18ft Skiff SIXT Spring Championship - Race 5 Preview

by Frank Quealey 5 Nov 06:55 GMT 8 November 2026

With just two more races left to sail in the SIXT Spring 18ft Skiff Championship, only five points separate the leading four teams in a series where there is no discard available. To make the likely outcome even more fragile, early predictions for Sunday's Race 5 indicate that it could be contested in 26-knot Southerly winds on Sydney Harbour.

Leading the point score tally is Club Marine, skippered by 26-year-old Emma Rankin, with Cameron Walker on the sheet and Daniel Watson in the bow.

Club Marine holds a four point lead over Killer Coffee Co, skippered by Ryan Ewings, with Matt Stenta on the sheet and Finn Rodowicz in the bow. Lazarus Capital Partners (Tom Cunich, Logan Radford and Jack Taylor) and The Kitchen Maker (Jordan Girdis, Josh Feldmann and Jacob Broom) share equal third place just one point further back.

Sunday's race will be contested over a 3-buoys course where three individual weather marks create a club handicap based on each team's previous record in all club races.

Leading the series comes with its own natural pressure. Having three hardened crews ready to pounce and very strong winds to combat is a difficult assignment for any 18 footer skipper to face, so it's understandable that many supporters may think that a small female skipper is not up to such a challenge.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Emma is a tenacious competitor who has been on a roller coaster ride since joining the 18s fleet in 2023-24 after achieving great heights in a variety of national and international championships and two national championships in NS14.

After graduating from the Australian 18 Footers League Academy, Emma's first season was consistently good, with a strong team of Cam McDonald and Tom Quigley, but the following year was disappointing as she didn't have a regular crew each week leading up to the 2025 Giltinan World Championship.

Guidance from former world champion Michael Spies and the introduction of Joel Turner and Brandon Buyink into the crew for the worlds, Emma was back to her best and came to within the final leg of the course to winning one of the nine races at the regatta.

Emma's talent and determination led Club Marine to come on board and support her 2025-26 campaign, and the support was rewarded by Emma when she became the first female skipper to win a race in the 115-years-old Australian Championship, with Brandon Buyink and Jed Cruikshank in the crew.

Adding to her incredible success, Emma, with Brandon Buyink and Aaron Everett, also won a race in the 2025-26 NSW Championship. Again, the first female skipper to achieve such a success.

According to Emma, "After almost winning a race at the JJs with Joel Turner and Brando in the 2025 JJs, it instilled a confidence in myself that winning a race could even be a possibility. I think that confidence transferred into last season's successes - winning races in both the NSW and Australian Nationals."

"To have achieved it with Jed Cruickshank and Brandon Buyink, was a very special moment and particularly with our new sponsor Club Marine."

"It was hard to get consistently in the results with a lighter crew weight, so it's a new team this season - Cam Walker and Daniel Watson. We're a heavier crew combination and with the work we've done to the rigs and the new sails from GC Sails before the season started, it's really showing in the boat speed."

"It's really exciting to be leading the SIXT Spring series at this stage but there are still two races left in the series. There's also no drops so it's all to play for and you can't take anything for granted."

The Killer Coffee Co crew is having its first season together, skipper Ryan Ewings is having his first season as an 18ft skiff skipper. While the crew haven't sailed together on an 18 before the start of this season, they are all highly-skilled competitors from the SHK Scallywag 100 footer race team.

Tom Cunich and Jordan Girdis are both experienced 18 footer skippers with good teams and have already had strong results, which suggest both are more than capable of taking out the title.

Three other teams capable of 'coming from behind' over the last two races are Vaikobi (Kirk Mitchell), Yandoo (John Winning Jr) and Smeg (Ash Rooklyn).

Progress top-10 points in the series are, Club Marine on 19 points, Killer Coffee Co on 3, Lazarus Capital Partners and The Kitchen Maker on 24, Vaikobi on 28, Yandoo 29, Smeg 31 and Rag & Famish Hotel (Ben Crafoord) 38. Balmain (Henry Larkings), Sixt (Jacob Marks) and Shaw and Partners Financial Services (Keagan York) are in equal ninth place on 41 points.

The 'Royale' spectator ferry will follow the racing on Sunday, departing Double Bay Wharf at 2:15pm, where patrons can follow the fleet while enjoying drinks and snacks from the on-board bar.

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 the 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.