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    2020 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race A No Go 

    Published on 12-19-2020 10:53 AM
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    2020 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race cancelled amid COVID-19 concerns

    It is with great regret that the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia announces that the 76th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race will not be proceeding in 2020.

    The impact of COVID-19 that ...
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    A Little Squirrelly In Sydney Harbor 

    Published on 12-01-2020 11:52 PM
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    18ft Skiffs
    NSW Championship, Race 2
    Sunday, 29 November 2020
    Sydney Harbour

    Fresh North West winds over 20-knots, with gusts up to 40-knots prior to race time, cast doubt over the Australian 18 Footers League being able to stage Race 2 of the NSW 18ft Skiff Championship on Sydney Harbour today, and finally ...
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    Cat Launching 101 

    Published on 12-01-2020 11:29 PM
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    Here’s that jump!
    Back in July 2020, the east coast of Australia was battered for a few days with a massive southerly storm that created huge swells. Jervis Bay on the south coast of NSW was one of the unfortunate places where 6 metre swells smashed our ...
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    Blustery Conditions On Sydney Harbor 

    Published on 11-02-2020 09:21 AM
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    18ft Skiffs
    Spring Championship, Race 4
    Sunday, 1 November 2020
    Sydney Harbour









    The Australian champion tech2 team of Jack Macartney, Charlie Wyatt and Lewis Brake gave a masterclass of power sailing with a brilliant victory in Race 4 of the Australian 18 Footers League's Spring 18ft Skiff Championship on Sydney Harbour today. ...
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    New Zealand Enforces It's Unwelcome Mat To Foreign Nationals 

    Published on 10-01-2020 02:09 PM
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    German yachties jailed until flight on Thursday



    Three German yachties who were refused entry to this country after arriving in the Bay of Islands have been jailed until they board a flight home on Thursday.

    Jacob Kraus, Sophia Ulbrich and Hans Borner were detained in custody in Auckland after they arrived in the Bay of Islands in breach of border restrictions on Friday afternoon.

    Borner and Kraus will be ...
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    Surfer defends wife from shark attack on Mid North Coast 

    Published on 08-17-2020 05:38 PM
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    The Sydney Morning Herald

    A surfer has jumped onto a great white shark and repeatedly punched the animal as it attacked his wife on the NSW Mid North Coast.

    Chantelle Doyle, 35, was attacked by the two- to three-metre shark at Shelly Beach in Port Macquarie on Saturday morning, sustaining ...
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    Abbreviating "Salty Old Sailors" Can Save Your Life 

    Published on 08-05-2020 02:07 PM
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    3 Men Marooned in the Pacific Are Rescued After Writing SOS in the Sand
    Three days after their boat ran out of fuel and drifted off course in Micronesia, the men were found in good condition after a plane saw their giant ...
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    Magnetic Island Race Week Succumbs To Corona 

    Published on 08-05-2020 10:54 AM
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    image©andrea francolini

    SeaLink Magnetic Island Race Week 2020 cancelled



    The SeaLink Magnetic Island Race Week (SMIRW) 2020 committee has made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s regatta, which was to ...
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    Foys Vision Realized 

    Published on 08-03-2020 08:41 AM
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    IF MARK FOY WAS ALIVE TODAY



    The man responsible for the birth of 18-Footer racing some 128 years ago (January 1892) was a leading Sydney retailer named Mark Foy, who was a keen sailor as well as being a very successful businessman with an acute eye for promotion.

    Mark Foy, the father of 18 Footers

    After moving to Sydney with his brother in 1885, the pair set up a business under the name of Mark Foy’s, then later opened a large retail department store near Hyde Park in the Sydney CBD area.
    In 1904, Foy also opened the Hydro Majestic Hotel at Medlow Bath ...
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    COVID Blues For Cruising Family 

    Published on 07-07-2020 11:06 AM
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    Covid 19 coronavirus: American family quits cold NZ, sails into Pacific navy blockade



    The Whitaker family from Texas on board their catamaran Zatara anchored off New Zealand during their voyage around the world.

    An American sailing family who left New Zealand last week to winter in warmer South Pacific climes have been barred from entering Tonga by a navy vessel.

    ...
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    Kulmar Family Values 

    Published on 06-11-2020 06:30 PM
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    THE KULMAR FAMILY

    1976 JJ GILTINAN WORLD 18ft SKIFF CHAMPIONS

    The 128-year history of Australia’s 18 Footers is famous for having generations of a family competing over many years. Occasionally, even two generations are competing together or against each other at the same time.

    What sets the Kulmar family apart from the traditional ‘family’ involvement is their unique achievement at the 1976 JJ Giltinan World Championship when ...
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    Canine Rescue Vi Foilboarder 

    Published on 06-01-2020 10:03 AM
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    Hydrofoil surfer rescues stranded dog after Kayak overturns
    Duration: 03:27





    An Australian resident on ...
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    US Yachtsman Missing, Presumed Dead In Mooloolaba 

    Published on 05-19-2020 11:53 AM
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    The empty yacht washed up on Mooloolaba Beach.(ABC News: Owen Jacques)

    Empty yacht runs aground
    In a second, unrelated, marine incident, a body was found after an empty yacht ran aground at Mooloolaba Beach.

    Owen Jacques ABC News

    Mr Middleton said residents reported seeing someone fall from the boat near Maroochydore.

    "Some people ...
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    Passing The South Cape 

    Published on 04-29-2020 12:11 PM
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    April 29th, 2020

    A Rat...

    We chase the sun Northeast over a gray sea. A few days from now, northerly gales will stymy any efforts at gaining latitude.

    My brother Jan, always in the present and mindful, reminded me this morning that the ocean cares nothing of accomplishment. His words were ...
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    18 Footers Club Goes Into Hibernation 

    Published on 04-06-2020 09:11 AM
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    Dear Members,

    Along with all the clubs in NSW, the pubs and the restaurants we closed our doors on 23rd March. 2020.

    We have been operating continually as a club since 1961 serving our members. ...
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    Honda Marine Completes JJ 3 Peat 

    Published on 03-19-2020 11:09 AM
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    18ft Skiffs
    JJ Giltinan Championship, Races 8 & 9

    Sponsored by Winning Group

    Thursday, 19 March 2020




    all images © Michael Chittenden





    Defending champion Honda Marine team of David McDiarmid, Matt Steven and Brad Collins took out the third consecutive JJ Giltinan 18ft Skiff Championship after another impressive performance in the final ...
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    Honda Marine's Big Rig Saves The Day 

    Published on 03-18-2020 11:50 AM
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    The defending champion Honda Marine team of David McDiarmid, Matt Steven and Brad Collins hold a narrow points lead over their nearest rival as the fleet goes into the final two races of the JJ Giltinan 18ft Skiff Championship on Sydney Harbour tomorrow.

    After each team drops the worst placing from the seven races sailed to date, Honda Marine leads former World champions Seve Jarvin, Sam Newton and Scott Babbage, in Winning Group, by just four points, so every placing in each of the two races will be critical.

    Honda Marine has a net total of 11 points, Winning Group is on 15 points. ...
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    JJ Giltinan Championship, Races 3, 4 and 5 

    Published on 03-17-2020 11:22 AM
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    18ft Skiffs

    JJ Giltinan Championship, Races 3, 4 and 5

    Three windward-return course races staged on Day 3 of the JJ Giltinan 18ft Skiff Championship on Sydney Harbour today produced three different winners in the light SE breeze.


    In the first race of the day (Race 3 of the championship) Shaw and Partners Financial Services (James Dorron, Harry Bethwaite, Tim Westwood) led all the way over the two-lap course to cross the finish line 13s ahead of Finport Finance (Keagan York, Matt Stenta, Angus Williams).

    Defending champion and series leader ...
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    JJ's Get Wet Weather For Race One 

    Published on 03-14-2020 01:25 PM
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    18ft Skiffs JJ Giltinan Championship, Race 1

    Sponsored by Winning Group

    Saturday, 14 March 2020





    Defending champion Honda Marine team of David McDiarmid, Matt Steven and Brad Collins began their attempt to win their third consecutive JJ Giltinan Championship when they scored a come-from-behind win in Race i of the 2020 championship on Sydney Harbour today. It wasn't until the seventh leg of ...
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    JJ Preview: Honda Shoots For Trifecta 

    Published on 03-10-2020 05:18 PM
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    TEAM HONDA MARINE GOING FOR THREE IN A ROW






    When the 24 boats contesting the 2020 JJ Giltinan 18ft Skiff Championship on Sydney Harbour from March 14-22, defending champion David McDiarmid could become the first New Zealand skipper to win three titles in the 82-year history of the world’s premier 18-Footer championship.



    David, Brad Collins and Matt Steven will head a three-boat team from New Zealand in their Honda Marine-sponsored skiff.



    They are joined by the experienced C-Tech team of Alex Vallings, Sam Trethewey and Matt Coutts, and the very much improved young Maersk Line team of Peron Pearse, Eli Liefting and Harry Clark.



    McDiarmid is quick to point out that the Honda Marine campaign is very much a team effort.



    David says: “It’s definitely not all about me. We are a three-man team and everyone is critical to our success.” ...
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