The Australian Sailing Team secured a landmark first victory in the Manly 16ft Skiff Club fleet during Saturday’s 15th short course race of the season, fulfilling a trio of ambitious goals that have shaped their campaign. When the team entered the fleet earlier this year, the objectives were clear: provide pathway athletes with regular competitive racing, champion mixed gender sailing, and forge meaningful ties with the local sailing community.
Performance Pathway athletes Seisia Mair, a 49erFX female skipper, Keizo Tomishima from the 49er crew program, and retired 49erFX sailor Molly Highfield combined to claim the breakthrough result in light and challenging conditions. They are part of a broader group of 19 Australian Sailing Team members who have raced at Manly this season in what has become a mutually rewarding partnership between the national squad and the club.
Highfield, who is currently completing a PhD on female athletes in Olympic sailing pathways, described the initiative as invaluable. She explained that the AST boat was organised primarily with double-handed development pathway athletes in mind, though sailors ranging from pre-emerging to elite level have also rotated through the crew on various weekends, particularly those who lacked existing connections into the fleet.
Being embedded in the Manly fleet offers a practical way for athletes to stay connected to the grassroots sailing scene while managing the intense demands of high-performance sport and everyday life. Crucially, it provides access to quality fleet racing throughout the Australian summer without the expense and logistics of shipping boats overseas.
Reflecting on the historic win, Highfield said she was chuffed for the team to finally notch a result against such a competitive fleet. She described it as a stay-in-pressure race, noting that spotting the breeze from the bow was particularly tricky due to the swell. Strong communication onboard proved essential, with the crew focusing on precise boat handling, dynamic positioning on the wire, and powering through troughs while avoiding windward heel.
Highfield added that the entire crew derived immense joy from the outing. She said she always appreciates the opportunity to sail and is gradually getting to know the people in the Manly skiff community. The shared enthusiasm for skiff sailing meant everyone was eager to push the boat as hard as possible while having fun doing it.
The result also represented another milestone for mixed gender sailing, a movement that continues to gain momentum across the sport. Highfield noted that it is very positive to see mixed gender racing increasingly normalised from the ground up by the sailing community, and in some cases driven from the top down through policy changes.
She emphasised that sailing possesses a remarkable capacity to be a sport for development, and mixed gender competition is one powerful avenue for achieving that. However, she stressed the importance of ensuring mixed spaces across the sport consistently and sincerely dismantle historical barriers so that women can contribute, belong, and develop themselves.
In the remaining results from Saturday’s race, IMEI crewed by Joel Beashel, Flynn Twomey, and Rob Napper finished second behind the AST entry. Red Pumps Red, sailed by Zoe Dransfield, Hugh Stodart, and Jamie Stodart, rounded out the podium in third place.
Attention now shifts to the final heat of the Manly club championship scheduled for next Saturday, where the fleet will look to cap off what has been a compelling season of racing on Sydney’s northern beaches.
