A monumental day for New Zealand at the JJ Giltinan 18fters
by Suellen Davies / Auckland Skiff League 11 Mar 2018 10:29 NZDT
Day 6, JJ Giltinian 18ft Skiff Championship, Sydney, March 10, 2018 © Michael Chittenden
“We’ve got the two on the board!” said an excited Graham Catley, President of the Auckland Skiff League who are representing the Royal Akarana Yacht Club at the 2018 JJ Giltinan in Sydney.
It was a monumental day for New Zealand at the 18' Skiff World Championship, because no matter what happens, a Kiwi team will be taking the JJ Giltinan trophy back to the Royal Akarana Yacht Club. Now it just comes down to which boat.
After three postponements, a general recall and black flag, the start finally got away in a 10 knot flukey south-easterly.
The penultimate race was a game of snakes and ladders with the lead changing between Honda Marine, ASKO, Smeg and Finport Trade Finance.
At one point Maersk Line had slipped back into ninth, but managed to put the hammer down and sail through to finish fifth in Race 8. Smeg got the gun putting them on 38 points, Honda Marine second and ASKO in third on 33 total points.
Honda Marine now sits on 17 points and have taken the overall lead from their fellow countrymen Maersk Line, who are now two points behind on 19.
The last time New Zealand won on the JJ Giltinan was back in 1974 when Terry McDell steered Travelodge NZ to victory. The trophy has been elusive since then, with Honda Marine getting agonisingly close to claiming the trophy in 2017.
We caught up with Terry and his older brother Kim McDell to see how they were feeling with the Kiwi dominance. (Interview below)
The final race of the JJ Giltinan is scheduled for Sunday 11 March with a 2:45pm/4:45pm NZL time start. The livestream with pre-race interviews kicks off at 2pm/4pm.
Follow all the coverage on Sail-World.com including the full live coverage of the final race.
New Zealand has won the JJ Giltinan, now it comes down to who will hold the trophy. Maersk Line (Josh Porebski, Jack Simpson and Dave Hazard) or Honda Marine (Dave McDiarmid, Matt Steven and Brad Collins).
New Zealand Team - representing Royal Akarana Yacht Club / Auckland Skiff League
Honda Marine – Dave McDiarmid, Matt Steven, Brad Collins
Knight Frank – Riley Dean, Luke Stevenson, Tim Snedden
C-Tech – Alex Vaillings, Sam Trethewey, Matt Coutts
Maersk Line – Josh Porebski, Jack Simpson, David Hazard
Terry & Kim McDell Interview
Post Race Catch Up with Maersk Line and Honda Marine with Graham Catley