Sharp Australian Youth Match Racing Championship - Day 3

by Olivia Price on 23 Oct 2016 Although Harry Price and Will Dargaville came ashore this afternoon comfortably ahead in their semi-final matches, it was the young and relatively inexperienced team of Tom Grimes who returned to the dock the biggest winner on Day 3 of the Sharp Australian Youth Match Racing Championship.

Grimes took race wins from the top three ranked overall in the regatta, Price, Dargaville and Hodgson, and also received the available invitation to the east coast of Australia’s biggest match racing event, World Sailing Grade Two, Musto International Youth Match Racing Championship next month, as Price, Dargaville and Hodgson have already been invited.

In complete contrast to the previous two days of racing at the Sharp Australian Youth Match Racing Championship, day three saw a cool change to an inconsistent southerly breeze for the remaining flights of the round robin qualifying stage. Over the last two and a half days the Race Committee, led by Denis Thompson, managed to complete 27 flights, or 108 individual races, a new record for CYCA, proving the professionalism and experience of the race management team.

Grimes came from behind in his matches against top seeds Price, Dargaville and Hodgson, to claim the fourth and final spot in the semi-finals this regatta, resulting in Western Australian, Ethan Prieto-Low and New South Welshwoman Clare Costanzo both missing out after a hard fought regatta. Queenslander, James Hodgson, now lies the lone non-New South Wales team left fighting for this year’s national title.

Harry Price’s near perfect record through the round robin stage saw his team qualify as top seed heading into the semi-finals. Price selected James Hodgson to race against, and quickly went two - zero up in the best-of-five series as the breeze freshened to 21 knots. Dargaville’s experience with the asymmetrical spinnakers proved too much for Grimes in their semi-finals; the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club skipper also taking an early two - zero lead in their semi-final match.

Tom Grimes commented, “We had a very good day today. We actually took out the win in round robin three. We were very happy with that, and are finally piecing it together. Heading into the semi-finals against Will, we thought we sailed alright. There’s still a few areas to improve on but we have identified a few problems and are ready to give him hell tomorrow.”

“Through this week’s Sharp Australian Youth Match Racing Championship, we have managed to qualify for the Grade Two Musto International Youth Match Racing Championship next month which we are extremely happy about. It was our aim this week to win that invitation, so to do that a day ahead of schedule is fantastic,” Grimes continued.

Tomorrow is the final day of the Sharp Australian Youth Match Racing Championship with a strong southerly continued to be predicted for racing. The Race Committee will complete the semi-finals before starting the finals at around midday in the vicinity of Rushcutters Bay. Racing can be followed live on the CYCA Youth Sailing Academy Facebook page or via the CYCA website.