18 Footer Racing Starts on Sunday

by Frank Quealey 7 Oct 08:18 BST 11 October 2026

Sixt © SailMedia

Young team prepares to defend two titles

Jacob Marks, skipper of Sixt - photo © Frank Quealey

When the Australian 18 Footers League's season gets under way on Sydney Harbour next Sunday, the young Sixt 18ft skiff team of Jacob Marks, Alex Marinelli and Matt Doyle will be out to defend the Spring Championship title, which it won for the second time last year.

Sunday's Race 1 of the 2026 SIXT Spring Championship is the first of seven races in the series, which will be finalized on Sunday, November 15. The series is a handicap-based event and each team must include all seven races in its final total.

Jacob Marks, the 19-year-old skipper of Sixt, is confident of performing well from the start of the season and looking forward to the challenge of defending the title against a strong fleet. "We will be giving it our best to defend the Spring Championship title, particularly as our very supportive boat sponsor, Sixt is also the series sponsor again."

The Sixt team will also be out to defend the League's time-honoured Season Pointscore, which has been conducted each season since 1935. The 2026-27 MONDIALE VGL Season Pointscore will be sailed over 18 League club races until the final race on February 21 and is a demanding event based on consistently good performances.

According to Marks, "Winning the Season Pointscore last season was a proud achievement as it reflected the team's consistency each week over the entire season."

"The accumulation of what we learn each week also gets us in the best shape possible for the JJ Giltinan world championship, which follows immediately after the conclusion of the pointscore"

The 2026-27 season fleet has a good mixture of young champions prepared to challenge the more experienced teams.

Yandoo - photo © SailMedia

Giltinan world champion Yandoo team, led by John Winning Jr, along with the Australian champion Balmain (Henry Larkings) and Shaw and Partners Financial Services (Keagan York), are the early favourites for the major championships, but there are so many new teams with winning experience on their way to the 18s that this could see one of the closest contests for several seasons in the big events.

With a 'big-sail' South East breeze predicted for Sunday's opening race, it is a perfect opportunity for the new teams to give us a glimpse of what we could see later in the season when the League's fleet will take on international and interstate competition.

Shaw and Partners Financial Services - photo © SailMedia

It's one not to be missed and there is no excuse to miss it.

The League has a spectator ferry "a floating grandstand" to follow the racing, departing Double Bay Wharf at 2:15pm, where patrons can follow the fleet, soak up the views, and enjoy drinks and snacks from the on-board bar.

Vaikobi - photo © SailMedia

For anyone unable to take advantage of the spectator ferry, the professional SailMedia Livestream team will be on the course, as usual, to capture all the action. The team have three cameras feeding into the livestream production; a drone, a main camera mounted on the roof of the Camera Cat, and a commentary team POV camera.

SailMedia's coverage provides viewers with all the close up racing action, along with the beauty of Sydney Harbour and the city, all backed up by expert commentary from former competitors who are situated on the Camera Cat - in the centre of all the racing action.