18ft Skiff Club Championship Finale this Sunday
by Frank Quealey 20 Feb 06:48 UTC
22 February 2026
18ft Skiff Season Point Score Race 19 - Yandoo rolls over Black Knight on the final run © SailMedia
When the Australian 18 Footers League fleet lines up on Sunday for the final race of the Club Championship, it will be the last opportunity for each team to test their form against rivals in race conditions for the Giltinan 18ft Skiff World Championship 2026, presented by the Winning Group, over the Sydney Harbour regatta course.
The Club championship has already been won by the 2025 Giltinan World champion Yandoo team which has dominated the previous 13 races in the series.
Yandoo's team of John Winning Jr, Fang Warren and Lewis Brake, with a total of 28 points, go into Sunday's race with a 29 points lead over the 2025-26 Australian champion Balmain team of Henry Larkings, Tom Grimes and Lachlan Pryor on 57 points.
The young Rag & Famish Hotel team of Ben Crafoord, Ryan Ewings and Max Nearn are in third place on 66 points, ahead of Sixt (Jacob Marks) on 82 points, Vaikobi (Kirk Mitchell) 89, Smeg (Ash Rooklyn) 92, and Club Marine (Emma Rankin) on 99 points.
While the championship has been decided, the contest on Sunday will be hard fought as teams such as Lazarus Capital Partners (Tom Cunich) and Shaw and Partners Financial Services (Keagan York) are formidable opponents for the Giltinan championship despite both having a disappointing club series.
Sunday's race is also the final race of the time-honoured League's Season Point Score, which has been won by some of the 18s greatest all-time champions.
Going into Sunday's race, Sixt leads the Season Point Score with a total of 152 points from the 19 races sailed so far throughout the season.
The nearest challenger to Sixt is Club Marine on 166 points, followed by Balmain on 172, Vaikobi 181, Rag & Famish Hotel 182 and Fisher & Paykel (Brett Van Munster) on 186.
An early 14-18 knots North East wind is predicted for race time and, if it eventuates, will be ideal for all the leading Giltinan contenders.
The brand new German Black Knight skiff has been competing in the past two races, sailed by a mainly Australian crew, as a trial prior to the arrival of her skipper Heinrich von Bayern and crew member Thomas Martin, who may be in Sydney on Sunday to complete the full German team for the Giltinan regatta.
Recent racing has produced some exciting results and the prospects for the next months' racing are extremely high as the German, New Zealand and Brisbane teams are all strong championship contenders in the 26-boat international fleet.
The Club's spectator ferry leaves Double Bay wharf at 2pm on Sunday and SailMedia will live stream the race, with expert commentary by the usual team:
Race dates for the JJ Giltinan 18ft Skiff World Championship, presented by the Winning Group, are:
- Friday March 6, 2026 Invitation Race
- Saturday March 7, 2026 Race 1, George Calligeros Trophy
- Sunday March 8, 2026 Race 2, Cliff Monkhouse Memorial Trophy
- Tuesday March 10, 2026 Races 3 & 4, Alan Cole Memorial Trophy
- Wednesday March 11, 2026 Races 5 & 6, AJ Reynolds Trophy
- Thursday March 12, 2026 Race 7, Bill Miller Memorial Trophy
- Saturday March 14, 2026 Race 8, Bill Kite Memorial Trophy
- Sunday March 15, 2026 Race 9, Ribbon and JJ Giltinan Trophy