Saturday, 16th September 2017
We’re at the halfway point of the Australian Open Match Racing Nationals which is being held at Sandringham Yacht Club from the 14-17 September. The regatta is being sailed in the Club’s six Beneteau 7.5m keelboats and we have six teams competing in the nationals. The entries consist of one team from the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, one from Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club, a combined team from Sandringham Yacht Club and the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania and three Sandringham Yacht Club teams.
On day one, competitors were greeted with tough conditions, a cold and wavy westerly breeze ranging anywhere from 15-25 knots throughout the day with the odd shower in between. Racing went ahead on time with one round-robin completed and the first two flights of the second round-robin being completed totalling to twenty-one races sailed on day one. It was Shuwalow and his team who finished the first round-robin on top with four wins, ahead of Hodgson, Pullen and Brown on three wins.
At the conclusion of day one, all teams had taken at least one win. We had three teams sitting on five out of seven wins, those being Hayden Brown, Zac Pullen and Michah Shuwalow. CYCA’s James Hodgson finished the day on three out of seven wins, SSCBC’s Tom Trotman on two out of seven wins and SYC’s Jordan Sunkel-Lozell finishing up with one win from seven races.
Racing on day two saw a lighter breeze, ranging from 6-18 knots for most of the day with one front seeing the breeze reach the 25 knot mark for a very brief moment. Conditions were tough with wind varying in direction throughout the day forcing the race management team to stay alert. The directional changes saw the wind shifting over 100ᵒ causing a short delay in proceedings whilst the wind settled.
Day two saw the second round-robin completed and the third round-robin commenced. It was the combined team of Sandringham Yacht Club and Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania who dominated the second round-robin remaining undefeated with five wins ahead of Shuwalow and Brown on three wins.
After completing the first three flights of round-robin three, Shuwalow and Hodgson are three from three, Brown two from three and Pullen one from three with Sunkel-Lozell and Trotman yet to take a win.
Racing continues today with competitors set for another windy day. The breeze is forecast to come from the south and sit between 20-30 knots. Hopefully the weather is kind and we can get some racing in.
Follow the following link for full results and live updates!: http://www.matchracingresults.com/2017/australian-nationals/
