Mirsky – 21 and Facing off against the Best

by Lynn Fitzpatrick US Editor Sail-World.com on 28 Nov 2007 Torvar Mirsky. You haven’t heard of him yet? You will, for years to come. At 21 years old, Mirsky is making his fourth appearance on the World Match Racing Tour circuit. He’s the youngest skipper here at the Monsoon Cup, which organisers bill as sailing’s richest regatta.

Mirsky grew up sailing Mirrors, 420’s and Lasers – all of the traditional junior sailing boats in Western Australia. He stood out as a junior dinghy helmsman, and five years ago his yacht club picked him to sail the Warren Jones Regatta, at the time, an ISAF Grade 3 event for sailors under 25 years of age. Mirsky rounded up some local teammates and off they went to their first match racing regatta. Mirsky reflected, 'I remember the first pre-start of that regatta. I had no idea what was going on. I just approached from port and didn’t even try to engage.' It didn’t take his team long to figure out the discipline. They finished third in their first Warren Jones Regatta.

Mirsky’s finish at the Warren Jones Regatta put him on the invitee list for other youth match racing regattas in Australia. 'It was great fun. The regattas were for youth under twenty years old. It was a really good culture. When we go to Sydney we stay with friends there and when they come to Perth and Fremantle, they stay with us.' Five years later, Mirsky and crew won the twelve-team 2007 Warren Jones Regatta. It was a big stepping stone for Mirsky and his core crew of Kinley Fowler and Graeme Spence from Perth who have been racing together for the past two years.

Mirsky’s last appearance on the World Match Racing Tour was at the Victoria Brasil Sailing Cup less than two weeks ago. The team finished seventh at the regatta. What he has managed to do in Western Australia and on the World Match Racing Tour is put himself in the way of good luck. While down in Brazil he was given the invitation to the Monsoon Cup.

At 21, how could you pass up the invitation to go toe to toe with some of the world’s best match racing teams for the biggest purse in sailing? For Mirsky and his crew, there was no doubt that they would do whatever it took to find their way to Terengganu, Malaysia. Mirsky has put his university studies on hold. While some of his crew have completed their studies, at nineteen years old, Kinley Fowler, has postponed matriculation.

With nothing to lose and everything to gain, including a potential sponsorship deal with Shacks Holding Fremantle, an automobile dealership, the team’s aspirations are high and the pressure is almost non-existent. They have the perfect recipe to be the regatta spoiler.

Their ultimate goal is the America’s Cup. It may be a few years down the road, even after Justice Cahn's ruling today, but what’s to stop a Torvar Mirsky and his buddies from dreaming and continuing to get some fantastic experience at what he refers to as 'one of the pinnacles of match racing events'- the Monsoon Cup.

In the Vitória Brasil Cup two weeks ago, Mathieu Richard (FRA) and his Saba Sailing Team of Yannick Simon, Olivier Herledant, Greg Evrard, Thierry Briend took the lead in the World Match Racing Tour standings, putting former leader Ian Williams (GBR) of Team Pindar into second position, now 8 points behind Richard.

With double points at stake, the top six skippers have arrived in Pulau Duyong Terengganu to compete.

ISAF Match Racing World Championship Leaderboard
1. Mathieu Richard (FRA) Saba Sailing Team, 140 points *
2. Ian Williams (GBR) Team Pindar, 132 points *
3. Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Shosholoza, 115 points *
4. Sébastien Col (FRA) Areva Challenge, 93 points *
5. Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Team Apport.net, 87 points *
6. Peter Gilmour (AUS) PST, 66 points *

Joining them will be:

Jesper Radich (AUS) - Radich Racing Team
Staffan Lindberg (FIN) - Alandia Sailing Team
Katie Spithill (AUS) - Team Acuity
Torvar Mirsky (AUS) - Torvar Mirsky Team
Adam Minoprio (NZL) - BlackMatch Racing
Tiffany Koo (MAS) - Selangor UK Halsey Gapurna

The Monsoon Cup is the final Stage, of the 2006-07 season. In its third year the Monsoon Cup has maintained its prominent position on the World Tour. Offering what is said to be the richest prize purse for a sailing event, RM1 million ($300,000).

Duyong Island at the mouth of the Terengganu River plays host to the Monsoon Cup where the purpose built sailing facility acts as a grandstand overlooking the racing area making a spectacular setting for this final event. The Monsoon Cup will be sailed in the identically matched and supplied Bakewell-White designed Foundation 36's with 5 crew. Live coverage on Saturday and Sunday between 1400-1600 (UTC +8), including the semi-finals and finals, will be shown on Eurosport, Star Sports Asia, Showtime Arabia and Sky NZ.