skiff sailing

Melissa Yeomans

Aussie Skiffs competition is heating up

The Aussie Skiffs held there first round of NSW States over the weekend. So here is a quick run down of how I saw it focused on the 16’s due to those who work with us and long time DeckHardware Ambassadors competing.

The racing was awesome, I guess that is what happens when you have some serious skiff experience plus some big names dropping into the fleet.

The general recalls just added to the excitement along with the shipping movements… Clean air was king, especially off the line. With so many 16’s in a small waterway searching for a lane, that was a constant battle up the first work especially.

Tom Burton and Simon Hoffman with Warwick Rooklyn on River Wild certainly showed that they are quick in the light.

Nathan Wilmot back with his 470 crew Mal Page aboard Growthbuilt on Saturday showed even when your bow is on the centreboard you can still not swim. How they managed it with the fleet going around them I don’t know.

There are boats up the front that we all expected and some interesting movements in the fleet with some perhaps further back than expected. That is always going to happen when the top 10+ points are so tight.

Sail Racing is clearly quick with the new boat and a great skiff combo onboard. The battle at the front for the long race was awesome to watch. With Sail Racing, River Wild, Brydens Lawyers and Eric’s Storage battling it out at the end.

With three clubs represented in the Top 10 it certainly is shaping up to be a great season for the 16’s.

From a spectator perspective Port Hunter is amazing. Being able to watch the racing from shore there were plenty of sailors enjoying the racing. This is part of why when I would normally be at the Marine Equipment Trade Show in Amsterdam I decided to have a weekend away watching some great sailing up close instead.


Melissa Yeomans

Showcasing Allen to kickstart the new decade

Once again we finished the year on the Start Boat Boxing Day. It is always nice to spend such an intense day on the Harbour with a great team who make it feel smooth.


January 2020, you have kickstarted the new decade in style. With Allen sponsoring a heat at the Aussie Skiffs followed by being Title sponsor of the Flying 11 Nationals with LIROS Ropes also supporting both events.

This meant I am only just back in the office, I started with spending over a week at Soldiers Point. Massive thanks to my amazing host Cherylle who not only helped with somewhere to stay and taking care of me.

Big thanks to Jamie and the crew of Eric’s Storage who helped get the RIB out on the water, ensuring as much coverage as possible for the Skiffs. Whilst also trying to be there as a sponsor. It is a bit of a balance but I think we are getting there. After all content for them is good for us as a sponsor right!

Congratulations also to the crew of Eric’s Storage on the race win!

Aussie Skiff onshore action

Check out a bunch of content on our Facebook Page.

I think we are starting to settle into having the RIB and working out the best layout and way to do things. It is a work in progress but I certainly am happy with how it is going. Massive thanks to those who came out on the boat at the Skiffs to enable me to get some content of our own and to help with the media aspect especially Maddie, Kate and Jamie. There certainly were times and conditions when it helped to have skiff sailors aboard as second sets of eyes whilst driving.

Special mention also to Team Boatec who checked out the issues I was having with the backseat and check out how we should do the longer road trips. It was also awesome to see so many Allen shirts on back at the club for the Allen Race Sponsorship. Thanks to Eric’s Storage, Adco 16ft Skiff, Taylor and all who put them on. It means a lot.

Next up was to head to RQYS for the F11’s representing Allen which was extremely exciting to be going as the main sponsor. I had actually competed in a F11 Nationals at RQYS so it brought back a lot of memories.  Once again I had a former Adams 10m sailor who I had raced against offer to drive the RIB so I could focus on being a sponsor. I can not say thank you enough to Adam Rowlison.

You can check out all the images on our DeckHardware Facebook page. To see our flags flying at the F11’s is something special as was walking into the club house one day and seeing one of my old F11 friends who I had not seen in years! She was there to watch some family racing and we had a long overdue catch up.

Before heading back to the warehouse I had one more very important part of the trip to complete. A visit north to see my 2-handed crew / bow chick Kate who now lives a LONG way north. Not only was it amazing to catch up and spend some time together, it was also pretty special meeting for the first time her Son. Who is super cute and in need of a lifejacket before my next visit! Kate you have been told hahahaha. Luckily it was raining so we didn’t get around to taking him out on the water. I know Kate is itching to get out there and looking at where she is living I can see some attempts at kitesurfing in her future.

What’s next? I have no idea as so much of the last few months has been building up to all this. Bring on the rest of the year though.