Centreport International Youth Match Racing Championships - Day 2

by RPNYC Events on 18 Feb 2011
The CentrePort International Youth Match Racing Championships is being held in the Wellington Inner Harbour and features the top Under 21 skippers in Australasia plus Valerio Galati who is an exciting newcomer from Italy’s Lega Navale Italiana Trani.

Other top skippers are Jordan Reece and Jay Griffin from Australia, Cody Banks from the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and the two local helms Josh Porebski and Tim Coltman. Also two female skippers are taking part, Anita Trudgen from Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club and Stephanie Doyle form Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club.

The racing is well ahead of schedule after race officer Ken Burt got 12 flights off today in a steady 10 – 15 knot northerly.

All the teams got used to the rather unfamiliar Elliott 6’s, having just come from the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron’ Youth International sailed in Elliott 7’s. This made the racing more exciting to watch and more intense. A turning point in the regatta was between Galati and Griffin when Griffin ended Galati’s early dominance by forcing him over the line with two outstanding penalties. This was Galati’s second loss of the whole regatta. The upset of the day came between Porebski and Trudgen. Porebski managed to clean out Trudgen in the prestart however the young girls managed to pick a large right hand windshift to take the lead, they then covered well to take an exciting three second victory.

Burt is looking to complete the rest of the second round robin tomorrow and then move into the semi finals. With a very uncharacteristic Wellington forecast of 10 knots for the remaining two days, we are looking forward to another two days of exciting match racing to decide the winner of the 2011 CentrePort International Youth Match Racing Championships.