16ft Skiff Nationals 2026 Wrap Up
Bosker Build was prepared for the fight of its life to claim a second Australian 16ft Championship title in three years but ended up cruising to a comfortable victory on the back of a cruel last heat mishap.
After eight heats of the regatta – in a variety of conditions – it had come down to a shootout between St George’s Bosker and Belmont’s home-town favourite Shade to Order (Tom Burton/Scott Beeby/Joel Skelton) heading into Sunday’s ninth and deciding race.
But much of the tension was taken out of the contest when Shade to Order broke a boom vang and was forced to retire.
Those anticipating a ding-dong battle to the finish were left disappointed, but for Bosker skipper Sarah Lee and crew Keagan York and Kurt Warner, it was a great pressure reliever.
They settled for a fifth to complete an excellent week of results – two wins, three seconds, a third, a fourth, a fifth and a seventh – and take the title by five points on Lake Macquarie.
Shade to Order had done more than enough to hang on for runner-up honours, with Manly’s Buckingham Marine Services (Daniel Turner/Gus Williams/Matt Stenta) claiming third after winning the final heat.
The next six places were filled by Manly boats, but the week clearly belonged to Bosker. After failing to defend its crown last year, Lee and her crew were determined to make amends this time around against what many considered the strongest fleet in the event’s history.
Lee said: “It feels great to win the trophy again. It felt much more of a battle this time round and so close with the Shade all regatta. “We had to really put in the work so this win is a rewarding one.”
Heading into the final heat, Bosker was prepared for a cage fight with their Belmont rival but it never materialised. The St George boat put enough distance between it and Shade to Order to have the race in keeping before the sailing gods delivered their blow on the local boat.
“The plan of attack was to take the race as it comes because we weren’t sure if Shade were going to match race us or stay away,” Lee explained. “We planned to react to the situation, sail clean and get the best result possible. “They actually split from us pretty early on in the race and we ended up having enough of a buffer between us to just sail our own race. It was nice to do it fairly relaxed.
“The secret to any nationals win is to be as consistent as possible in all wind ranges and directions and we managed to do that. “Kurt and Keagan were fantastic as usual. They both sailed super all week.”
Warner added: “It was a week of everything. If anyone had an advantage in the conditions, they didn’t get enough on it to dominate the regatta. “We found ourselves pretty good across the range. It was a really good series.”
Lee held off Manly’s Red Pumps Red (Zoe Dransfield) to top the female skipper standings.
Manly celebrated success in the handicap series, with Avlinear clearing out to victory on the back of two top 10 finishes.
Skipper Angus Wheatley and crew Austin Cross and Blake Wilson finished nine points clear of their nearest rival, with Canberra Airport (Archie Cropley/Max Paul/Jack Hildebrand) in fifth the next best-placed Manly boat.
Canberra Airport also took out the Youth division.
Words: Adam Lucius
Images: Michael Chittenden for Belmont 16s
Repost: Manly 16s
