Please select your home edition
Edition
Cyclops Marine 2023 November - LEADERBOARD

Evan Walker dominates Hardy Cup day three racing

by Peter Campbell on 5 Feb 2009
Walker rounding top mark ahead of Nicholas - Hardy Cup 2009 Aline Van Haren

Scoring five straight wins, defending champion Evan Walker dominated yesterday’s third day of racing in the Hardy Cup ISAF Grade 3 under 25 Match-Racing Regatta on Sydney Harbour.

Sailing on his home waters in a fresh south-easterly to easterly sea breeze, Walker outsailed the opposition in the Pool A mini round-robin to head the fleet going into today’s finals of the prestigious international event.

Conditions were ideal for aggressive and tactical match-racing in the Elliott 6 sports boats and the young teams attacked each other with great vigour, utilising the rules of racing to their limit.

In fact, the umpires were working virtually non-stop as protest flags fluttered and yellow or blue flags signalled infringements.

Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron race officers were busy, too, as the course areas for the Hardy Cup had to be shifted several times because of changes in wind direction and to keep the match-racing Elliott 6s well clear of the large fleet of yachts competing in regular Wednesday afternoon racing on the Harbour.

'We are combining well as a crew of four,' Walker said this morning before his semi-final encounter with New Zealander Adrian Short. The team is the same that won the Hardy Cup last year: Walker, who will turn 22 next month, Kyle Langford (19) and Will Ryan (19), plus 13-year-old Adam Bloomfield…'he’s really fired up!'

Walker, a graduate and now coach of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s Youth Sailing Academy, said his two toughest matches of the Hardy Cup so far had been against Nicky Souter, who is sailing for the Australian Sailing Development Squad. They had each had one win against the other.

'Yesterday, we were barely more than a boat length apart on the first windward and leeward legs, but we gained a vital penalty going through the gybes and as she had incurred a pre-start penalty, that gave us a clear advantage going to the finish.'

Apart from the unbeaten performance of Walker, the other impressive effort yesterday was that of Souter, the Australian women’s match-racing champion.

The highly skilled young woman sailor scored three wins out of five flights in the Pool A mini round-robin, including her second win of the regatta against the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron’s Phil Robertson, last week’s Warren Jones Regatta winner.

Souter and Robertson both ended the day with three wins each, but Souter’s win over the Kiwis lifted her into second place in standings going into the finals.

Souter, 24, agreed that her match yesterday against Walker had been the toughest and best of the day, along with her second win against Robertson. 'Those two penalties ended a really close encounter with Evan,' she said this morning before heading out for a semi-final match against Robertson.

Souter’s crew comprises Rayshele Martin (22), Kylie McKillop (22) and Lilly Taylor (19) all currently training with the Australian Sailing Development Squad as a potential crew for the women’s match-racing at the London 2010 Olympic Games, with the Elliott 6 the chosen yacht.

Another New Zealander, Adrian Short, also representing the RNZYS, and David Chapman, from the RSYS, each had two wins yesterday to finish fourth and fifth overall at the end of the Pool A mini round-robin. Peter Nicholas from the Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club, failed to win a flight.

Another Kiwi, Matthew Steven, from the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club, topped Pool B to decide the seventh to 12th positions. He and his crew had four wins out of five flights, while Finnish woman Silja Lehtinen showed a vast improvement to also score four wins to place 8th overall behind Steven.

Tom Spithill from the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, had three wins to place ninth overall, followed by Lucinda Whitty (RSYS), Amanda Scrivenor (Australian Sailing Development Squad) and Yuki Nagahori from Japan’s Hamaya Marina Yacht Club.


Switch One DesignHenri-Lloyd Dynamic RangeSelden 2020 - FOOTER

Related Articles

Fastnet Race 2025 | Pre-Race Interviews
Interviews with Gordon and Charlie Maguire, David Witt, Mark Bradford, and Luke Parkinson Interviews with Gordon and Charlie Maguire, David Witt, Mark Bradford, and Luke Parkinson
Posted today at 12:19 am
Fastnet Race 2025 | David Griffith and Whisper
Discover the motivation for entering Whisper in the Fastnet Race and getting boat to the UK David Griffith's JV62, Whisper, is in the UK for the Fastnet. Discover the motivation for entering Whisper in the Rolex Fastnet Race and the logistics of getting the boat to England, as well as hear from crew member Jules Hall.
Posted today at 12:09 am
Admiral's Cup 2025 | Zen's a winner!
Big day. Big results. A bullet marks a special day... The end of racing, and only the Fastnet to come. Zen collects a bullet from the final three inshore races.
Posted today at 12:04 am
Rolex Fastnet Race/Admirals' Cup: Big questions
"So far we've under performed as a boat in the Admirals' Cup. We're looking to put that right." The defending Rolex Fastnet champion, Caro (NZL) faces some big questions given their performances to date in the Admirals' Cup. However the Botin 52 has a reputation for scoring strongly in longer offshore racing - will they repeat in 2205?
Posted on 25 Jul
Canada's entry into the iconic Rolex Fastnet Race
Team Be Water Positive returns to settle unfinished business Canada Ocean Racing - Be Water Positive will line up this weekend for the centenary edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race, one of the most iconic offshore races in the world.
Posted on 25 Jul
Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam Day 7
Sarah-Quita Offringa survives Super Final scare to earn 16th Freestyle world title Sarah-Quita Offringa survives Super Final scare to earn 16th Freestyle world title and 27th overall, while Yentel Caers powers to victory in Men's.
Posted on 25 Jul
Vaikobi V-DRY-X Team Kit
We speak to Pat Langley and Bart Milczarczyk V-DRY-X is a major launch for the Australian technical clothing brand Vaikobi, launching into the yacht racing team market with high performance outer layer clothing specifically designed to be customised with the branding and colours of that team.
Posted on 25 Jul
Admiral's Cup Tom Hicks Thursday Photo Gallery
He is always ready to capture Solent action Tom Hicks is always ready to capture Solent action, and the Admiral's Cup naturally delivered. These shots are from Thursday 24th July 2025.
Posted on 25 Jul
WASZP Games 2025 Day 4 Photo Gallery
A snapshot of the day by Mark Jardine It was a case of grabbing the wind and sunshine while it lasted on Day 4 of the 2025 WASZP Games, and each of the fleets got a bit of racing in before the rain started to fall and the breeze died away.
Posted on 25 Jul
Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race Preview
This year's edition is looking to break the light wind pattern and possibly set new records The Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race (NSGCYR) has long been regarded as a cornerstone of any Australian offshore yachtie's calendar.
Posted on 25 Jul