Killer Coffee Co 18ft Skiff Racing's 2026-27 Team
by Frank Quealey 13 Oct 10:05 BST
13 October 2026
The new skiff in her first race, last Sunday © SailMedia
An exciting new 18ft skiff team in the Australian 18 Footers League's 2026-27 fleet on Sydney Harbour introduces Ryan Ewings in his rookie season as a skipper with major championship-winning crew members Matt Stenta and Finn Rodowicz in a brand new Van Munster Boats-built skiff for the Killer Coffee Co., which is sponsoring the campaign.
The first stage of the team's challenge took place at Double Bay on Sunday when the new hull was christened before the start of the opening 18 footer race of the new season.
In the light, variable conditions, the team used the race as a 'shake down' and, after giving starts to nine of the other 16 competitors, finished in eleventh place.
Twenty-two year old skipper Ryan Ewings grew up sailing a large range of different classes. Manly Junior, Sabots (in which he finished 3rd in the 2014 Nationals), Optimists, Flying Ants (2nd in the 2019 Nationals), Flying 11s "mainly between St George and Georges River as Mum's side of the family were all from St George and Dad's side from Georges River."
He then settled in the 29er fleet and sailed with Finn Rodowicz in his second season, which was disrupted due to Covid, before then sailing with Jacob Marks (winning the 2022 States).
Ryan remarked, "I shifted a lot between skipper and crew but have always felt driving the boat is my strong point."
Adding, "I also had the opportunity to drive the Noakes Blue 16ft Skiff, thanks to Pete Mackie, where I again sailed with Finn as bowman and had Matt Doyle on the sheet. I then got into more yachting and match racing which is now what I do, working for 'Witty' (David Witt, Scallywag)."
Among Ryan's match racing success are the 2022 Youth Match Racing World Championships, 2024 Rolex Middle Sea Race Line Honours (Scallywag) and 2025 Loro Piano Girraglia Offshore Line Honours (Scallywag)
"Sailing on the Scallywag is where I met Matt Stenta. We get along great and he is highly regarded in the 18s, so he was my first call when we were looking for a sheet hand. He has helped put a lot of hours into getting the boat ready which has been a great help."
"Last season I ended up sailing on the sheet with Ben Crafoord, who is a great mate, and we had a pretty good season considering we were such a rookie crew."
"Growing up, Dad (Dave Ewings) always sailed 18s and I spent a lot of time on the ferry watching. I always wanted to sail one but never really expected that in my first season I wouldn't be driving, as driving was always my thing. Even my first time out on an 18, as a 6-year-old with dad, I got a hold of the tiller."
"It's going to be an exciting season and we are setting the bar as high as possible for ourselves. We have a great support crew in Nick from Killer Coffee, and everything he brings to the 18s, as well as Mark and Dick at Norths."
"Witty has also been heavily involved and very passionate about making sure we go well, he has spent weekends in the shed with us setting up the rigs with the guys from Sydney Rigging making sure we are going to be on the pace straight out of the gates."
The Killer Coffee's sheet hand Matt Stenta will be a critical part of the team as he brings a wealth of skiff experience and skill, which will be invaluable as the crew progresses through the season to the finale of the 2027 JJ Giltinan World Championship in March.
Matt has won the highest honours in both the 18 and 16 footer classes. "I've been lucky enough to spend most of my life sailing skiffs, starting out in the 16-footers at Manly before getting involved in the 18s."
"The 16s have always been a big part of my sailing, and I've had plenty of great years racing with good mates, including winning the 2019-20 Australian Championship and picking up a few podium finishes along the way. I've always enjoyed the competitive racing, the people involved and, of course, the social side that comes with sailing skiffs."
"Over the years, I've been fortunate enough to sail with some pretty talented people in the 18s and have had some great results along the way. Winning the 2022 JJ Giltinan with Seve Jarvin and Sam Newton on Andoo was definitely a highlight, along with winning the Australian Championship and Mark Foy Trophy on Finport Finance with Keagan York and Phil Marshall. More recently, we finished second in the 2025 JJ Giltinan with Keagan and Angus Williams."
"Outside the skiffs, I've spent a fair bit of time racing offshore on boats like Andoo Comanche, Scallywag and Hooligan, but I've always loved coming back to the skiffs. It's hard to beat the racing, the friendships and having a beer with everyone afterwards."
Bowman Finn Rodowicz started sailing "as a kid on dad's Young 88, then when I moved to France, aged 7, I started sailing Optimists on a mountain lake. I moved back to Sydney when I was 15 and started sailing 29ers out of Hunters Hill SC then moved to 16s at St George SC before migrating to the 18s."
"My first year in the 18s was in 2022-23 when I sailed with The Kitchen Maker and we finished 21st at the JJs. It was in this off-season that I started sailing yachts, mainly on the Maritimo TP52, before I joined the Rag & Famish Hotel team with Harry Price and Josh McKnight, where we placed 2nd at the 2024 JJs."
"The year after, Max Paul replaced Josh and we won every series (Australian, NSW and Club championships) except the 2025 JJs where, unfortunately, we placed 3rd."
"I joined the SHK Scallywag race team in the 2025 off-season, a team that I still work for to this day."
"Most recently, I did the first half of the 2025-26 season with Ash Rooklyn and Niall Morrow on the Smeg. Now on Sundays this year, I will be sailing on a new Killer Coffee skiff with Ryan Ewings and Matt Stenta, while on Saturdays, I will be doing bow on the Canberra Airport 16ft skiff at Manly."
The 1999 Giltinan World 18 footer champion and international yachtsman (skipper of SHK Scallywag 100), David Witt is an enthusiastic supporter of the Killer Coffee team. According to Witty, "Ryan started working for me (Team Scallywag) straight out of school, as a junior. Now four years later, he has become the team's boat captain, a position that is held normally by people decades older than himself."
"His work ethic, intelligence and sailing ability, and quality of human being, is why he has got to the position so quickly. I believe Ryan has the ability to have a long, successful career in the sport and I will be doing what I can to support him and the boys for as long as I can."
"Sheethand Matt Stenta is a JJ winner (2022) and, in my opinion, is the best sheethand in the class over the past seasons and brings invaluable experience to the team. The bowman Finn Rodowicz also brings experience from the top of the fleet. He won the Australian championship finishing 2nd on Rag & Famish with Harry Price and was runner-up in the JJs. Finn also has a long history sailing with Ryan in other classes like 29er and 16ft skiffs."
"Both Matt and Finn also sail on Scallywag 100 where all three travel and work together which is extremely exciting for me personally. They are great mates and together with the new skiff from Killer Coffee will be a force in the coming season and many more to come."
Speaking about the sponsor and team support, "I met Nick the owner of Killer Coffee at the 18s club over the last few seasons and I was excited about his passion for the class and thought together we could put a highly competitive team together."
"I made a commitment to sponsor Nick and the boys to help mentor/coach the team along with Ryan's father David 'Gilly' Ewings, who is known as one of the best skiff bowman over the past 30 years. Gilly and I started sailing 18footers together in the 1989-90 season as teenagers and have been mates since sailing flying ants against each other in the early 80s."
"The combination of an enthusiastic sponsor, an experienced, talented young team, and a couple of old blokes assisting, we are aiming to be consistently at the front of the fleet for many years to come."
With youth and experience in the boat on race days and decades of 18 footer know-how in the support team, "The Killer" will certainly be one to watch during the Australian 18 Footers League's 2026-27 Season on Sydney Harbour.
Killer Coffee Co's next race is on Sunday, 18 October when the Australian 18 Footers League will stage Race 1 of the Club Championship. It should be a great spectacle as the race will be sailed over a full championship course.
As well as the League's regular spectator ferry, the race will be livestreamed by SailMedia with their expert commentary team broadcasting from the racecourse. To catch SailMedia's coverage, go to: youtube.com/video/BiMi3-Ei3Zw/livestreaming