Victory for Lazarus Capital Partners in the 18ft Skiff Balmain Cup
by Frank Quealey 30 Jan 19:34 PST
30 January 2026
A 20-knots plus North East wind gave the Australian 18 Footers League fleet a challenging late afternoon series of three windward-leeward races on Sydney Harbour yesterday (Friday, 30 January) to determine the outcome of the annual Balmain Cup.
With a number of capsizes before the racing began, it was obviously going to be a tough day out for the crews, and the prediction was correct as the series produced three different race winners and saw race officials reduce the final two races from the scheduled two laps to one lap of the course.
After the three races, Lazarus Capital Partners (Tom Cunich, Marc Chapon and Rory Cox), with two fourth placings followed by a win in the third race, claimed victory with an overall score of 9 points, one ahead of Yandoo (Micah Lane, Fang Warren and Andy Martin) with a win, a third and sixth placing. Sixt (Jacob Marks, Alex Marinelli and Matt Doyle) also finished oon 10 points with a second, third and fifth placings.
The day began brilliantly for the recently-crowned Australian champion Balmain team (Henry Larkings, Tom Grimes and Lachlan Pryor) which grabbed an early lead to take out the first race over a two-lap course. The orange coloured flyer led narrowly from Brisbane's GC Sails at the weather mark and held off the Queenslander's challenge to comfortable win when GC Sails capsized on the final gybe to the finish.
In Race 2, Yandoo won the start from Balmain with Sixt, Shaw and Partners Financial Services (Keagan York), The Kitchen Maker (Lachlan Steel) and Smeg also prominent early.
On such a short course (one lap), when Yandoo held a 20s lead at the weather mark, the experienced crew was never going to let a win slip from its grasp and defeated Balmain narrowly with Smeg (Ash Rooklyn, Ricky Bridge and Niall Morrow) in third place.
With only one point separating Balmain (3 points) and Yandoo (4 points) the stage was set for a great final race between the two champion teams. The nearest challengers were Sixt (7 points) followed by Smeg and Lazarus, which were both on 8 points.
At the weather mark it was GC Sails which held a narrow lead with Lazarus, Yandoo and Balmain hot on the norther's tail as the fleet racing downwind for the finish line.
The Balmain team almost had its hands on the Balmain Cup when it raced into second place behind Lazarus but a capsize on the final run threw everything away and appeared to assure Yandoo a series victory.
Nothing could be taken as guaranteed on such a crazy day. Yandoo was unable to set a spinnaker and was forced to limp home in sixth place behind Lazarus, GC Sails (Scott Cunningham, Joel Turner and Dave Cunningham), Sixt, Vaikobi (Kirk Mitchell) and Smeg.
The fleet is back on Sydney Harbour tomorrow for the annual Queen of the Waves and another race for the League's season point score. The usual spectator ferry will follow the racing and SailMedia will livestream all the action.