Lining up down-under

We take a look at the form going into the JJ Giltinan

The JJ Giltinan Trophy, the effective 18ft Skiff World Championship, is due to get underway this weekend from its traditional home ofSydney Harbour.

Despite the hull shape being firmly nailed down some years ago, after designs were getting more and more extreme and campaign costs were rising to phenomenal levels, talk this season has very much been about development. Specifically over the last few years the fleet has been heading to a significantly squarer-topped mainsail. “The whole fleet has been going that way since Euan McNicol [sailing Club Marine] won [the JJ Giltinan] back in 2005,” explains 18ft Skiff sailor and International Moth supremeo, Scott Babbage.

Despite the whole fleet heading that way for a while, this season has seen some of the frontrunners, Fiat and Gotta’ Love it 7 in particular, making the change to extreme square tops. “Fiat and Seven have both gone to really high modulus carbon masts that are really stiff and straight,” Babbage explains. “They have taken all the luff round out of the front of the mains so they are really square flat rigs. With the new stiffer masts the main is doing most of the de-powering now.”

Interestingly this system is almost exactly the reverse of the rigs we were seeing on the 18ft Skiffs back in the late 90s and early 2000s. Back then the elliptical top main would only de-power when the extremely flexible top section bent in the gusts – see the video of AAMI on the Awesome Aussie Skiffs video.

In terms of line-up the JJ Giltinan Trophy this year looks to be a thoroughly Australian affair with only a few crews from overseas entering. In reality the boat has always been most popular in its spiritual home of Sydney, meaning the balance at the event is, more often than not, tipped in favour of the home teams, despite past winners over the last decade including Rob Greenhalgh’s RMW team and American Howie Hamlin

In terms of the hot prospects for this JJ:



Gotta Love it 7:

With much pomp and ceremony, this team was announced back in September of 2006 under the sponsorship of Australian TV Company, Seven Networks. The network were the people behind Color 7, which changed the face of sailing in Australia and dominated 18ft skiff racing, winning six consecutive world championships. The team consists of Seve Jarvin, Rob Bell and Sam Newton who are mentored by Iain Murray, the legendary 18ft Skiff and America’s Cup sailor.They are also the only team to be working with a coach.

Currently reigning supreme on Sydney harbour the Gotta Love It 7 team is by far the strongest contender to take the title. Apparently they have been winning almost everything in recent months and are not looking likely to lose. In the words of Babbage: “They start well, they go the right way and they do not make any mistakes.” In short, a tricky combination to beat.

However, there is some small encouragement. Despite clearly being the quickest team going they are rumoured to have a slightly heavier crew weight, meaning if the wind is light and shifty there is a possibility of them not coming home at the front of the fleet. Also it is reasonably well know the 7 team have been training very hard but with most of the fleet holding down full time jobs training for the JJ does not really begin until the few weeks leading up to the event. This could mean Gotta Love It 7’s performance might not be as dominant at the JJ Giltinan as it has been in the weeks leading up to it…perhaps. Still if you have a bit of spare cash, head down to the bookies ‘cos these boys are looking firm favourites.



Fiat:

Particularly this year the battle for second position may well be an interesting one. Fiat is close to the top of the list of those likely to win the event, if for no other reason than they took victory in both the 2006 and 2007 JJ Giltinan, and are defending champions this year.

However, a switch to the most extreme rig on the racetrack has seen them struggle recently, particularly upwind where speed and height has just not been there for them consistently. This has led to a few disappointing results in the build-up to the JJ which could see them lose their title.. However, a second position overall in the Australian 18ft Skiff Championship shows this team definitely still has what it takes to mix it at the top in a series.



Asko Appliances:

Despite not performing that well so far this season and not spending a huge amount of time in the boat, Hugh Stodart is likely to be near the front of the fleet.

“Even though Asko have not nailed any great series results yet they are just really fast and I would not be surprised to see then there at the end. Really Hugh [Stodart] is always fighting it out for second or third at the regatta,” comments Babbage. Certainly Stodart is a solid compeititor in the 18 but he does seem to have a habit of not quite winning the JJ, despite looking like he very nearly might at times. A fourth last year was a respectable position, if one he will want to improve on.



Rag and Famish Hotel:

Realistically the next few boats could all be in any order and round out the six boats Babbage says most have identified as major threats to the title. Babbage crews on Rag and Famish but is realistic about their chances, saying they could either be right at the front of this pack or at the back depending on how well their event goes.

Last year at the JJ the Rag team finished in third, although with a different middle man, now Babbage’s position. This season the team have been a little up and down, finishing fifth in the NSW 18ft Skiff championships, but improving to fourth for the Australian 18ft Skiff Championships.



Macquaire Real Estate:

This team will be fighting it out for a top five position. Last season the team won the Australian 18ft Skiff Championship but went on to a disappointing ninth at the JJ Giltinan. They will be wanting to put this bad result behind them this year and despite losing their Australian title to Gotta Love it 7 in late January a third place overall this year shows they are still mixing it with the top teams.



Club Marine:

The final boat of the six serious title contenders Babbage is expecting this season is Club Marine helmed by Adam Beashel. As we have previously mentioned they won the JJ Giltinan back in 2005. However, a seventh last season will see their confidence at the event knocked.

The team did take a fourth at the NSW 18ft Skiff Championships in December of last year and it looks as though they will be mixing it up at the front of the fleet in the coming week.



Wild Oats Chardonnay :

Howie Hamlin and his team are the only real international team likely to make any significant play for the title. Hamlin is famed through the world for his long history in the 505, the International 14 and the 18ft Skiff. He can never truly be written off in any event he enters and is a past winner at the JJ

Babbage says despite Hamlin being quick his boat has never really been modified in the last five years and feels this year that may start to show in a big way. It will be interesting to see whether the modifications in rigs make that big a difference when Hamlin hits the startline with what is essentially old kit now.

Like the Gotta Love it 7 team, Hamlin and his crew are also on the heavy side and so stand the best chance of victory if the wind is up.

Currently it looks as though the wind is not going to be the solid thermals we so often expect from Sydney harbour. In fact the forecast for the week ahead looks as though the fleet is going to experience relatively light and shifty winds.

Schedule:

Saturday 16 February Race 1
Sunday 17 February Race 2
Monday 18 February Lay-Day
Tuesday 19 February Race 3
Wednesday 20 February Race 4
Thursday 21 February Race 5
Friday 22 February Lay-Day
Saturday 23 February Race 6
Sunday 24 February Race 7

Entries:

Nationality	Boat	Helm	Crew	Crew
AUS	GOTTA LOVE IT 7	Seve Jarvin	Sam Newton	Robert Bell
AUS	FIAT	Michael Coxon	Aaron Links	Nathan Ellis
AUS	MACQUARIE REAL ESTATE	Micah Lane	Jack Macartney	Drewe Waller
AUS	RAG & FAMISH HOTEL	John Harris	Scott Babbage	Peter Harris
AUS	CLUB MARINE	Adam Beashel	Cameron Mc Donald	Phil Hebden
AUS	OMEGA SMEG	Trevor Barnabas	Daniel Phillips	Jim Beck
AUS	SSANGYONG YANDOO	John Winning	Andrew Hay	David Gibson
AUS	ASKO APPLIANCES	Hugh Stodart	Niall Kinch	Paul Schulz
AUS	FISHER & PAYKEL	Andrew Cuddihy	Cameron Mc Donald	Gerard Smith
AUS	PURE BLONDE	James Francis	Tom Clout	Brad Phillips
AUS	MAYTAG	Nick Press	Will Moor	Brent Dennis
AUS	ACTIVE AIR-2UE	Matthew Searle	David Rogers	Dan Wilsdon
AUS	CST COMPOSITES	Chris Dixon	Greg Dixon	Justin Healey
AUS	KEITH PIGGIN ESTATE AGENTS	John Winning jnr	Peter Mc Kewen	Andrew Coxall
AUS	THURLOW FISHER	Sean Langman	Joe De Koch	Shane Guanaria
USA	PEGASUS RACING	Howie Hamlin	Mike Martin	Trent Barnabas
USA	SX PROJECTS	Joey Pasquali	Matt Noble	Rory Giffen
NZL	CT SAILBATTENS	Phil Airey	Alex Vallings	James Gell
NZL	MAERSK MAINFREIGHT OWENS	Graham Catley	Mike Buntain	Nick Catley
NZL	STUNT ACADEMY	Chris Hirst	Stephane Fauve	Russ Evans
AUS	SLAM	Grant Rollerson	Jack Young	Jasper Warren
AUS	KINDER CARING HOME NURSING	Brett Van Munster	Paul Montague	Ayden Menzies
AUS	DE LONGHI	Simon Nearn	Archy Massey	Peter Nicholson
AUS	RWD TECHNOLOGIES	Oliver Merz	Rob Scrivenor	Ian Henderson
AUS	DAWNLINK	Greg Paterson	Bill Robson	Sam Paterson
AUS	APPLIANCESONLINE.COM.AU	Simon Nelson	Scott Shearer	Jamie Reid
AUS	SOUTHERN CROSS CONSTRUCTIONS	Chris Pomfret	Reece Goldsmith	Aron Everett
AUS	PANASONIC	Jonathan Whitty	Tom Anderson	Dan Higglett
UK	TMF GROUP	Jarrod Simpson	David Cunningham	Adam Ovington