This afternoon the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s team of Seve Jarvin, Robert Bell and Sam Newton dominated the opposition in the finals to convincingly win the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron’s International Youth Match Racing Championships.
This regatta has for many years been regarded as the World Championship of youth match racing and since the inception of the CYCA’s Youth Sailing Academy in 1993, the Club has attempted to win this prestigious trophy. Today they clinched victory.
Following their win this afternoon on the Elliott 6s, Seve praised his crew, “Sam and Robert were just awesome. There were no mistakes. We had complete trust in each other’s abilities.”
Jarvin also recognised the valuable experience he and his crew have gained through the YSA’s extensive match racing program and the Club’s commitment to sending teams to compete interstate and overseas.
In winning today, the CYCA defeated the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron 3-0 in a best of 5 finals having defeated RNZYS (last year’s winners) 2-0 in yesterday’s semis.
The finals of the four-day regatta, which started last Sunday, were sailed in light winds on Waitemata Harbour off Auckland with coach Euan McNichol reporting from the racetrack, “In the conditions it was difficult for them to protect their lead downwind.”
Back in Sydney, Jenni Bonnitcha, coach/manager of the YSA said: “We can all be very proud of the success and depth of our CYCA youth sailors and their contribution to the position of the CYCA in the sailing world.”
Seve, with a crew of Academy sailors, will now apply to represent the CYCA on the European match racing circuit. He can also look forward to an improved Open ISAF match racing ranking from his current position at 31, following his most recent successes in today’s Championships and last week’s Hardy Cup in Sydney where his team finished second.
Many of the young sailors who have competed in the RNZYS International Youth Match Racing Championship previously have now cemented places in Volvo teams, America’s Cup syndicates, including the inaugural winner in 1990, Gavin Brady, the current helmsman on BMW Oracle, as well as achieving very high world match racing rankings.
