18ft Skiff NSW Championship Final Day Preview

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.

18ft Skiff NSW Championship - Yandoo and Shaw and Partners - two of the big guns for the major championship in March - photo © SailMedia

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.

18ft Skiff NSW Championship - Close moment for Yandoo and Rag and Famish Hotel - photo © SailMedia

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:

1. Yandoo 11 points, (4), 7 points
2. Balmain 25 points, (13), 12 points
3. Vaikobi 36 points, (14), 22 points
4. Rag & Famish Hotel 38 points, (11), 27 points
5. Smeg 41 points, (12), 29 points
6. Club Marine 43 points, (11), 32 points
7. Sixt 44 points, (11), 33 points
8. The Kitchen Maker 49 points, (11), 38 points
9. Fisher & Paykel 61 points, (18), 43 points
10. Royal Oak Double Bay-4Pines 59 points, (14), 45 points

18ft Skiff NSW Championship - Shaw and Partners and Vaikobi headed for the bottom mark on Day 2 - photo © SailMedia

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: