Please select your home edition
Edition
Savvy Navvy 2024

Sponsors, Club Financial Support and Media - the key drivers for 13ft Skiff Success

by Adam Lucius 25 Sep 05:47 UTC
The Kitchen Maker - Tayla Lees & James Hopkins © Manly 16s and Sail Media

Whether he's dressed in a business suit or wetsuit, Hugh Skeen is seeing the growth of the 13ft skiff class first-hand. By day, the 20-year-old dons the shirt and tie for work as a construction management student/cadet, dovetailing that work into his role as the 13s delegate at Manly Skiff Club.

Part of his sailing committee responsibilities involve keeping the shirt and tie on and knocking on the door of prospective sponsors - the lifeblood of any sporting organisation. On Saturdays, the business suit is replaced by a wetsuit and harness as Skeen joins Sophie Hart aboard Botany Scaffold in the 13s fleet.

It leaves him in a unique position to comment on the division's growing popularity, both from a competitor and sponsor perspective.

"I think there's increased interest as many juniors graduating from smaller boats prefer to have fleet racing at a club level as opposed to training in something like a 29-er," Skeen said. "The club also helps finance the boats with prize money and grants, so it makes sailing more affordable for sailors.

"As the 13s have the same media coverage and a growing popularity and becoming more competitive, sponsors are beginning see them as being more marketable and a worthwhile investment. "As the fleet grows in size, it will only bring more sponsors into frame."

Sixteen boats have registered in the 13s for the 2024/25 season, with one brand new boat (Red Pumps) and four new sponsors joining the contingent. Better Auto (Abigail Rolfe) is one of the new backers, while IMEI has rebadged and updated the livery aboard Charlie Snell's skiff after the young skipper reached out to them with a sponsorship proposal.

Skeen said: "The fleet is looking like it will be one of the strongest in recent years. "There are many boats fighting at the front of the fleet to keep things interesting and you can see a huge improvement from the boats who have now entered their second season.

"The new teams are also making huge improvement each week and will soon be in the mid fleet mix as well."

That competition was evident on Saturday as two short course pointscore races played out in a shifty westerly. The Kitchen Maker (Tayla Lees and James Hopkins) took out race one by just eight seconds from Botany Scaffold and QED (David Tulk), with Harken (Heidi Bates and Orlando Sadlik) prevailing from The Kitchen Maker and Buck & Simple (Lachlan Jansen) in the follow up race.

In the 16s, Sutech (Mike Koerner) took honours in race one with Modern Concept Constructions (Daryl Milham) successful in race two.

The 13 class will only grow from here. Many flying 11 sailors are already talking about wanting to move into the 13 and more and more clubs are starting to adopt the 13s into their fleets. Looking at the talents coming through, the 13s are only going to become more competitive and a more attractive boat to sail.

Related Articles

Manly 16ft Skiff Club Championship Heat 3
For five years, Kurt Hansen was lost to sailing Burnt out after a prolonged stint travelling the globe in the 49er class, the then 22-year-old walked away from the sport to pursue other interests - including ironman triathlon events - while building a career in the renewable energy sector. Posted on 12 Nov
Manly 16ft Skiff Club report
A record number of females are entering the various classes At Manly 16ft Skiff Club, a record number of females are entering the various classes on the back of the path paved by some of Australia's finest women sailors. Posted on 30 Oct
Manly 16ft Skiff SC Port Jackson Championship
One of the most unforgiving races on the 16ft skiff calendar The Port Jackson Championship is regarded as one of the most unforgiving races on the 16ft skiff calendar. One small mistake or miscalculation and your day can be over as Sydney Harbour shows who's boss over two gruelling hours. Posted on 22 Oct
Manly 16ft Skiff Club Championship Heats 1 & 2
They say ignorance is bliss.. They say ignorance is bliss... It's also a winning formula if you happen to be Manly 16ft Skiff Club sailor Tyler Dransfield. Posted on 18 Oct
Manly16s first Season Pointscore
Winning culture and Flying 11s - the key to Manly's sailing success A quick glance at the results from Saturday's first point-score race of the season tells you all you need to know about the conveyor belt of quality sailors emerging from Manly 16ft Skiff Club's enviable junior program. Posted on 17 Sep
Manly 16ft SC's 2024/25 season officially starts
New season, new boats, new crews Manly 16ft Skiff Club's 2024/25 season officially kicked off last Saturday with a non-pointscore race in a dying southerly, with 17 boats facing the starter's gun. Posted on 13 Sep
Swap Day - The happiest day of the year
A lot of fun had at Manly 16ft Skiff Club Former Manly 16ft skiff sailing champion Joe Turner thought he had his day all mapped out when he woke Saturday morning. Posted on 27 Mar
New Club Champions decided at Manly 16s
The initial signs didn't look great when Heidi Bates and Orlando Sadlik first joined forces The initial signs didn't look great when Heidi Bates and Orlando Sadlik first joined forces on Harken 13ft Skiff Team ahead of Manly's 2023/24 13ft season. Posted on 19 Mar
Manly 16' Skiff Club Championship heat 7
Now Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page can add another honour to the list They've won Olympic gold medals, national 16ft titles and state championships. Now Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page can add another honour to the list - Manly 16ft Skiff club champions. Posted on 14 Feb
Congratulations Michael McMahon OAM
You'll never hear a bad word said about him "You'll never hear a bad word said about him." It's a line regularly trotted out when underlining someone's popularity and personality. Posted on 5 Feb
Savvy Navvy 2024Maritimo 2023 M600 FOOTER