NSW CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL DAY
Champion team heading for another title
The 2025 Giltinan Trophy world champion Yandoo 18ft skiff team of Tom Needham, Fang Warren and Lewis Brake are set to add another trophy to their names when they line up next Sunday on Sydney Harbour for the final two races of the NSW Championship.
With four consecutive wins for Yandoo going into next Sunday’s racing, the task looks particularly difficult for the major challengers as the early weather predictions indicate bread-and-butter wind strength and direction for the champion Yandoo crew and boat.
The only challenger with a slim opportunity of becoming the 2025 NSW 18ft skiff champion is the Balmain team (Henry Larkings, Tom Grimes and Lachlan Prior), which will need close to a miracle.
Looking mathematically at the current total point scores, and making allowance for each team discarding its worst race result to achieve its best seven-race score for a final points score, Yandoo will only need to record a 3rd or 4th place in one of the two races on Sunday to become champion.
Yandoo’s present score, including ALL SIX RACES sailed so far, is 11 points and so with even a 4th place finish in one race would finish with a total of 14 points.
Balmain’s present BEST FIVE RACES sailed so far is 12 (and includes a throwaway 13th as its other result). Balmain needs two more winning results on Sunday to give it a best possible seven-race score of 14 points.
Finishing level with Yandoo on points is no better for Balmain as Yandoo would take the title on count-back with four race wins against what would be AT BEST three wins for Balmain.
Regardless of what seems to be an easy overall victory for Yandoo, if the expected conditions do arrive at race time, they will provide on-water spectators and SailMedia livestream video watchers with plenty of action and good fleet racing for the podium placings.
The Top-10 NET placings, showing total points to date, discards in brackets, and present net totals are:
Yandoo 11 points, (4), 7 points
Balmain 25 points, (13), 12 points
Vaikobi 36 points, (14), 22 points
Rag & Famish Hotel 38 points, (11), 27 points
Smeg 41 points, (12), 29 points
Club Marine 43 points, (11), 32 points
Sixt 44 points, (11), 33 points
The Kitchen Maker 49 points, (11), 38 points
Fisher & Paykel 61 points, (18), 43 points
Royal Oak Double Bay-4Pines 59 points, (14), 45 points
With so many young, rookie and newly-formed teams racing in the Australian 18 Footers League’s fleet this season, the top three teams in this championship are very experienced competitors compared to the following three teams below them.
The club’s 18 footer racing goes into its usual break over the Christmas-New Year period and will resume on Sunday, 17 January, 2026 when it conducts Day 1 of the Australian Championship.
The spectator ferry will leave Double Bay Wharf next Sunday at 2pm and SailMedia will livestream all the action on http://youtube.com/video/