Canberra Airport claimed back-to-back wins in the first two heats of Manly 16ft Skiff Club’s short course pointscore series on Saturday, making a bold statement of intent.
The Archie Cropley-skippered CA showed it was a boat on the rise after finishing fifth overall on scratch and handicap – and claiming the Youth division title – at January’s national championships. This latest double success only adds to the growing reputation.
With a new-look crew Max Paul and Finn Rodowicz onboard, Cropley held off Balmain (Spencer Mckay) by nine seconds to win the first pointscore race in perfect spring conditions before repeating the dose in race two, again relegating Balmain to runner-up with Employment Hero (David O’Connor) third.
“We’ve got high expectations for this season, as does our sponsor,” Cropley said. “We’re not there to participate, we’re there to win, but we know we are in a very competitive fleet.” Cropley had five years out of the sport before returning last year and finding there was a bit to catch up on.
CA got better the longer the season went but mistakes at critical times prevented it from being a constant presence on the podium. The skipper is confident many of the kinks and flaws that halted their momentum have been ironed out as they chase after silverware this season.
“We’ve done a bit of rigging and boat work over the winter and hopefully those mistakes have been flushed out and we know what we are doing now,” Cropley said. “Last year was part of the overall process, just learning from our mistakes.”
Another ingredient in CA’s favour, albeit unintended, is the move to rig up and launch from Balmoral each week instead of Manly. Lack of space in the main rigging park forced CA to find a different base and it’s had a calming influence.
Much like a prized fighter before a bout, they don’t have to eye-ball their opponent until they reach the “ring”. Cropley said: “Everyone’s got their legacy spots at Manly and you’ve got to earn your stripes to get a good spot. It’s not ideal but once you get down to Balmoral with all the space down there, you don’t really want to leave. You’re not distracted with anything and can just focus on getting to the start line.”
There was a frenzy of activity back at the two Manly rigging parks – either side of the wharf – as new boats, crews and sponsors prepared for the official start to the 2026/27 campaign. Employment Hero sponsor Ben Thompson was on hand to wish O’Connor, Simon Hoffman and Rob Napper all the best for the new campaign, with wife Carolyn taking on champagne pouring duties and urging the trio to “sail safe, true, fast and victorious”.
Aluxor (Jemma Hopkins, Henry Szenzy, Theo Franklin) and Lynchpin Consulting (Alex Hart, James Doyle, George Thompson) also christened new boats/sponsors as they were officially welcomed to the 32-strong fleet.
Meanwhile, with the dominant Harken (Heidi Bates/Orlando Sadlik) ending their successful 13ft combination at the end of the last season, Modern Concept Construction (Tayla Lees) and Buck & Simple (Lachlan Jansen) stepped up to win races one and two respectively. Harken, with new skipper Meg Bates at the helm, captured two second placings.
Words Adam Lucius
Photos SailMedia – Michael Chittenden
Manly Skiff Club
#ManlySkiffClub #CASailingTeam #SkiffRacing #SailingNews #2026Season
Interested in seeing more Racing News? Click here
