2014 Club Marine NSW Youth MR Champ - Harry Price ready for battle

by Jennifer Crooks on 1 Aug 2014 2014 Club Marine NSW Youth MR Championship - Fresh from his silver medal in the Olympic 49er under 21 category last month, Harry Price and his crew of Angus Williams, Finn Gilbert and Owen Long are primed and ready to do battle with nine teams competing in this weekend’s Club Marine NSW Youth Match Racing Championship, conducted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA).

Price, the highest ranked skipper in this regatta, together with Williams have spent the past two months overseas competing in 49er regattas and have returned home with lots of lessons learnt. The duo will jump back into the Elliott 7s with Gilbert and Long, whom they have trained with in the CYCA’s Advanced Match Racing Squad.

Last year, Price finished second in the Australian Youth Match Racing Championship and third in the Musto International Youth Match Racing Championship, both of which were hosted by the CYCA.

Sam Ellis has gone from strength to strength since joining the CYCA’s Youth Sailing Academy. Ellis won his first major overseas regatta in June – the Oceania of Sail Match Racing class; and was part of the CYCA’s Governor’s Cup team that finished eighth last month.

Emma May skippers the only all-girl crew and has just completed her first offshore race – the Land Rover Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race on board St Jude. 'It was such an awesome experience – I learnt a lot and am looking forward to my first Rolex Sydney Hobart later this year,' May said.

One of the key objectives of the CYCA, when it created the Youth Sailing Academy over 20 years, was to future-proof the sport by developing young sailors through its match racing programs who could then crew for CYCA members and develop into keelboat and offshore racers.

In late July, May and crew placed fifth in the Victorian Match Racing Championship and has been selected to represent the CYCA at the Australian Women’s Match Racing Championship in Perth in September.

Four teams will represent the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club headed by Malcolm Parker, Milly Bennett, Will Dargaville and Clare Costanzo. Bennett won the Marinassess Women’s match racing regatta in March this year, placed second in the Australian Women’s titles last September and won the 2013 Australian University Yacht Racing Championship.

Dylan Gore will fly the flag for the Apple Isle and Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania whilst the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron fields two teams led by Eddie Moult and Claudia Thackray.

Club Marine has sponsored 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.

'Club Marine is a proud to part of the development of youth sailing and our longstanding partnership with the CYCA provides us the perfect opportunity to continue our support,' Corey Yeung, Club Marine’s State Manager for NSW and Queensland said.

'There aren’t many better places to watch our future champions compete than Sydney Harbour,' he added.

Racing is scheduled to commence at 1015hrs on Saturday 2 August and continue until Sunday 3 August. The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting a mostly sunny weekend with west to south westerly winds of 15 to 20 knots tending south to southwesterly 10 to 15 knots on Saturday afternoon. On Sunday, the breeze is predicted to be from the south west turning southerly at about 10 knots.