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13_Yachtsman 2015.qxp_Yachtsman Magazine 19/08/2015 4:31 pm Page 49
Youth Development
RPAYC wins Marinassess Women's Match Racing Regatta
By Di Pearson
At just 16, Lauren Gallaway and her crew were thrilled with their runner-up finish.
“We had a really awesome day. After beating Caitlin and her crew, we knew the
worst we could do was second, so we were pretty excited,” she said.
“We had a couple of penalties through the day, but we wiped them off and stayed
calm and neat and even won the match against Caitlin after wiping the penalty at
the last top mark.
“All the matches were close and we learnt a lot quickly. I felt more comfortable
going into today, it wasn’t as hectic. Sarah was a hard opponent, so we went at it
hammer and tongs and won the first match convincingly,” she said.
“Our boat handling was good in the second match, but Sarah came off better at
the start. We didn’t play it so well, and she won, but it was still close.”
RPAYC Winning Team. Left to right: Lauren Crossman Evelyn Forster, Rachel Bower,
Sarah Parker and Clare Costanzo
Gallaway said the third match was much of the same, with a penalty against them
thrown in, “but she closed it out at the finish. It was super exciting. I’m so happy
with the way the girls pulled together and with all we learned. We all trained
together and against each other at the CYCA’s Youth Academy this summer, and it
all helped,” she finished.
Sarah Parker and her crew of Evelyn Foster, Clare Costanzo, Rachel Bower and Lauren
Crossman from the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club capitalised on their dominant In the petit-final, Kirstin Norris defeated Caitlin James for third place.
performance of yesterday to take out the Marinassess Women’s Match Racing Crews sailed in similar to conditions to those of yesterday, with light shifty winds
Regatta 2015 hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia.
to start the day off. Winds increased moderately throughout the day, helping the
Parker and her crew took on six other crews, all representatives of the CYCA. They top two crews, both of whom had five girls aboard.
came into the final day with a perfect scorecard of 7-7, and went on to defeat Marinassess Managing Director, John Messenger, was not able to be at the event.
Lauren Gallaway, Rayshele Martin, Kathleen Stroinovsky, Angelique Kear and “I’m very sorry I couldn’t make it, I am a big supporter of this women’s event which
Antoinette Radford 2-1 in the final after the latter finished second-best yesterday we have sponsored since its inception,” he said.
with an 8-6 scorecard.
“I congratulate all those who took part in the Marinassess Women’s Match Racing
In the semi-final, Parker chose the crew of Kirstin Norris/Louise Tillett/Nicky Regatta, and the winning and runner-up crews skippered by Sarah Parker and
Bradley/Bryony Gregory/Iris Ferguson as her crew’s opponents, defeating them 2- Lauren Gallaway,” he said.
0 to advance to the final. “They were close matches though; in fact in the final race
Messenger, a well-known yachtsman himself, and past commodore of the CYCA,
we only took the lead on the last downwind leg,” Parker admitted.
has long been a supporter and fan of women in sport. “It’s great to see so many
It left Gallaway and her crew to take on the crew of Caitlin Tames/Tara Blanc- good young women sailors in match racing and at this event. I believe all the
Ramos/Nina Long/Rosie Lee/Jess Tames, whom they dispensed off 2-1 before going matches were tight.”
on to the mammoth task of facing Parker, who had not lost a match, in the final.
Despite her first women’s match racing event as a skipper, Parker said: “We played
the same game as we did yesterday and tried not to get ahead of ourselves. There
was a lot more pressure going into the final though. The matches were close and
both crews had their chances of getting in the lead.”
The 19 year-old said of their win: “We’re stoked. It’s our first major women’s regatta
win. It’s exciting to take the trophy home to our club. It was a good training regatta
and I plan to keep going with match racing – it’s my main sailing ambition,”
she said.
“The crew was awesome - no conflicts – we’re a happy boat,” finished Parker who
returns to university in Newcastle tomorrow, where she is studying physiotherapy.
2015 Edition
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