2022 Bollé International Youth Match Racing Regatta at the CYCA - Day 1
by Cruising Yacht Club of Australia 22 Nov 2022 06:23 PST
Bollé International Youth Match Racing Regatta - Day 1 © Darcie Collington Photography
The opening day of the 2022 Bollé International Youth Match Racing Regatta got off to an intense start with gusty westerly winds, peaking at 28 knots, sweeping across Sydney Harbour all day, temporarily postponing racing in the morning.
The fleet of eleven teams had their work cut out for them getting a handle on the Elliott 7s after the practice sessions were also cancelled yesterday due to high winds.
At the morning briefing, a unique prize was announced for the winner of the qualifying stage of the regatta with John Winning Jr inviting the team to race onboard VPLP 100 Andoo Comanche in the CYCA's Income Asset Management Twilight Race on Wednesday evening. The prize put even more pressure on teams to perform strongly in the opening stage, with the top five teams also sailing directly into the quarter-finals series.
At the end of Day 1, Balboa Yacht Club's Max Brennan leads the event with five wins and one loss, finishing with an 83% winning record. The all-American team are looking to improve on their third place at last week's Harken international Youth Match Racing Regatta and bag the Comanche ride.
"We are just super stoked to be here in Australia for the event. I moved here in August and have been training out of the CYCA Youth Sailing Academy which has been a great experience, but to get some of my guys back on board has been a lot of fun and we are looking forward to the rest of the week. Commented Brennan at the dock following racing.
A flurry of teams trails only one point behind, however all have sailed one less race, ending the day with a win/loss percentage of 80% each.
Both Cruising Yacht Club of Australia's teams led by Cole Tapper and Will Sargent are tied in second position, along with RNZYS's Josh Hyde and both WA teams of Marcello Torre and Ethan Prieto-Low. All will look to finish the round robin stage strongly tomorrow to skip the repechage second stage.
Tomorrow will see Sydney's famous sea breeze build throughout the day with sunny skies allowing racing to continue to Rushcutters Bay. The Race Committee will look to finish the final five flights of the qualifying stage and commence the repechage stage. Follow racing live at cyca.com.au/live-results.