2023 Warren Jones International Youth Regatta - Day 3
by Swan River Sailing 2 Feb 2023 15:03 PST
30 January - 3 February 2023
Day 3 of racing at the Warren Jones International Youth Regatta saw the completion of the Round Robin and Semi-Final racing under moderate to strong east south easterly breezes. With the top three positions fairly locked away before the morning's play, all eyes were on the Alistair Read vs Marcello Torre match, where the final semi's position hung in the balance. For Torre, this match was a must-win to level the scores, and bring the outcome into control through their final race against Max Paul. Read, with a noted reputation for 'keeping things interesting' then slipping into semi's, had to either win this race, or beat 2nd ranked Ethan Prieto Low plus hope for Torre to lose to Paul.
The stakes were set, and the racing dialled in - Torre from Port entry, Read from Starboard. By virtue of skill or nerves on Read's part, Torre managed to roll straight over the RPAYC boat and break from the typical dial up pattern. Having wrestled control, Torre built straight into an aggressive offense, perhaps too aggressive as one closely contested dial-up turned into a flag against the local. With both boats late to the line, Torre pulled off a glamour start, tacking port off the pin to cross clear ahead and send a strong message to his Sydney-based competitors. While this race was going on, Ethan Prieto Low was dominating a hotly contested race with Tom Grimes around the track, finalising the pecking order for the boat draw in the semis.
From there, Torre sailed a clean race in the shifty breeze, and managed to extend a sufficient lead to wash off his penalty down at the pin right before finishing. Half the job was done, now he had to beat Max Paul, or Ethan had to beat Alistair. Unfortunately for Torre, both results went down to the wire. Despite identifying a strong desire for a clean pre-start in a between race interview, the Perth-born Italian Stallion received another flag against him early in the sequence. It was a great, tight, race, with multiple lead changes. Torre managed to pull ahead and almost got a good piece of Max Paul with an attempted luff before the line, but a poor drop allowed Paul ahead to take the win. Alistair Read sailed a grace and put Prieto-Low away, advancing to the semi's.
The boat draw was a very gentlemanly affair, with 1st ranked Nick Egnot-Johnson picking 4th placed Alistair Read, and 2nd placed Ethan Prieto Low racing 3rd placed Tom Grimes.
Despite being raced closely, the semi's were a fairly straightforward affair, with each of Egnot-Johnson and Prieto-Low advancing through to the grand final, Grimes and Read occupying the petite final. In the great spirit of the competition, the knocked out competitors anchored their boats up outside the race-course and cheered on the racing. The teams enjoyed a social barbeque hosted by Royal Perth Yacht Club.
Be sure to follow the livestream coverage of the grand finals through the Warren Jones Facebook page, and Ed Fether's radio commentary stream.
Key 2023 Warren Jones Regatta information here.