Finn Tapper, James Hodgson, George Richardson and Harry Hall have won the 2021 Hardy Cup, defending the CYCA’s title from 2020 which was won by Harry Price. The CYCA’s second team led by Will Sargent finished in sixth place.

With COVID-19 still affecting both international and interstate travel, the 2021 Hardy Cup competition which is usually restricted to an under 25-year-old regatta, was opened up to all competitors. Past champions Ash Rooklyn and David Chapman both coming back for another shot at the competition.

Tapper and his talented young crew overcame nine other strong teams from Sydney to claim the 2021 competition. The crew dominated the Finals Series against RPAYC’s Alistair Read to win 3-0.

The four-day competition saw ideal match racing conditions allowing the double round robin, quarter finals, semi finals and finals series to be completed. Tapper made a strong start to the week, winning both round robins with a 15-3 whilst CYCA’s second entry skippered by Will Sargent qualified in third position.

Heading into the Quarter Finals, Tapper chose to race Harry Lawson who was competing in his first match racing event. Will Sargent was eventually paired with Jed Cruickshank (RSYS). Tapper was able to advance through to the semi-final 3-1 over Lawson, whilst Sargent came unstuck, going down 2-3 to Cruickshank in a hotly contested quarter finals.

The final day of competition saw Tapper dominate the day, defeating Jed Cruickshank 3-0 in his semi-final pairing then 3-0 again in the Finals series against Alistair Read.

“We had a great week of racing at Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron. Conditions on the harbour were almost perfect all week, meaning we were able to get all the racing in. The teamwork today really excelled and it was great to get our first regatta title for 2021.” Commented Tapper after racing.

This was the second year in a row for a CYCA team to win the event, with Harry Price claiming the trophy in 2020.