Torvar Mirsky wins Warren Jones Youth Regatta.

by John Roberson on 8 Feb 2008 West Australian skipper Torvar Mirsky became the first Australian to put his name on the Warren Jones Youth Regatta trophy for a second time, when he beat New Zealand’s Adam Minoprio in the final on the Swan River.

This was the battle of the two immediate previous winners, with Mirsky defending the trophy, while Minoprio had won in 2006.

The young skipper who was in fifth place at the end of the first day, admitted to being surprised he’d been able to come back and win, because of the high standard of the competition.

“At the start of the event we lost a few races, we were still finding our feet, but towards the end we stepped it up and really put everything we had into it, and we weren’t making so many mistakes,” he explained.

In the best of three race final series the local skipper stamped his authority on the game in the first confrontation, decisively winning the start, and controlling the race throughout.

The Kiwis took the second race after Mirsky misjudged the start, and despite several strong challenges could not break through to grab the lead.

In the decider the two boats came off the starting line evenly, but Mirsky and his team seemed able to squeeze a fraction more speed out of their boat, and quickly established a small advantage, which they managed to defend to the finish.

Adam Minoprio had dominated the regatta through the early stages, while Torvar Mirsky only claimed his place in the final at the end of the qualifying series, but carried the momentum of his improving form through into the final.

In the petit final, another New Zealander, Laurie Jury, beat Perth skipper Robert Gibbs 2 – 0 to take third place.

The last day of the regatta produced yet more testing conditions for the young crews, with strong and shifty easterly winds, and at times torrential rain.

Mirsky, from Fremantle, is the top ranked youth skipper in the world, having had a successful season last year in Europe.

The regatta is organised by the Western Australian Yachting Foundation, and was hosted this year by the Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club.

RESULTS:

1 Torvar Mirsky AUS
2 Adam Minoprio NZL
3 Laurie Jury NZL
4 Robert Gibbs AUS
5 Phil Robertson NZL
6 Evan Walker AUS
7 Keith Swinton AUS
8 Stuart Pollard AUS
9 Tom Spithill AUS
10 John Back SWE
11 Richard McPharlin AUS
12 Dylan Clark AUS