Miami Match Cup Day 1: Rookies rule the roost
by Ben Blake 12 Apr 2017 07:44 BST
11-13 April 2017
Miami Match Cup day 1 © World Match Racing Tour
After the first day of racing USA leads the way in the name of Nevin Snow and his 13Fifty Racing with an impressive seven race winning streak and no losses to date. Also ending day one unbeaten is Australia's Harry Price sailing with Down Under Racing. Bragging rights between the two will be hotly contested for tomorrow as they go head-to-head and see who is truly unbeatable.
Miami too performed today as a strong steady 15-20knot wind blew across Biscayne Bay allowing the race committee to finish a record 35 races. For many teams on the course this was their first WMRT regatta in the M32 catamaran and all performed surprisingly well with hotly contested matches throughout.
As an experienced match racer, home grown talent Nevin Snow is no stranger to the top of the leaderboard, but to top this strong table of Olympians and Championship winning sailors was a great achievement for the American. Reflecting on the day's success Nevin commented "In the strong breeze we just had great boat handling. On our boat we bring a wide set of skills which has put us where we are." Although an experienced match racer, this event marks Nevin's debut on the World Match Racing Tour.
Australia's Harry Price currently sits in second with a 6-0 score and feels confident heading into tomorrow. And so he should as Harry is currently 3rd ranked in the World Sailing open match race rankings. This young team's neon green colours stood out on the racecourse today and come Thursday they will hope to stand out on the podium.
These top two teams will battle for the ultimate top spot of an unbeaten record when they go head-to-head on day two. Ahead of this match Nevin Snow commented, "We expect the match against Harry Price to be the toughest for sure. We've raced Harry a bunch of times and every one has been tough, but those were all in the monohulls," alluding to this being unchartered territory for the pairing.
Another skipper with a surprise performance today was another American team E11EVEN Racing, skippered by Markus Edegran. This is the young skipper's first ever match racing regatta but he thinks that starting on home water on a World Match Racing Tour, "Is the best way to get on with it. We had great boat handling in the strong breeze today and so bring on tomorrow."
The first Round Robin will conclude tomorrow before the teams move into a second Round Robin series and then to knockout semifinals and ultimately the final. The forecast promises more of the same and so Biscayne Bay should Racing for the Miami Match Cup continues through Thursday with the top two finishers qualifying to the Championship Level event Match Cup Sweden, held on the Swedish sailing hotspot island of Marstrand.
wmrt.com/events/wmrt-miami-match-cup-2017