12ft Skiff Interdominions Form Guide
by Bob Clements 7 Jan 2010 12:57 GMT
9-17 January 2010
Tim Bartlett sailing Frankenskiff at last year’s Inters in Brisbane © 12ft Skiff Class Association
The 9th-17th January sees the Interdominion Championships for the 12ft Skiff Class take place in Auckland, New Zealand. This event marks the 50th event, and will be an anniversary dinner to celebrate this landmark date in the history of the class.
This year’s event sees a 12-strong team from New Zealand, battle it out against a 12-strong team from Australia for the Silasec Trophy. Top contenders for the title are:-
Nuplex (NZ) - Alex Vallings & Chris Kitchiner – Nuplex Design
Alex (aka Ginge) has already won 5 Interdominions (3 as skipper and 2 as crew) and will be sailing in his home waters, so with the added benefit of local knowledge, has to be a clear favourite.
Dimension Polyant (AUS) - Nick Press & Brad Yabsley – Woof Design
Nick & Brad won the 2005 Sydney Interdominions, and are current Australian National Championships. With some hot new rigs on-board, they should be a team to watch, although at over 200Kg crew weight, they’ll need some breeze!
Frankenskiff (NZ) – Tim Bartlett (Te-Guru) & Adam Millar – Woof Design
Previous 5-times Interdominion Champion (twice with Alex Vallings as Crew) and multiple NZ National Champions, Te-Guru should never be under-estimated. The Wiley old fox could teach the younger teams a lesson or two.
Garde (AUS) – Brett Hobson & Alex Johnson – Woof Design
Last year’s Interdominions winner and multiple Aussie National & State Champions, the Garde is an experienced team with a well-sorted boat, and should certainly be in the top 5 placings.
Dave Norris Boats (NZ) – Chris Skinner & Dave Healey – L4 Design
A previous Interdominions winner in 2004 sailing Signature Homes, Chris is certainly one to watch. It will be interesting to see how his new Dan Leech-designed L4 skiff performs against the still-popular Woofs.
Gemmell Sails (AUS) – Ben Gemmell & Murray Press – Woof Design
Both old-hands at sailing 12ft Skiffs, and last year’s Aussie National Champions, this team will definitely be in the hunt.
Nice Action Too (NZ) – Hamish Hey & Mike Candy – Doover Design
Previous New Zealand National Champions, Mush & Mike have been on a steady speed improvement curve since launching their new “Doover” design skiff in late 2007. As another “heavyweight” team (with a joint weight of over 200Kg) these guys can be awesome in the right conditions.