HARKEN
YOUTH MATCH RACING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Harry Price Has Won the HARKEN International Youth Match Racing Championships . Harry Price has skippered his team , Ben Robinson , Murray Jones and Alex Chittenden to victory in the 2015 HARKEN International Youth Match Racing Championship and takes home the Rockin ’ Robin Trophy to the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia ( CYCA )
It ’ s not since 2005 that a team from the CYCA have won the HARKEN International , they got close last year with Harry being narrowly beaten by The Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club ’ s , Milly Bennett in the final the race .
“ It feels great ! After the loss to Milly last year I wanted to step it up this year . The boys put in a really good effort and I ’ m really happy with it .” Said Harry .
“ It was all over the place today with some good wins and a few losses but we were able to get it together for the final ” Harry added .
The win didn ’ t come easy for Harry with his opponent , George Anyon from The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron ( RNZYS ) and his team who gave it their all during the finals making it a classic ANZAC battle .
In the finals George showed everyone that he wasn ’ t just the “ Round Robin King ” ( known by his peers for his ability to do well in the round robin and struggle in the finals .) He sailed extremely well matching up to Harry and was very happy with the result .
“ I ’ m really happy , at the end he just came at us and a few small mistakes cost us , we were fast and we came really close at times but it was definitely some of the best match racing I ’ ve ever done .” Said George .
Third place went to RPAYC ’ s Will Dargaville and his team who raced very well with 13 wins and two losses in the round robins but unfortunately we had a few too many errors and missed wind shifts during the semi finals against George and couldn ’ t progress into the finals but just held on to defeat Lachy Gilmour from Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club ( Perth ) in the petit final so secure 3rd place .
The event tested all competitors with scorching heat , cold southerlies and windless summer afternoons . With racing being delayed during Friday ’ s heatwave , Race Officials managed to roll out 60 plus races on Saturday and to accommodate a record number of 16 teams in a youth match racing championship over 130 races were conducted over four days of competition .
“ All the Race Officials and Umpires just kept things going on Saturday it was like clockwork , the wind stayed steady and they ( Race Management ) just rolled out race after race .” Said Katie Pellew , event co-ordinator .
Harry and his team not only get their name on the HARKEN Trophy but also have a unique opportunity to go out for a training day on 33 South Racing Team ’ s Extreme 40 High Performance Racing Catamaran on Sydney Harbour .
Below are the top three standings :
• 1st Cruising Yacht Club of Australia - Harry Price , Ben Robinson , Murray Jones , Alex Chittenden
• 2nd New Zealand Yacht Squadron – George Anyon , Leonard Fry , Josh Wijohn , Cameron Moss
• 3rd Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club – Will Dargaville , Harry Hall , James Farquharson , Sarah Parker , Rachel Bower
YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
YACHTSMAN 51