On the weight of numbers, it's shaping up to be city versus country stoush between the powerhouse Manly and Belmont clubs, whose on-water rivalry runs as long and deep as those of their 1997 NRL Grand Final counterparts, the Sea Eagles and Knights.

The Queenslanders are largely staying clear this year because of COVID-related uncertainty, with only two of a predicted six skiffs now venturing south of the Tweed.

Belmont 16s Commodore James Griffiths says the interclub competition adds some good-natured spice, with Manly having boasted some of the sport's legendary surnames over past decades.

"Manly dominated the results for a number of years and I guess we perceived them to be reasonably well-heeled, whereas the Belmont fleet comprises your tradies and miners who grafted a performance," Griffiths says.

That said, Belmont is hardly a poor cousin in terms of size, with almost 50,000 social members, nor in its history.

"We're entering our club's 100th anniversary of sailing in 2022, so we're thrilled to continue the history and tradition with such strong fleets," Griffiths says.

"And we're delighted to host the Red Pumps national titles in this important year.

"There's a real air of enthusiasm surrounding the club."

Belmont's River Wild and Newcastle Financial Planning Group (NFPG) claimed the quinella in the last nationals, a light-air affair held at Gosford.

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Manly then hit back in last month's heavy-wind NSW titles, with third-placed Contender Sailcloth best of the Lake boats.

Any thoughts of a home-ground advantage were erased in a recent Belmont club championship race where Manly's Growthbuilt gate-crashed the party and won handsomely in testing, second-rig conditions.

Aboard were Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page, the most successful 470 class competitors in history, along with Lake legend and former Australian champion Brett Davis.

Insight Building Services played tug-of-war with the Sydney crew while gradually gapping their own fleet.

In fact, 'insight' was the key word for skipper Rod Carter and crew Adam Gilson and Andrew Stone, who gained a valuable lesson in driving their skiff to its limits.

"We can go into the nationals with a bit of confidence," Carter says.

"The boat is certainly going quick and we're sailing really well, but this will be an all-new ball game.

"Any one of about 10 boats can win, but we'll give it a shake if we can string together a consistent series."

Australian Moth champion Scott Babbage, who was also part of the Gotta Love It 7 18-Foot skiff crew, is helming the SKE Electrical skiff this season with sailmaker Scott Beeby on sheet and Joel Skelton on the bow.

They're the only crew to take a club championship race off Insight this season and remain a dark horse with impeccable DNA.

"We haven't been starting overly well, but if we can get off the line with clear air we can be pretty quick at times," Babbage says, modestly.

"We've found a good mode with the big rig and it helps to have two big guys on the trap."

Elsewhere in the fleet are a smattering of the old and new - Steven Chapman on One Too Many and Pepsi Max's Ross Stutchbury in the former category as skippers - and 13ft Skiff graduate Will Divola in the latter.

Bella Group's Georgia Steenson, 17, is the youngest female skipper and she will be competing against her older brother Thomas and uncle Michael Quirk on Domino's.

Registration and measurement will be held on January 1.

Racing starts the following day then runs until Saturday, January 8.

COVID-safe plans are in place for the event.

Sad, but understandable, to see that the 58th Sabot National Titles and Sabot Week has been postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 risk. It was due to have been hosted this week by Teralba Sailing Club, with the support of Lake Macquarie City Council.

The Northern NSW association cited the continuing escalation of Lake Macquarie case numbers, delays with test results, and a significant reduction of the social activities associated with the event as their reasoning.

The previous nationals were also delayed until July this year, due to the Northern Beaches lockdown, but a number of Sydney families still missed out because of a subsequent Queensland border closure. Even without them, the Townsville-based nationals hosted over 40 entries.

Around 50 were set to come to Teralba from as far afield as North Queensland and Tasmania.

"We were one of the first national titles to be held," class president Mark Greenwood said. "Already, though, five families from the Northern region were having to isolate as casual contacts of a school case, so it's the right decision."

There's no announcement as yet on the rescheduled date.

In a blow for South Lake Macquarie Amateur Sailing Club, the national championship for the Impulse dinghy has also been postponed. It followed the withdrawal of the Victorian and Queensland contingent, bringing the entry list to 19 boats. With these numbers the event would have incurred a considerable financial loss.

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