Almost 100 years of Manly 16ft Skiff Club history is a race away from being turned on its head after Red Pumps Red tightened its grip on the 2025/26 club championship with back-to-back podium finishes at the weekend.
As long as RPR hold off second-placed Buckingham Marine Services (Daniel Turner/ Alanna Clancy/ Gus Williams) in the final heat on March 21, Zoe Dransfield will become the first female skipper to win Manly’s club championship.
In fact, since the title was first decided in the 1926/27 season, a woman has not even been part of a club championship-winning crew.
How times are changing – and fast.
Dransfield is part of an exciting young crop of female sailors emerging – or having already arrived – on the 16s circuit.
Now the 23-year-old is one race away from winning a sought-after club championship in only her second full year in the Manly fleet.
“It’d be amazing to be the first female skipper to win the club champs, but I’m trying not to get too far ahead of myself,” she said.
“Some great things have been happening for women in skiffs over the past few years, including Sarah Lee’s two nationals win, increasing female participation in the 13s, 16s, and 18s, the all- female Queens of Buckingham boat, and so many female skippers winning races.
“I’m really excited to see what the future brings for female skiff sailors.”
Dransfield and crew – father and son Hugh and Jamie Stodart – trailed Buckingham by two points heading into heats seven and eight on Saturday, but finished the day three points clear after winning the day’s first race and placing third in the second.
Their cause was helped by Buckingham capsizing in the second heat and having to settle for seventh in the light ENE breeze.
Last year’s club champions – Kurt Hansen/Chris Williams/Jackson Cranfield aboard Modern Concept Constructions – recorded a fourth and first to move into third overall, 10 points behind Turner and his team.
“It was super tricky racing…really shifty and patchy,” Dransfield said. “We were seeing angle shifts of up to 40 degrees, which made it challenging.
“There was also a pretty rough side swell that you had to use to your best advantage, both upwind and especially downwind to catch the waves.
“We had a great first race but the second was a little tricky and we got very lucky that ‘Ruffy’ (Turner) had a capsize.”
RPR either need to win next month’s final heat or put at least three places between it and Buckingham for history to be made.
Dransfield said: “Coming into the last race, we just need to keep calm and try not to worry too much about what Ruffy is doing and sail our own race.”
There is no such tension or stress in the 13s, with Harken claiming back-to-back club championships with a race to spare.
Skipper Heidi Bates and crewmate Orlando Sadlik could even afford a disqualification in heat seven (for starting early) on Saturday before recovering to win heat eight.
Attention in the last heat will focus on the battle for second, with IMEI (Ollie Ross/ Charlie Snell) and Buck & Simple (Lachie Jansen/Max Barrett) both on 28 points and Buckingham Marine (Ash Napper/Theo Franklin) two points away in fourth.
Results Link
Words – Adam Lucius
Images – SailMedia
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