The leading teams in the Sixt 2025 Spring 18 footer Championship will have to ensure their concentration levels are high throughout the entire final race of the series if they want to secure a portion of the $7,800 prizemoney on offer for the top three overall positions.
Prizemoney is distributed as follows: $6,000 for the series winner, $1,200 for the runner-up, and $600 for third place. Additionally, the winning team will be awarded the Yandoo Trophy.
With only next Sunday’s race (16 November) left to sail, the event sponsor’s skiff Sixt (Jacob Marks, Alex Marinelli, Matt Doyle) holds an eight-point lead over nearest challengers Club Marine (Emma Rankin, Jed Cruikshank, Brandon Buyink) and Yandoo (Tom Needham, Fang Warren, Lewis Brake).
The current points table shows Sixt on 15 points, Club Marine on 23, Yandoo also on 23, followed by Fisher & Paykel (Brett Van Munster) on 31, Rag & Famish Hotel (Ben Crafoord) on 33, Balmain (Henry Larkins) on 35, Sotheby’s Ballard Property (Bec Hancock) on 37, Vaikobi (Kirk Mitchell) on 37, Lazarus Capital Partners (Tom Cunich) on 39 and The Kitchen Maker (Lachlan Steel) on 43.
The scoring system awards one point for first place, two points for second, three for third, etc. A team that does not finish or is disqualified will receive 19 points.
There is no discard in this series; therefore, each team’s finishing place (on handicap) next Sunday will contribute to their total for determining final standings in the Sixt Spring Championship.
Adding to the complexity, the Sunday race is a ‘Scratch’ race for the Club Championship, with handicap allowances deducted from each team’s finishing time to determine overall placings.
Early weather forecasts predict a very light Easterly breeze, one of the less predictable conditions on Sydney Harbour, making timing critical. Notably, eight teams have a maximum handicap allowance of 10 minutes.
Series leader Sixt will have 6 minutes deducted from their finishing time, Club Marine has a 10-minute deduction, and Yandoo, as the Scratch boat, will have no deduction.
Other notable handicap allowances include Balmain with 4 minutes, Fisher & Paykel with 10 minutes, Lazarus with 4 minutes, Rag & Famish Hotel with 7 minutes, Shaw and Partners Financial Services (Keagan York) with 2 minutes, Smeg (Ash Rooklyn) with 8 minutes, Vaikobi with 7 minutes, and Andoo with 3 minutes. This variety will add to the mix and complexity in determining the series winner once all teams finish and their adjusted positions are calculated.
Having an eight-point lead provides clarity for the Sixt team, as they can ascertain their position on the course as long as they remain upright and face no gear issues.
Club Marine looks to be a strong challenger due to the handicap advantage, while Yandoo faces a challenging road from the back mark.
Sixt’s team manager and sheet hand, Alex Marinelli, stated his team is “taking it one race at a time” and aims to maintain their current approach.
Marinelli added, “We are sailing well in all conditions and are reaping the rewards from the dedication put into the off-season. Last season was marked by inconsistencies; thus, the current situation is very fulfilling.”
“We succeeded in winning the Spring Championship in 2023 (our first season together) with The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines, so securing a win for our new sponsor, Sixt, which is also the Spring Championship sponsor, would be significant.”
The outcome of the scratch race for the Club Championship appears more straightforward, as the current Giltinan world champion Yandoo team has successfully won the first two races of the championship and now has regular sheet hand Fang Warren back on board.
The main competitive focus in the championship race will likely be the battle for the remaining podium spots among several closely matched teams.
The Australian 18 Footers League will have a spectator ferry departing from Double Bay Public Wharf at 2pm on Sunday, and SailMedia will livestream all the action.
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