Final four at Musto International Youth Match Racing Champs

Sydney, AUS (November 30, 2017) – Japan’s Leonard Takahashi and Australia’s Harry Price head into the final day of the Musto International Youth Match Racing Championship 2017 in the strongest possible position, both teams taking the early lead in semi-finals over their opponents.

With 105 matches completed there was a huge tussle for the quarter-final positions, Takahashi leading the charge on an impressive scorecard of 13-1. It took to Day 4 for the Japanese representative to record his first loss of the regatta, in his opening race of the day. Jelmer Van Beek ruining their opponent’s winning streak to be the only team to defeat them throughout the round robin.

The all-female team from the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club led by Clare Costanzo finished in second on 10-4, then a flurry of teams on 9-5 with Harry Price coming out on top in the tie-break to break into third, followed by Porter Killian (USA). Will Boulden (WA) and Tom Grimes (CYCA) dropping down to 6th.

Royal New Zealand’s George Anyon, the second seed competitor just managed to hold on in 7th with the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s third and final team led by James Hodgson finishing 8th. This left a near impossible task for the top teams to choose their opponent.

Takahashi and Price were the first two to confirm their spot in the semi-finals, both only needing three matches to advance from the quarter-finals. Next to join them was Tom Grimes who outperformed George Anyon, fighting back in 3 out of his 4 races on the final run to move forward. The final tangle between Costanzo and Boulden took all 5 matches to decide after Boulden took an early 2-0 lead. Costanzo battled her way back into a winner takes all race, and led into the final top mark, but was unable to complete a pre-start penalty before Boulden passed to take the quarter finals 3-2.

It might have taken two and a half days for Price to get his mojo back, but today he showed just why he is ranked fourth in the world to bounce back from laying mid-fleet after the first two days to scramble up to third place after the round robin. Price then dispatched American Porter Killian 3-0 in the quarter-finals and now leads Western Australian, Will Boulden 1-0 in the semi-finals.

The other semi-final between Takahashi and Grimes looks set to be another tightly fought battle with Takahashi winning the opening race by only 7 seconds.

Event details – Results – Entry list – Facebook

Hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, this World Sailing Grade 2 event features 15 of the World’s best youth sailors with nine of the fifteen skippers ranked inside the Top 100 World Rankings. Sailed from Rushcutters Bay on Sydney Harbour in the CYCA’s fleet of Elliott 7s, the event begins Tuesday November 28 with a qualifying round robin series scheduled, before knockout stages start on Thursday November 30 with Finals on Friday December 1.

Source: Ross Macdonald, Cruising Yacht Club of Australia