12ft Skiff Interdominions – Auckland

The QLD 12ft skiff fleet took to Waitemata Harbour to compete in the 56th running of the event. 4 skiffs made the journey, supported by Maersk and the Brisbane 18 Footers Sailing Club, and the results were the best in a long time in the strong 25 boat fleet.

The week started with rain and ended with a hail storm of trophies for the Australian team. Ghetto Sled, Tank Girl, The Wingman and Squid represented Qld in the best possible way, finishing 5th, 8th, 13th and 20th overall respectively.

The week started well with Ghetto Sled, Richard Billett and Paul O’Malley-Jones winning the invitation race and Tank Girl finishing 3rd.

After 5 races, Tank Girl was sitting pretty in 5th, Ghetto 8th and things were looking good for Australia, winning all 5 races in the teams points race.

A challenging day followed for Tank Girl, running the 4th rig on a day that the wind looked promising, but fizzled to a soft 3rd rig. Ghetto Sled capitalised and scored a 4th and 5th to push up the fleet.

The final day was a classic Auckland Southwester, 15-20knots. Everyone went 2nd rig and there were some shooters that knocked people around. The outgoing tide made the water flat and fast. Ghetto had a startline brainfart, squeezing past the start boat then capsizing, causing havoc for a few Aus team members. A quick recovery allowed them back to 5th over the line to save their regatta.

A big thank you to the ASC for hosting the event and the sponsors for assisting with transport. Brisbane hosts the Inters next year and we hope to see a big fleet.

Australia won the teams trophy convincingly, and the Overall Handicap (Cunning Stunts), Invitation Race (Ghetto Sled), Miners (Geotherm) and Spinners (Brad Madders)

Photos courtesy of Suellen and Lissa.

Link to Auckland Skiff League website for all reports and results