After a number of very light wind or extremely strong wind race days so far in the Australian 18 Footers League’s 2025-26 season on Sydney Harbour, today’s Race 6 of the League’s Club Championship was finally expected to produce a more traditional 15-knot North East wind – perfect weather for 18ft skiff racing conditions.
That was the expectation, but sadly the ongoing weather situation became even worse than the other race days and the racing was abandoned after the first lap of the three-lap North East course when the wind turned to the west and freshened well beyond the fleet’s ability to continue with their big #1 rigs.
Obviously, the point scores remain as they were with Yandoo leading on a total of 20 points. Balmain is in 2nd place with a total of 25, followed by Rag & Famish Hotel and Sixt, equal in 3rd place on 26 points.
Other points in the top-10 are, Lazarus Capital Partners and Smeg on 35, Club Marine 36, Shaw and Partners Financial Services 46, Sotheby’s Ballard Property 47 and Fisher & Paykel on 54 points.
Prior to the race being abandoned, the race to the weather mark at the Beashel Buoy was close with the consistent Balmain team, led by Henry Larkings, in the early lead from Yandoo (Micah Lane), Sixt (Michael Coxon) and Killer Coffee Co (Steve Thomas).
Vaikobi (Kirk Mitchell) was back in form, after a couple of below par performances, and began to challenge the leading group as the fleet approached the weather mark.
Only 7 secs separated Balmain and Vaikobi as the two teams hoisted spinnakers for the run back to the wing mark off the southern end of Shark Island. Yandoo was in third place, one minute behind the leaders, followed closely by Killer Coffee Co, Shaw and Partners and Fisher & Paykel, which then gained rapidly as the breeze began to switch.
When the leaders finally reached the wing mark the race had been turned upside-down. Vaikobi was a clear leader from Shaw and Partners, with Fisher & Paykel third ahead of Killer Coffee Co and the early leader Balmain. Conditions worsened rapidly and Shaw and Partners was the first to strike trouble. Every team was forced to drop their spinnakers and Vaikobi extended her lead.
Minutes later the race officer abandoned the race and attempted to set what would have been a two-lap windward-leeward course but quickly realised that the wind strength was too much for the great majority of the fleet with the bigger #1 rigs, and abandoned racing for the day.
The NSW Championship will resume next Sunday (7 December) with Races 3 and 4 and the Syd Barnett Jr Memorial Trophy will be held in conjunction with the racing.
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