Club Champs begin

Andoo took out the first championship-style race of the 2022-23 Australian 18 Footers League season on Sydney Harbour on the weekend.

Written by Frank Quealey

31 October 2022

The first championship-style race of the 2022-23 Australian 18 Footers League was sailed in a 10 to 15 knot North east breeze and was won by the classy Andoo team of John Winning Jr, Seve Jarvin and Sam Newton.

Andoo quickly established a lead of 25s on the windward leg to the top mark at the Beashel Buoy and was never really threatened, despite a race-long challenge from the Lazarus team of Marcus Ashley-Jones, Jeronimo Harrison and Phil Marshall.

At the end of the three-lap race, Andoo crossed the finish line 1m11s ahead of Lazarus, with Rag & Famish Hotel (Harry Price, Josh McKnight and Harry Hall) just 6s further back in third place.

Yandoo (John Winning) finished in fourth place, ahead of Shaw and Partners Financial Services (Jim Colley) and Smeg (Michael Coxon).

Andoo, an all the way winner of the Club Championship race.

Yandoo's team on the work to the first top mark.

Team Smeg on the spinnaker run down the middle of Sydney Harbour.

Start at the boat end of the line.

Spinnakers from the top mark.

Spinnaker ride into Rose Bay.

The 2022 JJ Giltinan Championship-winning Andoo showed the form to suggest that the team will be the benchmark for the major championship regattas later in the season but the brand new Rag & Famish Hotel skiff, which was having its first race, and the consistent Lazarus team are sure to be big improvers as the racing hots up over the coming months.

Lazarus, after trailing Andoo by 25s at the top mark on the first lap, was still 25s behind Andoo over the following lap of the course and it was only the final lap which saw the winner extend the margin out to more than one minute.

Rag & Famish Hotel was back in third place, along with Yandoo, for most of the race and over the final lap of the course came home strongly to finish just behind Lazarus in a very tight battle.

Race 3 of the Spring Championship, for the Mick Scully Memorial Trophy, was held in conjunction with the Club Championship and was won by the Birkenhead Point Marina team of Kirk Mitchell, Andrew Stevenson and Daniel Barnett.

The young Birkenhead Point Marina team sailed strongly from the start of the race and deserved its 5s victory over Andoo.

Rag & Famish Hotel again finished in third place, ahead of Yandoo, Lazarus and Burrawang-Young Henrys (Simon Nearn).

With four races still to be sailed in the Spring Championship, Yandoo leads the points table on 11 points, followed by Birkenhead Point Marina on 17, with Shaw and Partners and The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines (Alex Marinelli) level in third place on 18 points.

Ilve (Cam Gundy) is fifth on 21 points, followed by Lazarus and Burrawang-Young Henrys, tied on 22 points.

Smeg going to the bottom mark.

Shaw and Partners between the islands.

Noakes Youth team in action.

Lazarus defeats Rag & Famish for second place by just 6s.

Birkenhead Point Marina won Race 3 of the Spring Championship.

Balmain Slake at speed.

Race 4 of the Spring Championship, for the Eric Bowen Memorial Trophy, will be sailed next Sunday (November 6) over the regular 3-buoys style course.

Spectators can follow the action on board the club’s spectator ferry, as they have done for the past 87 years, which leaves Double Bay Wharf alongside the clubhouse at 2pm.

Booking online through the club’s website is essential.

Live streaming is available online by clicking on the ’18 Footers TV’ link.

18footers.com

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