When three 22-year-old sailors win a world championship---in this case the JJ Giltinan regatta---in a high-performance class traditionally dominated by veterans, one might wonder if . . . but stop right there.

'The Worlds were no fluke,' said Mike Martin, longtime crew for Howard Hamlin, the triple defending champion of this seventh 18' Skiff International Regatta hosted by the host St. Francis Yacht Club. 'Those guys are sailing well.'

Those guys are Australia's Seve Jarvin and crew Sam Newton and Tom Clout, who won Tuesday's two races wire to wire with Hamlin, Martin and Paul Allen fighting for two second places in the 11-boat fleet.

Jarvin's red boat Gotta Love It, named for its Channel 7 TV sponsor in Sydney, and Hamlin's Wild Oats appeared to be following the same road map through the San Francisco Bay subtleties of hefty breeze and clashing currents in winds building from 14 to 20 knots through the afternoon.

Jarvin, asked if he was covering or following Hamlin from ahead, said, 'A bit of both, I think. This is the first time we've raced here so we watched him a bit to see how he was doing it. We're also a new crew so we thought we'd go out and pick it up as we went along.'

They must be quick learners, but part of that probably comes from their patron, Iain Murray, one of the legends of the 116-year-old class, and his 18 Skiff crew, Andrew Palfrey, who has been coaching Jarvin and his pals. Murray, meantime, was preparing to race a Star in the Olympics at Qingdao later this week.

Martin said, 'Those guys are sailing exceptionally well and with exceptional speed, but sailing conservatively and going where we go. They were beating us by sailing the boat better.'

Overall, this may be the strongest fleet ever in this event with six boats from the class's deep roots in Australia and two-time JJ Giltinan winner Hamlin and four wannabes from the Bay area. They raced a 1.75-nautical mile windward-leeward course, first 2 1/2 times around and then three times around, finishing downwind.

Another former world champion, John Winning, shares third place with fellow Aussie Brett Van Munster.

Eight more races are scheduled over the next four days. Racing starts at 1 p.m. PDT, conditions permitting. Competitors may discard their worst scores after four races and another one after 10, which include the annual Ronstan Bridge to Bridge classic late Friday afternoon when the 18s will join the kite boarding and windsurfing crowds for the 5 1/2-mile downwind dash from under the Golden Gate to the Oakland Bay Bridge inside the bay.

Standings(after 2 of 10 races):

1. Gotta Love It, Seve Jarvin/Sam Newton/Tom Clout, Sydney, Australia, 1-1, 2 points.

2. Wild Oats, Howard Hamlin/Mike Martin/Paul Allen, Long Beach, Calif., 2-2, 4.

3. Yandoo, John Winning/Andrew Hay/David Gibson, Sydney, 3-5, 8.

4. Kinder Care Home Nursing, Brett Van Munster/Paul Montague/Ayden Mezies, Sydney, 4-4, 8.

5. Active Air, Matthew Searle/ Dan Wilsdon/Archie Massey, Sydney, 6-3, 9.

6. SLAM, Grant Rollerson/Matt Noble/David Mann, Perth, Australia, 5-9, 14.

7. Panasonic, Jonathan Whitty/Tom Anderson/John Herman Winning, Sydney, 7-7, 14.

8. Harken, Joey Pasquali/Chad Freitas/Rory Giffen, Santa Cruz, Calif., 9-6, 15.

9. Cabot Cheese, Patrick Whitmarsh/Danny Cayard/Joe Penrod, San Francisco, 10-8, 18.

10. Skiffsailing.org., Jonny Goldsberry/Jay Scott/Andy Casey, Alameda, Calif., 8-12/DNF, 20.

11. Natural Blues, Dan Brandt/Cooper Dressler/Pike Harris, San Francisco, 12/DNF-10, 22.

by Rich Roberts

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