On the final day of round robin racing at the Albaria Cento Cup in Sicily, the CYCA Aussie Challenge team, which led the competition on Day 1 and 2, was eliminated from the semi-finals following a four-way count back.
The team recorded two wins and two very close losses on Day 3 of the international Grade 1 regatta to finish with an 8-3 win-loss record.
One of the Day 3 losses was against Italian America’s Cup skipper Paolo Cian. After winning the start, the CYCA team backed themselves on the right-hand side of the course but when the shifty breeze shut-down, they were crossed by the port boat.
Placed equal second with three other teams, they were relegated to fifth after the four-way count back and were subsequently knocked out of the semi finals. This outcome was heart breaking given the team lost their very first round-robin race due to a broken rudder.
“While the team is disappointed after leading the regatta for the first two days of racing, to have been in such close contention was beyond their expectations when they left Australia,” said CYCA youth manager/coach Jenni Bonnitcha this morning.
“Amongst their competitors were six teams with ISAF top 20 World Rankings, including Mathieu Richard who is ranked 4th in the World but who unexpectedly lost to the CYCA team on Day 1.”
The team advised Bonnitcha they had learnt a lot from the experience and that in their post-defeat debrief they had set new goals that will hopefully see them qualify for the semi-finals at their next Grade 1 outing.
“The CYCA is extremely proud of the achievement of Seve Jarvin, Sam Newton, Robert Bell and Ben Croucher who were competing in their first Grade 1 event,” said Bonnitcha.
“They are a young team and their regatta invitation came late but they made their mark on the world Grade 1 match racing circuit and will be a team to watch in the coming years,” she added.
The team will return to Sydney to continue training with the CYCA Youth Sailing Academy Advanced Squad and to share the experiences they gained with the other 33 squad members.
Seve, with some of the same crew, will return to Europe in August for more Grade 1 Match Racing.
