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A third world title is the main aim but the crew of Honda Marine also have another goal in mind when they compete at this month's JJ Giltinan Trophy in Sydney.
The trio want to bring the event, which is regarded as the world championships of 18-foot skiff racing, back to Auckland and believe the 2021 edition would be ideal because it would coincide nicely with the America's Cup.
The JJs used to rotate around Sydney, Auckland, Brisbane and even Perth from its inception in the late 1930s but Sydney has had a stranglehold on the event for most of the last 30 years.
The Honda Marine team of Dave McDiarmid, Matt Steven and Brad Collins petitioned organisers last year to re-install Auckland as a host venue but made little headway. They will raise the issue again when competing in Sydney next month and believe they have considerable support from their fellow competitors.
"We still want to hold an event in Auckland at some point and winning a third title will help the argument," Steven said. "We were told if we won two we would have the chance to hold an event but that obviously didn’t happen. I guess we just need to win it again.
"From what we have heard, most of the sailors would be pretty happy to come here. We’ll look to get others in the fleet to help us with the argument.
"We are probably not going to keep going back to Sydney forever. It’s not like we are going to purposely boycott it but they’re at risk of losing the international status if we don’t show up."
Honda Marine won in dominant fashion last year, wrapping up the title with a day to spare, and will start as favourites to win a third when racing gets under way on March 14.
Only three New Zealand boats will compete this time around but Auckland Sailing Club Skiff League president Graham Catley is working to increase the popularity of the class here from the nine boats presently in the fleet.
Honda Marine will go into the JJs a little underdone compared to previous seasons, largely due to the fact McDairmid welcomed a new baby recently and because of the impact of the Hyundai 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 world championships sailed out of the Royal Akarana Yacht Club.
"We've condensed our sailing into a couple of months but we are pretty excited to get back there," Steven said. "We have an idea of who the top teams will be from watching their racing and it will be similar to last year.
"We think we are going quite well, as well as last year, but you never quite know until you line up for the first race."
- Pic: Dave McDiarmid, Matt Steven and Brad Collins celebrate winning their second JJ Giltinan Trophy. Photo: Live Sail Die.
