Record fleet set for 13ft Skiff 2026 Australian Championships
by Adam Lucius 24 Sep 06:29 BST
16 Skiff fleet © Michael Chittenden
The pain of handing over the national 13ft crown after owning it for a year is driving Manly's Theo Franklin to recapture the title when the biggest fleet in the event's history lines up for the 2026 Australian Championships in January.
Franklin combined with Coby Napper to win the 2024 regatta onboard CyberTech at St George but had to settle for fourth 12 months later when clubmate Harken (Heidi Bates/Orlando Sadlik) claimed top spot in Maryborough.
While happy for his fellow Manly competitors, the result did not sit well with Franklin or his new partner Ash Napper, younger brother of Coby. The pair is back for another shot at the title in Belmont early next year, with Ash taking on steering duties on the newly christened Buckingham Marine.
"Fourth last year was a bit of disappointment but it is what it is," Franklin said. "A lot of stuff happened that wasn't quite favourable (to the campaign) and there were mistakes we made - some out of our control, some not. "This year is about getting comfortable with each other and cutting out the silly mistakes that led to our downfall. "If you have a look at the last three or four winners, their second seasons have been the season when they've won nationals and hopefully it's the same with us."
Making that dream come true will be harder than ever due to the increasing numbers - and competitiveness - of the 13s fleet. Theo can remember the days when you could count the fleet on one or two hands.
This year organisers are hoping at least 30 boats will face the starter's gun, with Manly's 20-strong fleet - which is close to gender equity - to be tested by growing numbers at Belmont and St George and QLD.
Buckingham Marine flexed its muscle with a comfortable win in Manly's long pointscore race on Saturday, held in a fresh sou' westerly. Harken (Heidi Bates/Zara Marks) was next in, with IMEI (Ollie Ross/Charlie Snell) third. "It was tricky out there and conditions not really favourable, so were stoked to get the win," Franklin said.
In the 16s, Imagine Signage (Nathan Wilmot) took line honours from Geochemical Assessments (Nathan McNamara), with an old club favourite Altis Consulting (Phil Cooke) placing third in a blanket finish.
This Saturday the first two heats of the 2025/26 club championships will be held, with any number of contenders in with a chance of snaring the coveted title.
Modern Concept Construction (Kurt Hansen) is back to defend its crown, with strong challenges to come from the likes of Buckingham Marine (Daniel Turner), Canberra Airport (Archie Copley), Imagine Signage (Nathan Wilmot), IMEI (Joel Beashel), Red Pumps (Tyler Dransfield) and Red Pumps Red (Zoe Dransfield).