Ashlen Rooklyn and Tim Forbes Smith, both representing the host club, the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, are currently tied for the lead in the Club Marine NSW Youth Match Racing Championship after the completion of Round Robin 1 and two flights on Round Robin 2. 

Rooklyn, and his crew of Byron White and Jack Breislin, commenced this regatta as the short-price favourite to take the title, only dropped one match today through an error of their own.

Despite having a healthy lead in his match with fellow club mate Murray Jones, Rooklyn rounded the wrong mark at the top of the course. Rooklyn corrected his error but lost significant ground doing so and losing his lead, handing the match to Jones.

“We didn’t see the course change,” Rooklyn admitted this afternoon. “After rounding the correct mark, we tried to fight back but he (Jones) managed to hold us out.

“Our boat speed and communication was pretty good today with the exception of that one error. Once we got into the lead in all of our matches, we were able to race our own race,” Rooklyn continued.

“We managed to pick the shifts well. Thanks to the Race Committee for being so on top of the shifts and changing the course when required. This ensured that racing was fair for all competitors. I’m looking forward to the finals tomorrow.”

For Tim Forbes-Smith, it was a challenging day on water. “It was a tough day with the wind shifts but my crew did a great job – they kept their heads out of the boat looking for the shifts and picked them well.”

His crew of Daniel Caine and Jack Dawson are a new combination for this regatta and Forbes-Smith is hoping to make amends from his results of last year. “In 2010, I placed second in this regatta but last year I had a shocker; I’m determined to make up for it this year.

“Our match against Ash (Rooklyn) was tight as I anticipated it would be. In our first match of Round Robin 2 against Milly (Bennett) we had a penalty. We picked the shifts in one of the legs really well, we gave us room to undertake our penalty turn; but the umpires didn’t see us do it, so we had to do it again.”

Sitting in third place is Nicholas Howe, representing the Sydney University Sailing Club - the first time the University is competing in the Club Marine NSW Youth Match Racing Championship.

“We had a pretty good day for a reasonably new crew. We only lost two matches but we knew where we went wrong,” Howe said.

“We got some seaweed stuck around the keel so we’ll have to keep off the bottom of the bath tub tomorrow,” Howe joked.

“I’m looking forward to the continuation of racing. I’ve just got to be more confident in my manoeuvres and that should put us in a good position.”

Race Officer David Tallis had his work cut out for him today. Racing commenced at 1015hrs in the vicinity of Rushcutters Bay, with the course set just off Clark Island, with a steady 8 -12 knot westerly breeze.

Heading into Flight Four, the breeze pick up to 13 knots and then a course change was required after a wind shift prior to the commencement of Flight Five.

“It was typical westerly breeze on Sydney Habour: it started off constant and then got quite puffy and shifty. At one point I saw a gust of 22 knots and we experienced 60-70 degree shifts.

“There were some good tactical battles and quite a few lead changes in the matches throughout the day. I called a halt to racing this afternoon at approximately 3pm when conditions really lightened off and there was no chance of any significant breeze coming in,” Tallis concluded.

Racing will continue tomorrow from 1015hrs with the remaining flights of Round Robin Two, Semi-Finals and Finals being sailed. The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting west to north westerly winds of up to 10 knots, increasing to 15 throughout the afternoon.

The winner of the Club Marine NSW Youth Match Racing Championship will gain automatic entry into the Australian Youth Match Racing Championship that will be sailed on Elliott 5.9s and hosted by the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania, from 21-25 September.

Current Standings at the end of the Round Robin One and partial completion of Round Robin Two

Ashlen Rooklyn – CYCA - 6 wins, one loss

Tim Forbes-Smith – CYCA - 6 wins, one loss

Nicholas Howe – Sydney University Sailing Club – 4 wins, 3 losses

Murray Jones – CYCA - 3 wins, 4 losses

Malcolm Parker – RPAYC - 2 wins, 5 losses

Milly Bennett – RPAYC – 0 wins, 7 losses

By Jennifer Crooks

See International Youth Match Racing images

Last Updated ( Saturday, 04 August 2012 )