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Skiff sailors swap booties for sea boots

Home 2025 Skiff sailors swap booties for sea boots

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Juliet Costanzo grew up sailing Manly Juniors, Flying 11s, 29ers, Pacers and Elliott 7s in Pittwater, Sydney but on 26 December she will compete in the Rolex Sydney Hobart for the fourth time on Richard Hudson’s IC 45 MOD Pretty Woman.

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Constanzo will steer, navigate and call tactics at various times, while her older sister Clare is the navigator on board Tasmanian entry Ambition.

At just 26, Juliet has gone from strength to strength since she first started sailing at Avalon on Sydney’s Northern Beaches as a child. Her team won all four Australian Women’s Match Racing Championship events that she helmed.

Costanzo isn’t an outlier in the 1200-plus sailors that will embark on the 628 nautical mile race on 26 December, organised by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia.

Clare (left) and Juliet Costanzo in 2020 - CYCA/Salty Dingo pic.

A glance through the crew lists in the 80th Sydney Hobart Race program reveals a strong contingent of former and current dinghy and skiff sailors. They wear booties when sailing skiffs, swapping to sea boots for offshore racing.

From wind whisperer Iain Murray AM on board 100-footer Master Lock Comanche to offshore veteran Michael Spies, who will contest his 47th Sydney Hobart on board the 121-year-old Maritimo Katwinchar, the skiffies are hard to miss.

What are skiffs?

Dinghies and skiffs are small boats, typically ranging from around seven to 18 feet. Sailors learn to react instantly to wind shifts through steering and sail trim—fail to do so and the crew will potentially end up in ‘the drink’. With centreboards rather than heavy keels, these boats demand constant attention and fast decision-making.

An 18ft skiff racing in Sydney Harbour - SailMedia pic.

That responsiveness is exactly what yacht owners seek when they put together a crew for offshore races.

“Having those smaller boats to grow up on, you pick up the finer details because little boats are so sensitive, so lively,” Costanzo said.

“And because it’s so lively you feel a lot more comfortable in it and you know what it should feel like, even though [on a yacht] you’re not getting as much feedback as you would [on a dinghy].”

A large contingent of skiff sailors on board Celestial V70

Sam Haynes, skipper of Celestial V70, defending Overall champion of the Sydney Hobart, owes much of his success to his crew. Just over one third of the 15-strong crew are past and current skiff sailors. They are Jack Macartney (18ft skiffs), William McKenzie (49ers), Luke Parkinson (29ers/49ers/18ft skiffs), Lindsay Stead (18ft skiffs) and Harry West (18ft skiffs).

Macartney, an integral member of Haynes’ 2022 and 2024 Sydney Hobart Overall victories, is one of the most successful 18ft skiff sailors of his generation. In 2022, he became the fifth skipper in the then 87-year history of the Australian 18 Footers League to secure three consecutive Club Championship titles.

“Skiff sailors have a great feel [for the boat] and sailing ability through their background. And they are fit people, ready for anything,” Haynes said.

Like many of the Celestial crew, Marcus-Ashley Jones, long-time skipper of Anthony and David Johnston’s URM Group is also of 18ft skiff pedigree.

Ashley-Jones skippered the Reichel/Pugh 72 URM Group to Overall victory in the 2023/24 Audi Centre Blue Water Pointscore (ACBWPS) and second overall in the 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart. He compares the sensation of sailing the yacht in strong winds to the adrenaline rush of skiff racing and has his sights set on another Overall victory in the ACBWPS, which the yacht currently leads.

Marcus Ashley-Jones and Anthony Johnston on board URM Group - CYCA/Salty Dingo pic.

“It’s sailing at the limits in skiffs - and offshore racing has a similar DNA at times,” Ashley-Jones said. “There’s nothing more exhilarating than tearing downwind in 30 knots, wind and water across the boat.”

URM Group in action - CYCA/Andrea Francolini pic.

When Maritimo Katwinchar crew member Peter Vaiciurgis injured his hand two weeks out from the start of the 2025 Sydney Hobart, skipper Michael Spies knew just the person to call.

The 1993 and 1995 18ft Skiff world champion contacted current 18ft skiff Club Marine skipper Emma Rankin, whom he mentors.

Michael Spies on board Maritimo Katwinchar - ROLEX/Andrea Francolini pic.

Rankin is making waves on the 18 footers scene. Earlier this sailing season, the 26-year-old became the first female skipper to win a race in the 18ft Skiff NSW Championship. 

However, when Spies invited Rankin to join the five-strong crew on the Canadian red cedar yacht for the race, she did not rush her decision, unsure of whether she wanted to commit to a 628 nautical mile race on a 32ft yacht.

“I deliberated for about four days. I said yes on Tuesday [16 December]. So very last minute,” Rankin said. “I procrastinated on it for ages. I was like, ‘Oh god, do I really want to do it on such a small boat, it’s going to take forever’.”

Maritimo Katwinchar leaving Sydney Heads - CYCA/Ashley Dart pic.

But after discussing her dilemma with 18ft skiff crew member Brandon Buyink (who is sailing the Hobart on Oroton Drumfire) and with colleagues at Contender Sailcloth, she was convinced this was an opportunity not to miss.

“I spoke to a few people I know who've done Hobarts before and they said, ‘Do it.’ So I said yes,” Rankin said.

Emma Rankin and her 18ft skiff crew - SailMedia pic.

Despite her limited offshore experience, Rankin is confident her dinghy and skiff instincts will kick in. And she could have no better teacher than Spies, who has 46 Sydney Hobarts behind him.

“Just having that experience in a smaller boat where they’re not as heavy [as yachts] and a lot more responsive, definitely makes you a better sailor for sure,” Rankin said. “So, I’ll hopefully be able to bring that and steer Maritimo Katwinchar to the best of my ability.”

Other ‘skiffies’ competing in the 2025 Sydney Hobart:

Iain Murray – Master Lock Comanche

Adrienne Cahalan - Aragon

Andrew Hay - SHK Scallywag

Peter Vaiciurgis - Maritimo Katwinchar

Simon Nearn - Back 2 Black

Brett Van Munster - Back 2 Black

Ed Smyth - Back 2 Black

Stephen Polkinghorne - Back 2 Black

Joe De Kock - owner/skipper KD1

Tom Needham - LawConnect

Chris Nicholson - LawConnect

Adam Beashel - Master Lock Comanche

James Mayo - co-charterer, Master Lock Comanche

Niall Morrow - Moneypenny

Sam Newton - Master Lock Comanche

Eliza Solly - MRV

Yvette Heritage - Oroton Drumfire

Lachie Paramor - Oroton Drumfire

Ben Crafoord - Unicoin

Peter Harris - URM Group

Keagan York - Wild Thing 100

 

Greta Quealy/RSHYR media