Australian Youth Match Racing Championship at Cruising Yacht Club of Australia - Day 3

The competition is heating up with semi-finals well underway. - Australian Youth Match Racing Championship, Day 3 © CYCA / Jordan Reece

Two-time runner-up in the Australian Youth Match Racing Championship, James Hodgson, is poised to clinch the 2019 title, after a remaining undefeated for a third consecutive day. Hodgson and team now lead their semi-final 2-0 in a first to three-point series against Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club's Alistair Read.

Fellow CYCA team, skippered by Finn Tapper, also leads their semi-final against Tasmania's Will Sargent, 2-0 after stepping up his game in the as the championship moves into the the final stages.

Prior to racing today, the final three positions in the semi-finals were open to the rest of the fleet, where the third round robin would determine the finishing order. CYCA's Hugo Stoner needed a good day on the water to remain in the hunt and did well in his opening must-win race against Read.

But as the day progressed, further losses to Tapper and Sargent saw Stoner fall short of a semi-final berth.

Will Sargent stormed through the round, remaining undefeated in his five matches to move up from third to second in the qualifying stage in a tremendous effort. Alistair Read from RPAYC also did well to win 3 of his 5 to claim the final semi-final berth.

After having the morning off, Hodgson chose to race fourth placed Read, and in two decisive wins, has set himself up perfectly for the finals tomorrow, needing only one more point to move forward.

However, in Tapper and Sargent's matches, the races weren't decided until the final metres, with multiple lead changes and penalties throughout each race.

In Race 1, Sargent looked set to take the early lead in the series, having given Tapper a penalty at the final top mark. Yet, down the run, Tapper crept up to Sargent continued to lead and positioned himself to hold Sargent out beyond the pin. Unfortunately for Sargent, a problem with their spinnaker drop saw them penalised and Tapper was able to gybe away to take the race win.

In the second race, Sargent had a commanding start over Tapper, but he managed to continue to make small gains throughout the race to take the lead by the final run and cross the finish in from of Sargent.

"We had a great third round robin and definitely feel like we have come a long way since Day 1," commented Sargent. "We were super happy to win that round but obviously very disappointed with how this afternoon went. The scorecard doesn't reflect how close and hard these semi-finals are, and we are not out yet, so we will come back fighting tomorrow.".

Tomorrow will not doubt be another interesting day after what has been a beautiful three days on Sydney Harbour, with the forecast turning to a 18-28 knot southerly at start time. Currently, it is the intention of the Organising Authority to continue with the semi-finals on time before starting the Finals during the mid-afternoon.

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