Hardy Cup Match Racing at Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron - Days 1 & 2
by Peter Campbell 9 Feb 2016 09:37 GMT
8-11 February 2016
New Zealanders take the lead
Two days of sailing on Sydney Harbour can frequently bring considerable changes in the breeze strength and direction and, as an outcome, often major changes in match racing results.
That's been the case of the first two days of the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron's 2016 Hardy Cup, the prestigious Under 25 ISAF Grade 3 international event.
The Hardy Cup was donated by eminent Australian yachtsman Sir James Hardy to promote the match racing helming and tactical skills of young sailors.
Over the years, Squadron members have volunteered their race management skills on the water and their hospitality ashore to make the Hardy Cup a special match racing event.
Once again, the Cup regatta has attracted teams from across Australia, New Zealand and this year, from New Caledonia, sailing the Squadron's fleet of Elliott 7 sports boats.
On Monday, the top team was Will Dargaville and his crew from Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, who came through the day with five straight wins.
West Australian Will Boulden and his crew from Perth's Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club had four wins from five matches while New Zealander George Anyon and his crew from the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron in Auckland had three wins, losing to both Dargaville and Boulden.
Today, the breeze was light and shifty.