12ft Skiff rematch

at Squaddy Brass Monkey Regatta this August

The 12 ft Skiff class will replay some major trophies at the Squaddy Brass Monkey Regatta this August, when the NSW, Australian and Interdominion champions all meet again.

Nick Press and Brad Yabsley are the young guns who took out the highly prized 12ft Skiff Interdominion Trophy in January this year.

Michael Bochner and Peter Craig claimed the Australian Titles in Brisbane at Easter, capitalising on Michael’s long time dominating presence in the 12s.

Jon Temple and Richard Jones are reaping the benefits of a ten year history as a team, being hard to beat when they won the NSW State Titles earlier in the season.

All three teams are to meet again, all entering in the Dinghy Solutions sponsored Squaddy Brass Monkey Regatta. This will be a spectacular rematch with no clear indication of who will have the edge.

Young sailors thinking of starting up in 12s ( http://www.skiff.org.au ) can come down to this regatta to meet these champions, or do the Dinghy Solutions Skiff Course to fast track some skills.

Nick Press and Brad Yabsley have been together as a crew for a few years, with Nick having served his apprenticeship under his well known father, Murray Press. Whilst there is no doubt that Murray has passed on the right skills and mindset to win in this class, the base of their win in the Interdominions was simple hard work.

To score the big win, this team sailed three days a week, every week leading up to the event. And that doesn’t count the hours of maintenance and tuning of gear they put in.

The 12s offer sailors real hands on experience. Most people in the class build their own rigs, finish and fit out the hulls themselves. Booms and bowsprits all typically put together in someone’s garage late at night.

As an example, National Champion, Michael Bochner, bought a bare hull from C-Tech in Auckland, shipped it home with a mate in the Air-Force. A quick delivery of bare carbon tubes from CST, a few late nights and a winning 12 footer was born. This is a five year old hull and is the current National Champion boat. Not bad for a home made job.

State Champion Jon Temple is sailing a nine year old hull, bought second hand from someone who is probably still regretting the decision. Jon and Richard have won four or five State Titles, and three Nationals in this hull.

The 12 ft Skiffs are strong reliable boats, that offers great value for money for both the new skiff sailor, or long time champion. That sailors can learn some basic carbon and rigging skills, then keep a boat competitive for years is a great benefit to the class.

There are about 70 sailing in Australia at the moment, and that makes for a lot of garage based workshops. I still have fond memories of my mother giving me a thick ear for using her good sewing scissors to cut up some chop strand fibreglass. These guys must have got through more than one pair of scissors.