Trans-Tasman battle at Harken Women’s Match event

Jennifer Crooks/ Pam Scrivenor, CYCA

Posted: 11  Mar. 2010

Jessica Eastwell in great form - Howard Wright pic

Lucinda Whitty and Samantha Osborne are locked in a trans-Tasman battle at the top of the leader board at the end of round robin one in the Harken Women’s International Match Racing Regatta, being hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia.

Osborne and Whitty were tied for first place with eight wins to their scorecards until the final flight of the day when the skippers finally faced each other.

Whitty triumphed, taking the win in tight match racing conditions to take an unbeaten record of nine straight wins into day two.

Commenting on the racing, Whitty said: “I felt that we handled the shifty and hard conditions well. There was some very tight racing in our matches, especially with the New Zealand teams and our fellow Australian Women’s Match Racing team members.”

Second placed Osborne's only loss of the day was to Whitty, and she is keen to attain for this loss on day two. “The last match of the day was really tight between us. It was only our boat handling skills that let us down on the last leg,” said Osborne.

“The competition has been really tough and I‘ve noticed improvements in the teams from last week (in the New Zealand Women’s Match Racing Championship) to this week. There were definitely no easy races out there today!

“It was great to get a full round robin in today, so I thank the Race Committee for their efficient management of the regatta thus far,” she said.

The trans-Tasman rivalry was evident at the morning’s briefing, with the Aussies quick to blame the Kiwis for bringing the rain with them. Under cloudy skies, the wind filled in from the south at 15-20 knots as predicted and hung in all day. The shifty and puffy conditions meant that teams were crossing over between match racing and sailing the wind shifts.

Principal Race Officer Denis Thompson was pleased to have got through a full round robin with good breezes and no breakages. “I am very impressed with the level of match racing skills that were on display today. The women were able to handle the boats tremendously well, especially on the downwind spinnaker runs in the puffy conditions.”

Whitty’s fellow Australian Women’s Match Racing team members Olivia Price (also representing the CYCA) and Jessica Eastwell (RPAYC) are currently tied for third, with 6 wins and 3 losses each.

There were lots of tacking duels across the race course said Price. “We did a lot of zigzagging across the course in these conditions, but we were also able to get some good rides with the wind. In the conditions you couldn’t afford to make any mistakes.”

“Our toughest matches were against Osborne and Whitty and we threw everything we had at them,” Price said.

Stephanie Hazard and Danielle Bowater sailed extremely well and have finished round robin one with five wins each. Representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, the two cannot be ruled out for podium positions given the expected conditions tomorrow.

Racing continues today from 1015hrs, in the vicinity of Rushcutters Bay. The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted 15 to 20 knot south-easterly winds.

The event finishes on Saturday when the finals will be conducted.

Live and full results at: www.cyca.com.au/

National Maritime Festival 2010

Australian Wooden Boat Festival 2011
11th - 14th February 2011

view all events