Program for 18ft Skiff Season 2018-19

New teams, existing teams, and a return of some of the world’s best 18ft skiff sailors of the past decade will highlight the Australian 18 Footers League’s 2018-19 Season which begins October 14 on Sydney Harbour.

The opening race of the season is Race 1 of the seven-race Spring Championship, with a fleet of 17 teams lining up for the challenge. The Spring Championship will be conducted each Sunday from October 14 to November 18 (inclusive) over the Australian 18 Footers League 3-buoy courses.

After the result of each race in the series, the ‘handicap’ allocation changes, with the final result usually coming down to the final race in the championship.

Highlight of the 2018-2019 Season will be the 2019 JJ Giltinan Championship, the unofficial class world title, which will be sailed on Sydney Harbour from March 2 to 10. Following the win by the New Zealand ‘Honda Marine’ team in 2018, the locals are determined to grab the championship trophy back and this season’s fleet is the strongest for a few years.

Three-time Giltinan champion Michael Coxon returns to replace Lee Knapton as skipper of ‘Smeg’ while seven-times winning Giltinan skipper Seve Jarvin is also back in the ‘Winning Group’ team with John Winning Jr., and Sam Newton.

Last year’s runner-up in the Giltinan Championship, ‘Asko Appliances’, skippered by James Dorron, will again be at the head of the challenge as will some of the younger teams who will gain from their experience in 2017-2018.

The fleet for the 2018-2019 Season is:
• Smeg: Michael Coxon, Ricky Bridge, Mike McKensey
• Yandoo: John Winning, Mike Kennedy, Cam McDonald
• Asko Appliances: James Dorron, Harry Bethwaite, tba
• R Marine: Simon Nearn, Cam Gundy, Brandon Buynik
• Appliancesonline.com.au: Brett Van Munster, Phil Marshall, Kurt Fatouris
• Rag & Famish Hotel: Bryce Edwards, Rory Cox, Jacob Broom
• The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines: Arom Everett, Courtney Maher, Geoff Little
• Lumix: Tom Anderson, John Walton, Nick Daly
• Vintec: Kirk Mitchell, Daniel Barnett, Tim Westwood
• The Kitchen Maker-Caesarstone: Jordan Girdis, Lachlan Doyle, Tom Quigley
• Dal Zotto: Jack Sprague, Tim Narborough, Josh Feldmann
• Noasesailing: Sean Langman, tba, tba
• Finport Trade Finance: Keagan York, Matt Stenta, Charlie Gundy
• Ilve: Jono Whitty, Pedro Vozone, Tim Lake
• Winning Group: John Winning Jr, Sam Newton, Seve Jarvin
• Bing Lee: Micah Lane, Peter Harris, Mark Kennedy
• Tba: Yvette Herirage, Richard Heritage, Daniel McLachlan

Details: http://www.18footers.com.au/sailing/index.html

Source: Frank Quealey, Australian 18 Footers League