KA Match has just returned from a northern hemisphere tour which included the Baltic Match Cup Grade 2 at the NJK Match Race Center in Helsinki and the Knickerbocker Cup Grade 2 hosted by the Knickerbocker Yacht Club in Port Washington, New York. These events were entered as part of the team’s 3 year plan to qualify for the World Match Racing Tour.

Due to limited funding I took on these regattas without KA Match trimmer and tactician Will Ryan but was lucky enough to sail with team Mainsheet Kyle Langford and his fellow Black Swan Racing team members Jakob Gustafsson and Adam Martin in the Baltic Cup. As a crew these guys were coming off the back of 10 European events so they were a strong unit and I would need them facing competition in Helsinki unlike any I had raced against. Leading the charge was world number 4 Bjorn Hansen followed by Adam Minoprio (#8), and Pierre-antoine Morvan (#15).

We sailed strongly in the 11 match round-robin, with our only loss coming at the hands of Hansen after we were able to leebow him after a strong leeward start, only to then follow him into a right hand shift which gave him the first beat and the race. Solid pre-starts combined with tight crew-work produced a number of impressive wins including one race in which after handing a penalty to our opponent in prestart maneuvers our primary main sheet block ripped out of the floor. With cool heads we were able to stay in touch after they took their penalty on the first upwind, and then while Jakob tied the block to the deck we sailed an inside line on the run before rolling our opponent out of the gybe into the bottom mark. We had joked the previous day that after conquering the local public transport we could achieve anything and now it seemed we could.

Our strong round-robin result meant we were ranked first going into the finals and were rewarded with the choice of semi-final opponent. The three other finalists were Hansen, Minoprio, and Jacopo Pasini (#40). We chose Pasini but were careful not to underestimate him as he had qualified 2nd and had proven to be a tough opponent in the round-robin stage.

We approached the finals races like all others and as a team were happy with our mindset going into the series. We won the first match after leading off the line and then extending in tacking duels on both beats. Following this race we swapped boats with the Italian and that’s where our good mojo ended. We lost the following race after a tightly contested first beat and then  a poor set which left us out of touch and unable to attack downwind. In race three our prestart dominance came to an end as I was called on-course-side and after returning to the line had handed Pasini a comfortable lead and his ticket to the finals. After some soul searching we settled in to take on Minoprio in the Petit final.

We worked hard to protect our starboard advantage up the first beat after a strong start but when a dial-down was required approaching the top mark I hesitated and he claimed the right and extra pressure which gave him a piece of us on the next cross and with it the lead at the top mark. Another bad set then gave him a 4 length advantage which he protected till the finish.

So after a strong start I left Helsinki with a 4th place in my first European event, behind 3 very talented teams, having turned at least a few heads including those of my team mates who were pleased with the team culture we had shaped in our few days together. They were soon to become my opposition however in New York, sailing with helm Keith Swinton of Black Swan Racing. Thanks to Niklas and his team at the NJK Match Race Centre for a fine event and making us feel welcome in their club.

For the Knickerbocker Cup I pulled together a number of American contacts that I had been looking for a chance to sail with. On mainsheet and trim was John Sampson, a tornado crew and teams-racer, and next to him in the pit was his college team mate Erik Skirkanich.

Both of these guys were competing in their first match racing event and a number of times after finishing particularly intense races Sampson turned to me with sweat pouring from him to comment on how exciting the format was. Running the bow was Californian match-racer Christian Emsiek.

At the top of the rankings in New York was Russian Andrew Arbuzov (#15), followed by Swinton (#21), Sergey Musikhin (#30), and the defending champion Chris Van Tol. We drew Arbuzov first up and were greeted on the waters of Manhasset Bay by very light winds which were to dominate the next 4 days. While our first start was to later by abandoned due to insufficient wind it was probably the most exciting hour of racing all week.

After trailing off the line we tacked and pushed to the right to find a solid right hand shift and take the lead from the fiery Russian. At this point the breeze was about 4 knots with 1 knot of current. Trailing, he gybe set out of the top mark and rolled us with pressure.  On the second beat we initiated a tacking duel in a dying breeze and saw a chance to drive to leeward onto the longer starboard tack. We noticed we were slowly making land around his bow and after about 15 minutes had sailed through him to leeward and forced him to tack off. Shortly after tacking to follow him we rolled over his bow on port and observed the Russian helm lighting a cigarette, preempting the race’s abandonment and the end of racing for the day. 

We won our rematch the following day after Arbuzov incurred a penalty for not keeping clear on the first run and then attempted to take the penalty around the finish mark with an insufficient lead. Heavy contact followed and he was penalized once again. We finished the day with 4 wins and one loss to the Japanese team helmed by Takumi Nakamura who was to go on to convincingly take out the regatta with only 1 loss over the 3 days of racing. The following day we finished the round robin with a total score of 7 wins- 4 losses, dropping races to Swinton, Musikhin, and Bermudan helm Blythe Walker who was the runner up in last year’s Bermuda Gold Cup Grade 1.

Apart from the race against Musikin, our other 3 losses were the result of me losing the start, which is a pretty strong record for team that had just come together for the event. Unfortunately this score left us one win short of a finals spot, exiting the event in 5th place. The finalists were Nakamura, Musikhin, Swinton, and Van Tol, and after a shortened finals series they finished in that order. 

I would like to thank the Knickerbocker Yacht Club and its members for their hospitality and a well run regatta in trying conditions. We had a great time and I look forward to returning to Port Washington. The trip would not have been possible without the support of my family, and the CYCA and the Youth Sailing Academy which I proudly represent. KA Match now turns its focus to the Australian Match Racing Championships to be run by the Royal Perth Yacht Club from 3-7 September, where Will and I will be joined by Silas Nolan, Kurt Fatouros, and Australian Sailing Team member Brendan Casey. – Evan Walker