There were some big movers on Day Two of the Musto International Youth Match Racing Regatta as the international teams took charge as all teams fought for the prized top four spots after the round-robin, which secures these teams a berth in the quarter-finals and skips the repechage restart round tomorrow.
Perfect Sydney conditions greeted the fleet on Day Two with sunshine, warm temperatures and a perfect breeze ranging between 7-14 knots, providing the perfect race track in Rushcutters Bay for match racing.
Jordan Stevenson from Vento Racing redeemed himself after yesterday’s collision which cost him half a point deduction. Today he and his team from the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron went 6-0 to climb into the lead heading into Day 3.
The biggest mover of the day, however, was Great Britain’s Matt Whitfield, who skyrocketed from 8th to 2nd after racing today. For the British team, this week is all invaluable experience as they campaign towards next year’s World Championship in the Elliott 7m class in Auckland, New Zealand.
Top-ranked competitor Nick Egnot-Johnson continued his undefeated streak up till Flight 10, with James Hodgson, then Matt Whitfield defeated the World #2 to drop him to third overall.
For the host Club, the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, and their three teams, it was a mixed bag of results, with James Hodgson and Tom Grimes currently still tied together in 5th place and battling it out with defending champion Frankie Dair for the remaining Top 4 spot.
Three teams are now set for the Quarter-Finals, with Jordan Stevenson (NZL), Matt Whitfield (GBR) & Nick Egnot-Johnson (NZL) commanding to the top three spots and have booked themselves a place directly into the knock-out stage. Tomorrow will see the competition of the final flight of the regatta, with Frankie Dair (USA) and James Hodgson (AUS) now the only two teams which can make it through to the knock-out round directly.
For the remaining teams, points will then restart for the second stage, with a repechage round scheduled for the bottom eight teams.
