headed for the finish line off Clark Island with a narrow lead of just 4s. With more breeze, now around 10-knots, Yandoo’s crew revelled in the conditions and eased away from the Black Knight to record their 28s victory in the race which took 1hr27m35s to complete. Credits: Livestream footage courtesy of Sail Media Shot and Edited by Sprott Media Words by Frank Quealey Visit www.18footers.com for the very best in 18 foot skiff racing from Sydney Harbour and beyond

Visit www.18footers.com for the very best in 18 foot skiff racing from Sydney Harbour and beyond

Emma Collins is the 2026 18 footer Queen of the Waves after her Vaikobi team of Kirk Mitchell, Andrew Stephenson and Daniel Barnett raced away to an all-the-way victory in the annual event which had to be rescheduled following last Sunday’s cancellation, due to safety reasons, due to very strong winds. Club Marine (Emma Rankin, Jed Cruikshank, Brandon Buyink and Kate Spithill0 came home in second place 1m9s behind Vaikobi with Balmain (Jack Macartney, Tom Grimes, Lachlan Prior and Madison Howarth) a further 37s back in third place. The four-person Vaikobi team grabbed an early lead in light wind conditions and held a 20s lead from Smeg (Ash Rooklyn) at the weather mark, but the Smeg team fought back strongly on the short spinnaker run back to the bottom mark on the first of the three-lap course, to trail by just 5s. Vaikobi was certainly superior on the following beat and again opened up a 25s margin over Smeg, 18 Footers Bar & Restaurant (Simon Nearn). Club Marine was fourth, followed by Balmain and Shaw and Partners Financial Services (Keagan York). When the leaders approached the bottom mark on the second lap, Vaikobi still held a clear lead but capsizes to both Smeg and !8 footers Bar and Restaurant near the mark left the Vaikobi team with an unbeatable lead over the final lap to the finish. Each team was reduced back to the regular three-person team for the latter race which was Race 13 of the Australian 18 Footers League’s Club Championship. The series leader Yandoo, today skippered by John Winning Jr with Fang Warren on the sheet and Lewis Brake in the bow, soon took the lead after the start and quickly opened up a clear lead on the fleet after her nearest challenger lost a crew member overboard only a few minutes into the race. At the end of the race, Yandoo crossed the finish line 2m28s ahead of Lazarus Capital Partners (Tom Cunich, Marc Chapon and Flynn Twomey) with Vaikobi just 6s further back in third place. Rag & Famish Hotel (Ben Crafoord) came home in fourth place ahead of Shaw and Partners Financial Services, Balmain, Smeg, Sixt (Jacob Marks), Club Marine and 18 Footers Bar & Restaurant. It was soon apparent on the first beat to windward, that the champion Yandoo team was going to be hard to beat over the two-lap windward-leeward course but the team’s task became a lot easier when several of the chasing pack badly overlaid the first weather and Yandoo was 1m15s ahead of her nearest rival Lazarus. While the race victory seemed inevitable for most of the journey, the battle for the next four placings was close and always in doubt as Lazarus, Vaikobi, Rag & Famish and Shaw and Partners put on a show for the spectators. With just one more race to decide the club championship, Yandoo has an unbeatable lead with a total of 28 points, followed by Balmain on 57, Rag & Famish Hotel on 66, Sixt on 82, Vaikobi 89 and Smeg on 92 points. Yandoo’s easy win also gave the backmarker team a win in the club’s Season Point Score event which was held in conjunction with the club championship. Visit www.18footers.com for the very best in 18 foot skiff racing from Sydney Harbour and beyond

Visit www.18footers.com for the very best in 18 foot skiff racing from Sydney Harbour and beyond

An outstanding victory by the Brisbane, Queensland GC Sails team of Scott Cunningham, Joel Turner and Dave Cunningham in the Australian 18 Footers League Season Point Score, Race 17 on Sydney Harbour today, produced an incredible record for the class as it is the first win by a Queensland team since at least the 1950s. With two of the three crew members based in Victoria, it is certainly the only time that has ever happened in the 134-year history of 18ft skiff racing. Strong Southerly winds forced the League to cancel the scheduled Queen of the Waves race due to ‘safety reasons’ as each team would have been required to include an unfamiliar extra hand in conditions above 20 knots. As a result, the club elected to change the format for the day and changed the Point Score race into a full length Southerly course event, which proved a great success. In extremely tough conditions, GC Sails crew work was excellent, even faultless, as the three crew members worked tirelessly to beat off the early challenge, then race away from the challenging teams to record a massive 3m33s victory. While the winner was dominant, the race for the minor placings provided spectators with a wonderful battle in the 20-knot southerly over the long harbour course. At the finish, Lazarus Capital Partners (Tom Cunich, Marc Chapon and Jack Taylor) crossed the line in second place, 27s ahead of Vaikobi (Kirk Mitchell, Andrew Stephenson and Daniel Barnett). After being a little late for the start, Shaw and Partners Financial Services (Keagan York) showed some good form leading into the big end-of-season championship races to finish in fourth place, ahead of an improving Smeg (Ash Rooklyn) and Sixt (Jacob Marks). The other six teams to complete the course were, Rag & Famish Hotel (Ben Crafoord) in seventh place, ahead of Fisher & Paykel (Brett Van Munster), The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines (Hugo Stoner), Club Marine (Ema Rankin), Sotherbys-Ballard Property (Bec Hancock) and Gotcha4Life (Kade Morgan). GC Sails grabbed the lead from the start and led by 15s at the first weather mark off Clark Island from a bunch including Yandoo, Vaikobi, Rag & Famish and Sixt as the fleet set off on the long downwind leg to Obelisk Bay. The spinnaker rides were spectacular as the teams battled hard to clear the headlands,; when they reached the rounding mark GC’s lead had been reduced to 8s by the very experience Yandoo team, with Sixt in third place ahead of Lazarus, Vaikobi, Rag & Famish, Smeg, Club Marine and Shaw and Partners. The two leaders sailed tack-for-tack on the work back to the mark off the southern end of Shark Island. GC Sails increased her lead marginally before the Yandoo team was forced to retire off the northern end of Shark Island, when a crew member injured an ankle, which left GC Sails with a lead that had blown out to 1m15s over Lazarus. GC Sails’ crew looked as though they had been sailing on Sydney Harbour all their lives as they pushed their lead out to 1m40s after the spinnaker run to Athol Bay, then to 2m30s after another superb windward performance to the weather mark off Clark Island. Lazarus continued to hold off the challengers for second spot as Vaikobi and Sixt exchanged third and fourth placings over the next two legs of the course. More excellent crew work on the second spinnaker run to Obelisk saw GC Sails lead extend by another 45s, to 3m15s, and all interest was now entirely focused on the remainder of podium places. With the Giltinan world Championship set to be sailed on the same harbour courses, today’s hit out has certainly created tremendous interest with the strength of the Brisbane challenge and the expected strong challenges from the German and New Zealand teams. Words by Frank Quealey Visit www.18footers.com for the very best in 18 foot skiff racing from Sydney Harbour and beyond

Visit www.18footers.com for the very best in 18 foot skiff racing from Sydney Harbour and beyond

VICTORY FOR LAZARUS CAPITAL PARTNERS Come from behind win in tough harbour conditions A 20-knots plus North East wind gave the Australian 18 Footers League fleet a challenging late afternoon series of three windward-leeward races on Sydney Harbour yesterday (Friday, 30 January) to determine the outcome of the annual Balmain Cup. With a number of capsizes before the racing began, it was obviously going to be a tough day out for the crews, and the prediction was correct as the series produced three different race winners and saw race officials reduce the final two races from the scheduled two laps to one lap of the course. After the three races, Lazarus Capital Partners (Tom Cunich, Marc Chapon and Rory Cox), with two fourth placings followed by a win in the third race, claimed victory with an overall score of 9 points, one ahead of Yandoo (Micah Lane, Fang Warren and Andy Martin) with a win, a third and sixth placing. Sixt (Jacob Marks, Alex Marinelli and Matt Doyle) also finished oon 10 points with a second, third and fifth placings. The day began brilliantly for the recently-crowned Australian champion Balmain team (Henry Larkings, Tom Grimes and Lachlan Pryor) which grabbed an early lead to take out the first race over a two-lap course. The orange coloured flyer led narrowly from Brisbane’s GC Sails at the weather mark and held off the Queenslander’s challenge to comfortable win when GC Sails capsized on the final gybe to the finish. In Race 2, Yandoo won the start from Balmain with Sixt, Shaw and Partners Financial Services (Keagan York), The Kitchen Maker (Lachlan Steel) and Smeg also prominent early. On such a short course (one lap), when Yandoo held a 20s lead at the weather mark, the experienced crew was never going to let a win slip from its grasp and defeated Balmain narrowly with Smeg (Ash Rooklyn, Ricky Bridge and Niall Morrow) in third place. With only one point separating Balmain (3 points) and Yandoo (4 points) the stage was set for a great final race between the two champion teams. The nearest challengers were Sixt (7 points) followed by Smeg and Lazarus, which were both on 8 points. At the weather mark it was GC Sails which held a narrow lead with Lazarus, Yandoo and Balmain hot on the norther’s tail as the fleet racing downwind for the finish line. The Balmain team almost had its hands on the Balmain Cup when it raced into second place behind Lazarus but a capsize on the final run threw everything away and appeared to assure Yandoo a series victory. Nothing could be taken as guaranteed on such a crazy day. Yandoo was unable to set a spinnaker and was forced to limp home in sixth place behind Lazarus, GC Sails (Scott Cunningham, Joel Turner and Dave Cunningham), Sixt, Vaikobi (Kirk Mitchell) and Smeg. Shot and Edited by Sprott Media Words by Frank Quealey Visit www.18footers.com for the very best in 18 foot skiff racing from Sydney Harbour and beyond

Visit www.18footers.com for the very best in 18 foot skiff racing from Sydney Harbour and beyond

The newly-crowned Australian 18ft skiff champion Balmain team of Henry Larkings, Tom Grimes and Lachlan Pryor continued the winning form from last weekend when they produced an awesome performance in a 10-14-knot North East breeze to win the President’s Trophy Australian 18 Footers League Season Pointscore race on Sydney Harbour today. With their big #1 rig working perfectly, the team grabbed a narrow lead at the weather mark on the second lap of the course and powered away from the fleet on the following spinnaker run down the centre of the course to the bottom mark. From that point the team had total control of the race and went on to score a comfortable victory. At the finish, Balmain defeated Club Marine (Emma Rankin, Brandon Buyink and Jed Cruikshank) by one minute, with Yandoo (Tom Needham, Miles Davey and Lewis Brake) a further 14s back in third place. In a closely-bunched group, Vaikobi (Kirk Mitchell) finished fourth ahead of Killer Coffee Co (Cam McDonald). A gallant Lazarus Capital Partners (Tom Cunich) was next with her smaller #2 rig followed by Shaw and Partners Financial Services (Jordan Girdis), also with the smaller rig. Uncertainty in the rigging area about the likely wind strength of the Nor’Easter sent several crews to their smaller #2 rigs before the start. When the breeze failed to strengthen throughout most of the race, it was a move which proved too costly to overcome. The current Giltinan world champion Yandoo team got off to a poor start and tacked away shortly after the start while the Shaw and Partners team led narrowly from a group which included Vaikobi and Balmain. At the first set of weather marks, Lazarus took advantage of sailing to the blue (shortest) buoy and grabbed the lead from Shaw and Partners and Vaikobi, while Sixt (Jacob Marks) also took advantage of the blue buoy to move into fourth place ahead of Balmain. Despite the disadvantage of running downwind with her #2 rig, Lazarus retained her lead at the wing mark off Shark Island and also overcame a slow spinnaker drop at the bottom mark at Clark Island to still lead the fleet by 10s from Balmain, but with the breeze remaining light it was obvious that Balmain was going to over-power the leader on the following beat to the weather mark. Vaikobi was in third place just ahead of Sixt. Shaw and Partners led the next group which included The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines (Hugo Stoner), Club Marine and Yandoo. Lazarus was impressive in the unfavourable conditions and managed to hold off the strong challenge from the bigger rigged Balmain team, but finally succumbed to the pressure as the pair approached the weather marks where Balmain held a 15s advantage. Balmain has been strong downwind in similar conditions this season and she never looked more impressive than on the following run directly to the Clark Island mark where she had extended her lead to 1m25s. From that point the Australian champion team was in total control and held a 1m15s lead at the final weather mark before cruising home a one minute victor Today’s result sheet and current point scores in the series, along with SailMedia images from today’s racing, are attached. Race 1 next Sunday will be the traditional Queen of the Waves race which will be followed by another 3-buoys pointscore race. The League’s usual spectator ferry will follow the races and SailMedia will live stream all the action with expert commentary from the course. Livestream footage courtesy of Sail Media Words by Frank Quealey Edited by Sprott Media Visit www.18footers.com for the very best in 18 foot skiff racing from Sydney Harbour and beyond

Visit www.18footers.com for the very best in 18 foot skiff racing from Sydney Harbour and beyond

The Balmain team of Henry Larkings, Tom Grimes and Lachlan Pryor became the 2025-26 Australian 18ft skiff champions following another sensational day’s racing in constantly changing conditions on Sydney Harbour today. The fleet went into the final day with a number of top contenders for the title carrying scores they hoped to discard while others were more consistent and had better scores before the final two races. It was hard to predict what may happen and the end result came down to the final run of the last race and a count back to decide the title. Throughout the day, wind conditions made things even more difficult for all teams as they battled very light winds in both races over the two-lap windward-leeward courses. Going into the final race, allowing for the leading teams’ discards, Shaw and Partners Financial Services (Keagan York) had a guaranteed 14 points score, regardless of where the team would finish in the race. Brisbane’s GC Sails (Scott Cunningham) had a net 11 points, Yandoo (Micah Lane) 12, Balmain 13, Lazarus Capital Partners (Tom Cunich) 15 and Germany’s Black Knight (Heinrich Von Bayern) was on 16 points net. When Yandoo led narrowly from Brisbane’s Big Foot Bags and Covers (Dave Hayter) at the final weather mark and had only a spinnaker run to the finish, the current Giltinan world champion looked a certain winner of the title, but another brilliant finishing burst by the young Balmain team, grabbed a narrow lead and victory which changed everything. The race win gave Balmain a total of 14 points, equal to Shaw and Partners, but Balmain took the championship title on count back with the last race victory. After each team discarded its worst performance from the five-race regatta, the final points table had Balmain on 14 points, followed by Shaw and Partners Financial Services (Keagan York, Matt Stenta and Tom Anderson) also on 14points, and Yandoo (Micah Lane, Fang Warren and Lewis Brake) on 15 points. Lazarus Capital Partners and GC Sails finished next on 17, Vaikobi (Kirk Mitchell) on 25, Black Knight on 26, Brisbane 18 Footers (Josh Sloman) on 30, Big Foot Bags and Covers on 32 points and Sixt (Jacob Marks) and Fisher & Paykel (Brett Van Munster) on 35 points. In today’s first race, Club Marine (Emma Rankin, Brandon Buyink and Jed Cruikshank) defeated Lazarus Capital Partners (Tom Cunich, Marc Chapon and Tim Westwood) by 17s with Balmain just 2s further back in third place The latter race resulted in Balmain’s win by 8s from Lazarus, with Yandoo another 5s back in third place. Club Marine’s victory in the first of the races was another historical moment as her skipper, Emma Rankin became the first female skipper to win a race in an Australian 18ft skiff championship. The racing over the three days was as close as the final point scores suggest. There were several lead changes, close finishes and some excellent performances by the Brisbane and German teams in very demanding conditions, which dominated the three days racing. With strong New Zealand teams expected to join the NSW, Queensland and European teams that competed this week, the upcoming Giltinan world Championship on Sydney Harbour in March should be one of the closest for many years. Today’s result sheets and final point scores, together with SailMedia images from today’s racing, are attached. Australian 18 Footers League club racing resumes next Sunday (25 January) when the club will conduct a 3-buoys race for the President’s Trophy. The club’s spectator ferry will follow the racing and SailMedia will livestream all the action with an expert commentary team on the course to provide information for viewers. Words by Frank Quealey Livestream footage courtesy of Sail Media Shot and Edited by Sprott Media Visit www.18footers.com for the very best in 18 foot skiff racing from Sydney Harbour and beyond

Visit www.18footers.com for the very best in 18 foot skiff racing from Sydney Harbour and beyond

Day Two of the 2025-26 Australian 18ft Skiff Championship on Sydney Harbour today was an historic day for the championship when the German team of Black Knight (Heinrich Von Bayern, Tom Martin and Andy Martin) became the first international team to win a heat of the title in its 114-year-old history. The German team was superb in the SE wind conditions which fluctuated in strength and direction, taking out both races in a style which marks it as a strong threat in JJ Giltinan Championship to be sailed on the same Sydney Harbour course in March. In the first of today’s two races Black Knight defeated a gallant Brisbane GC Sails team (Scott Cunningham, Joel Turner and David Cunningham) by just 2s in an incredible finish after the two teams had battled hard for the entire race. The third team to share the battle was another Brisbane team, Big Foot Bags and Covers (Dave Hayter, Trent Neighbour and Elliott Mahar), which finished in third place 36s behind GC Sails. Shaw and Partners Financial Services (Keagan York) finished fourth, followed by Sixt (Jacob Marks) and Vaikobi (Kirk Mitchell) In the later race, Black Knight again had a great battle with GC Sails for the first half of the race and it looked likely there may have been another close finish. Unfortunately, GC Sails had a gear problem and lost up to two minutes, leaving Black Knight to go on to a 48s victory over Yandoo (Micah Lane, Fang Warren and Lewis Brake). Shaw and Partners (Keagan York, Matt Stenta and Tom Anderson) finished a further 10s back, ahead of Sixt, the unfortunate GC Sails and Vaikobi. While it was a great day for the German team, it was a disappointing day for the Day One-winning team of Yandoo. A gear problem on the way to the start of today’s first race forced the team to miss the race entirely and was followed by a poor start in the later race which severely cost it any chance of victory. The racing conditions have been extraordinary over the two days as wind strength and direction, heavy rain and low visibility have played havoc with the fleet. Despite the conditions, racing on both days has been very close and the performances of both the German and Brisbane teams have been the greatest threats to the strong locals for many years. With the reduction of racing on Day One, when only one of the two scheduled races were sailed due to weather conditions, there is a potential that three races may be sailed tomorrow to make up the originally planned six-race regatta. As each team is allowed to discard its worst race result from the final total, current points could be very deceiving. If Black Knight discards her worst score she would lead with a net total of 2 points, ahead of Yandoo on 3, but each cannot afford another disappointing result in tomorrow’s races. On total points from all three races so far, Shaw and Partners Financial Services leads with a total of 9 points, which would be reduced to 5 points, after discard. GC Sails has a total of 11 points which would be reduced to 6 points after discard. Tomorrow will be critical, particularly if there are three races, to the outcome and finding the eventual winner may come down to the final spinnaker run in the last race. Words by Frank Quealey Shot and edited by Sprott Media Visit www.18footers.com for the very best in 18 foot skiff racing from Sydney Harbour and beyond

Visit www.18footers.com for the very best in 18 foot skiff racing from Sydney Harbour and beyond

The Yandoo team of Micah Lane, Fang Warren and Lewis Brake grabbed the lead shortly after the start and despite a strong challenge from the Shaw and Partners Financial Services team over the concluding stages of the race led all the way to take out Race 1 of the 2025-26 Australian 18ft skiff Championship on Sydney Harbour today. Strong winds earlier in the day forced race officials to alter the race schedule of two short course races and elected to sail one full length race over the South-East course. It was a decision which produced an excellent race in very poor conditions. Rain, poor visibility and fluctuating wind strengths throughout the race challenged the fleet and there were some very good performances by a number of teams, but the 2023-24 Australian and Giltinan champion team of Lane, Warren and Brake were superb and have set the benchmark for the remainder of the regatta, which concludes on Monday. At the of the long SE course, Yandoo crossed the finish line 40s ahead of Shaw and Partners Financial Services (Keagan York, Matt Stenta and Tom Anderson), with a fast-finishing Balmain (Henry Larkings, Tom Grimes and Lachlan Pryor) a further 1m39s back in third place. GC Sails, representing the Brisbane 18 footers SC, won the start and was always within the top four placings throughout the entire race. Skippered by Scott Cunningham, GC Sails finished in fourth place just ahead of Fisher & Paykel (Brett Van Munster), Lazarus Capital Partners (Tom Cunich), Smeg (Ash Rooklyn), Brisbane 18 Footers (Josh Sloman), Rag & Famish Hotel (Ben Crafoord) and The Oak Double Bay-4Pines (Hugo Stoner). Yandoo took the lead soon after the start and led y 10s from Shaw and Partners at the weather mark off Shark Island then extended it to 30s after the long spinnaker run across the harbour to Robertson Point. There was a great battle behind the two leaders with little between Balmain, GC Sails, Brisbane 18 Footers, Lazarus, Smeg, Fisher & Paykel and Big Foot Bags and Covers (Dave Hayter, Qld). Yandoo again extended her lead, to 40s, at Clark Island before the fleet’s next downwind leg to the mark off Chowder Bay. The spinnaker run tested all the crews as the wind dropped and the rain and visibility became worse. Over the next three legs of the course, two windward legs and a spinnaker run between Chowder Bay, Rose Bay and Taylors Bay produced more fluctuating conditions. The breeze dropped as the fleet worked in to Rose Bay Mark and Yandoo increased her lead to 1m20s but Shaw and Partners dragged that back to just 15s at Taylors Bay after electing to run on the western side of Shark Island under spinnaker when Yandoo’s went to the east. The Shaw and Partners team tried desperately to grab the lead from Yandoo on the final spinnaker run but trailed by 5s as the pair headed to the finish. Yandoo eased away over the final work to the finish for her 40s victory. Words by Frank Quealey Livestream footage courtesy of Sail Media Visit www.18footers.com for the very best in 18 foot skiff racing from Sydney Harbour and beyond

Visit www.18footers.com for the very best in 18 foot skiff racing from Sydney Harbour and beyond

Visit www.18footers.com for the very best in 18 foot skiff racing from Sydney Harbour and beyond

Visit www.18footers.com for the very best in 18 foot skiff racing from Sydney Harbour and beyond

The 2025 Giltinan Trophy world champion Yandoo 18ft skiff team of Tom Needham, Fang Warren and Lewis Brake are set to add another trophy to their names when they line up next Sunday on Sydney Harbour for the final two races of the NSW Championship. With four consecutive wins for Yandoo going into next Sunday’s racing, the task looks particularly difficult for the major challengers as the early weather predictions indicate bread-and-butter wind strength and direction for the champion Yandoo crew and boat. The only challenger with a slim opportunity of becoming the 2025 NSW 18ft skiff champion is the Balmain team (Henry Larkings, Tom Grimes and Lachlan Prior), which will need close to a miracle. Looking mathematically at the current total point scores, and making allowance for each team discarding its worst race result to achieve its best seven-race score for a final points score, Yandoo will only need to record a 3rd or 4th place in one of the two races on Sunday to become champion. Yandoo’s present score, including ALL SIX RACES sailed so far, is 11 points and so with even a 4th place finish in one race would finish with a total of 14 points. Balmain’s present BEST FIVE RACES sailed so far is 12 (and includes a throwaway 13th as its other result). Balmain needs two more winning results on Sunday to give it a best possible seven-race score of 14 points. Finishing level with Yandoo on points is no better for Balmain as Yandoo would take the title on count-back with four race wins against what would be AT BEST three wins for Balmain. Regardless of what seems to be an easy overall victory for Yandoo, if the expected conditions do arrive at race time, they will provide on-water spectators and SailMedia livestream video watchers with plenty of action and good fleet racing for the podium placings. Shot and edited by Sprott Media Livestream footage courtesy of Sail Media Visit www.18footers.com for the very best in 18 foot skiff racing from Sydney Harbour and beyond

Visit www.18footers.com for the very best in 18 foot skiff racing from Sydney Harbour and beyond