Guy Stening has described his win in the final race of M30 Division of the Coastal Living Regatta off Newport, Rhode Island,  overnight as “exciting for me as the final race of the America’s Cup nearly 25 years ago.”

“The difference today was that the finish was between three boats, not two in Australia II and Liberty, but the tension was there and we had to cover two boats, not one.”

The CYCA member sailed his US based boat Optimum in the regatta as part of his preparation for the M30 World Championship to be sailed on the same course on Narragansett Bay in September.

“It’s a great result for us as we have beaten the former M30 and Farr World Champion Jim Richardson in Barking Mad for the first time,”  Stening said today in a call from Newport.

Stening and his crew sailed Optimum with great consistency,  with a scorecard of 2-2-4-3-1-1-1 to finish with 18 points, just two points ahead of Chicago yachtsman John Podmajesky in Illusion,  with a further two points to Barking Mad.

The Sydney yachtsman and his crew will return for the M30 North American Championships in August and then for the Pre-Worlds and World Championship in September. – Peter Campbell