Girls upstage defending champion in Hardy Cup

by Peter Campbell on 6 Feb 2006 The only all-women crew in the Hardy Cup under 25 international match racing regatta, skippered by Katie Spithill, upstaged defending champion Michael Dunstan on the opening day of racing on Sydney Harbour today.

Katie and her crew of Kylie McKillop, Stacey Jackson and Nina Curtis, not only recovered from a ‘woman overboard’ incident in the lead-up manoeuvring, but after the flight successfully protested Dunstan over a racing rules incident.

Katie, from Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club and sister of the America’s Cup helmsman James Spithill, won three other flights to finish with four wins and two losses in the opening round-robin. (The women are allowed to sail with a crew of four to compensate for the heavier male crews).

The Hardy Cup, an ISAF Grade 3 Match Racing Regatta, opened in a classic Sydney summer north-easterly sea breeze that freshened from 6-8 knots in the morning to 15 knots, with gusts of 22 knots in the afternoon.

The racing was held in clear waters off Point Piper, with a magnificent backdrop of the Sydney Opera House, the Harbour Bridge and the tall buildings of the CBD.

Top scoring team was the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, comprising helmsman Seve Jarvin and his crew of Rob Bell and Sam Newton, with five straight wins.

Their day began with their Elliot 6 sports boat being t-boned by the German team skippered by Max Gurgel from the Hamburger Segel Club. They went on to complete the race, and beat the Germans; subsequently scoring wins against their major competition, including Michael Dunstan (Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron) and New Zealanders Simon Minoprio (Vision Yacht, Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron), Hayden Swanson (Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club) and Graeme Sutherland (Royal Akarana Yacht Club).

Minoprio, who has an ISAF world ranking of 23, sailed impressively for four wins and his one loss to Jarvin. He outsailed Michael Dunstan (ISAF ranking 24), Katie Spithill and fellow New Zealander Hayden Swanson in his other flights.

Dunstan, who bows out of the Hardy Cup after this year’s event because of his age, had a mediocre day with only two wins, including one against the other RSYS skipper, Mark Dorling, who finished the day with four wins and that one loss to Dunstan.

The young West Australian helmsmen Keith Swinton (South of Perth Yacht Club) and Torvar Mirsky (Fremantle Sailing Club) finished the day with two wins and one win respectively.

Graeme Sutherland from New Zealand’s Royal Akarana Yacht Club followed up his impressive effort in Perth last week with four wins in five flights. The other New Zealanders, .Laurie Jury (Kiwi Match, Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron) and Hayden Swanson from Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club at Wellington had just one win each.

Germany’s Max Gurgel, after his unfortunate opening flight failed to win a flight, while Alexis Littzoz-Baritel from France sailed well with four wins with his Australian crew of Kyle Langford and Evan Walker.

Competition in the Hardy Cup today clearly underlined the high standard of Australian and New Zealand match racing, particularly among young sailors.

The round robins of the Hardy Cup will resume tomorrow morning with the regatta continuing through to Thursday.