Ben Crafoord, Chelsea Williams, Nick Drummond, Mark Murray and Joel Beashel have claimed the opening event of the 2024/25 match racing season – the CYCA Match Cup over the weekend.
This one-day, World Sailing Grade 5 event saw seven teams compete from the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron and Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, including representatives from Australia’s Youth America’s Cup challenge.
It was an extremely challenging day on Sydney Harbour with a soft westerly breeze, dying away around midday, before building from the north west for the afternoon. The Race Committee did well to sneak in the round robin format over 21 races across the day, with 15 minutes to spare till the time limit expired at the end of the day. The difficult conditions challenged all teams, with no one coming away unscathed from the day.
In the end, the top spot came down to a tie-breaker, with the CYCA’s Ben Crafoord winning over Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron’s Massimo Henderson, with both teams finishing on 5 – 1.
Third overall went to Xavier McLachlan (RSYS) whilst Jack Ferguson (CYCA), competing in his first ever match race finished in fourth.