Club Marine NSW Youth Match Racing - Results after Round Robin One

by Jennifer Crooks on 2 Aug 2014 Harry Price and his crew of Angus Williams, Finn Gilbert and Owen Long are the current clubhouse leaders at the conclusion of Round Robin One in the Club Marine NSW Youth Match Racing Championship, conducted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA).

Price, who represents the host club, finished the day with eight wins and one loss on his scorecard and is pleased how his crew has improved. 'Our boat handling improved throughout the day. We lost our match against Clare Costanzo because of boat handling issues,' Price said.

'In our match against Sam Ellis we got locked out at the pin end of the line in the last 30 seconds of the pre-start and were playing catch-up for the rest of the race. On the last downwind run Sam had halyard issues, which was a bit of bad luck for him but worked out in our favour. We were able to establish overlap, pull out a nice gybe and race for the finish,' he added

It was a tough day on water for Sam Ellis and his crew of Cameron Gundy, Zac Molin and Vardon Robson, who managed to finish second on the leader board despite losing two matches.

'I was a bit disappointed with the last race as the halyard issue was something we couldn’t control and it cost us the match. It was a game changer – Harry did a good job of wrapping us up after that,' Ellis said.

'Our other loss was to Clare Costanzo when we managed to wrap the kite around the forestay. Apart from those two matches I’m happy with how we’re sailing. We were able to establish a controlling position and sail fast.

'Lots of lessons learnt today and I’m excited for tomorrow,' Ellis added.

Malcolm Parker and his crew of Sam Trehane, Dieter Knerim, Pia Doyle and Josh Dawson, representing the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, finished third with seven wins and two losses.

'I’m happy with our performance – it was a long tough day on water,' Parker said. 'We sailed well and I’m hoping to improve tomorrow.'

Race Officer Robyn Tames pushed through 45 matches completing Round Robin 1 in gusty and trying conditions.

'We started off with a 15-20 knot westerly and set the course north of Clarke Island. This held for two flights and then the breeze shifted 90 degrees to the south and the course was moved back to Rushcutters Bay,' Tames said.

'Winds averaged 12-16 knots with a top gust of 24 knots. The sailors performed well in these conditions which are at the upper limits for match racing,' she added

Racing is scheduled to commence at 1000hrs tomorrow, 3 August, with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting south east to south westerly winds of 10 to 15 knots decreasing to about 10 knots throughout the morning.

Club Marine has been the naming rights sponsor of the NSW Match Racing Championship since 2004 and has recently renewed its naming rights sponsorship of this regatta up to and including the 2016 edition. Club Marine also sponsors one of the Elliott 7 boats and the CYCA’s Club Marine Wednesday Twilight series.

Racing will be conducted in the vicinity of Rushcutters Bay and live results from each match will be posted on the CYCA website via http://www.cyca.com.au/youth/club-marine-nsw-youth-mr-championship-2014/live-results/

Standings at the conclusion of Round Robin One

1st – Harry Price (CYCA) – 8 wins, 1 loss

2nd – Sam Ellis (CYCA) – 7 wins, 2 losses

3rd – Malcolm Parker (RPAYC) – 7 wins, 2 losses

4th – Will Dargaville (RPAYC) – 6 wins, 3 losses

5th - Clare Costanzo (RPAYC) – 6 wins, 3 losses

6th - Milly Bennett (RPAYC) – 4 wins, 5 losses

7th – Dylan Gore (RYCT) – 3 wins, 6 losses

8th – Emma May (CYCA) – 2 wins, 7 losses

9th – Eddie Moult (RSYS) - 1 wins, 8 losses

10th - Claudia Thackray (RSYS) – 1 win, 8 losses