Phil Robertson annihilates world's top match racers

[Source: Sunseeker Australia Cup] Rising young Kiwi sailing star Phil Robertson put in a magnificent performance on the last day of the Sunseeker Australia Cup to lift the trophy, defeating British skipper Ian Williams 3 – 0 in the final.

Robertson, who is a graduate of one of the toughest match racing academies in the world, run by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, had a roller-coaster ride through this regatta, going through the first day undefeated, before crashing to seventh place at the end of the round robin.

However he and his crew picked themselves up off the mat to win their quarter-final against current World Tour leader Mathieu Richard.

He lost his first semi-final race to Britain’s golden boy of sailing, Ben Ainslie, but came back again to win the next three, and finally outclassed Williams in a display of cool, calm sailing that defied his 23 years.

Stepping ashore with a face splitting grin Robertson said, “it’s great mate, it’s awesome,” as words tumbled from his lips, we loved it, just from the start of the day we haven’t lost a race today.

“We’ve just been in the groove, the boys were all just so relaxed, and just loving it, having a ball out there, and the course was pretty interesting, it was extremely shifty a lot of fun to sail, I think we jagged that last one but we’ll take it.”

All three final races were fought tooth and nail, but in the first two Robertson won by margins of 25 and 23 seconds, in the final confrontation the Kiwi picked up a penalty, but managed to build up sufficient lead to take his turn on the finishing line and grab the win, and the trophy by one second.

Talking about the event in general he said, “this is a build up for the Monsoon Cup really, that’s the reason we’re here, we wanted to work on the small things and it’s all come together, we were pushing it and trying to make it all work, so we’re obviously pretty confident going into next week.”

Phil Robertson leads Sunseeker Australia Cup undefeated

[Source: Sunseeker Australia Cup] With skill and guile that belies his age, the young Kiwi skipper Phil Robertson manoeuvred his way through the first day of the Sunseeker Australia Cup undefeated in a field that would over awe considerably older skippers.

Most notable of the scalps he collected on the first day was last year’s winner Torvar Mirsky, the home-town boy who is currently fourth on the World Tour leader board, and hoping to capture the world title next week in Malaysia.

In other matches he downed fellow Kiwis Reuben Corbett and Will Tiller, who is one of his former crew, and another Perth skipper Peter Nicholas. Last week Robertson won the New Zealand Championships, one of the toughest national competitions on the planet.

Talking about the day’s action he said, “we’ve just come off our nationals, so the team is in pretty good shape, we’re just trying to improve on the small things now. I like the small race course here, it makes it that much more exciting, and it makes the pre-start that much more important, it’s good racing out there. I think in most of the races we came off pretty fair in the pre-start, which created a decent lead, but Torvar was definitely the hardest.”

Phil Robertson reports on day 1 of the Sunseeker Australia Cup. Perth, 24 November 2010. Video copyright Waka Racing

Behind Robertson the ladder is crowded with Frenchman Mathieu Richard, England’s Ian Williams and Torvar Mirsky all on a 3 – 2 score line.

Making up the top half of the leader board is British golden boy Ben Ainslie with three wins from five races.

The Swan River was at its best, with a healthy 15 to 18 knot seabreeze, and a cloudless sky. The Sunseeker Australia Cup is hosted by the Royal Perth Yacht Club and run by Swan River Sailing.

Results after day 1
1. Phil Robertson (NZL) 4 – 0
2= Mathieu Richard (FRA) 3 – 1
2= Ian Williams (GBR) 3 – 1
2= Torvar Mirsky (AUS) 3 – 1
5. Ben Ainslie (GBR) 3 – 2
6= Keith Swinton (AUS) 2 – 3
6= William Tiller (NZL) 2 – 3
8. Peter Nicholas (AUS) 1 – 4
9. Iain Ainslie (RSA) 0 – 2
10. Reuben Corbett (NZL) 0 – 4

Lights; Camera; Action; It's Sunseeker Australia Cup Time

[Source: Sunseeker Australia Cup] The superstars of sailing are here, the sun is shining and the fabled Fremantle Doctor is back from a week’s leave, bring on the Sunseeker Australia Cup 2010!

Sailing’s answer to Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Raffa are in town, Ben Ainslie and Ian Williams of Britain and Frenchman Mathieu Richard are the best in the world at what they do, race sailboats.

The skies over Perth are cloudless, and there is a strong wind warning for at least the next three days.

Compress these components into the confined space of Perth Water, right in front of the CBD, and you have a recipe for some serious action.

But it’s not all about the overseas “rock stars”, because last year Perth’s own up-and-coming world talent, Torvar Mirsky, beat the all these guys to collect the trophy, and it will take a crowbar to get it out of his hands.

There is also a trio of young Kiwis, bought up in the toughest match racing school on the planet, who have been making their mark on the world stage, these guys would love to win on Australian waters.

Throw in a South African and a couple of other talented locals, and the line up for the Sunseeker Australia Cup is red hot, and the Fremantle Doctor will only fan the flames.

Ben Ainslie, who has three Olympic golds and a silver, was the defeated finalist last year, beaten in two straight races by Torvar Mirsky, and defeat isn’t something that fits into his agenda, so expect a fight back.

Mathieu Richard has put in a big year on the International Tour, and has the world championship within his grasp, he will be looking to go into next week’s Monsoon Cup in Malaysia on a high, so a good performance in Perth is essential.

The Sunseeker Australia Cup will be four days of intense head-to-head competition that is too good to miss, hosted by the Royal Perth Yacht Club, it is managed by Swan River Sailing.

SKIPPERS
1. Mathieu Richard FRA
2. Ben Ainslie GBR
3. Torvar Mirsky AUS
4. Ian Williams GBR
5. Reuben Corbett NZL
6. Ian Ainslie RSA
7. Phil Robertson NZL
8. Keith Swinton AUS
9. William Tiller NZL
10. Peter Nicholas AUS

Phil Robertson is the brand new NZ Match Racing Champion

Phil Robertson was today crowned the Telecom New Zealand Match Racing Championship beating Josh Junior 3-1 in the final. Robertson joins Dean Barker, Chris Dickson, Gavin Brady & Rod Davis on the list of names engraved on the New Zealand Match Racing Cup.

For the first time in the Championships, a strong southerly breeze greeted the four skippers as they headed out on to the Waitemata Harbour to contest the finals. In the petit final, William Tiller was 1-0 up on Reuben Corbett. Corbett was a little too eager to get the match back on level pegging, crossing the start line early and gifting Tiller 3rd place overall.

Robertson started the day knowing he was 1 up on Josh Junior and his crew were determined to increase their 18 match unbeaten streak. However it was obvious Junior was not going to let Robertson have it all his own way and make the finals a clean sweep. Their matches produced toe to toe racing with both skippers sailing well in conditions more suited to the Wellington based skipper Josh Junior.

The brand new New Zealand Match Racing champions. Auckland, 21 November 2010. Photo copyright Brad Davies

Junior in keeping the pressure on Robertson in the first race of the morning copped a penalty leaving Robertson 2-0 up going into the 3rd flight. Junior pounced when an unusual slip in Robertson’s crew work led to a bad kite hoist. Despite Robertson having a real crack at Junior on the last downwind leg, there was not enough run way to get past and Junior crossed the finish line a mere 2 seconds ahead of his rival. 2-1.

In what turned out to be the last race of the day, Robertson and his crew had a great start, but with Junior bringing the breeze with him all the way down the course and slowly closing the gap it was a nervous skipper & crew who finally crossed the finish line 6s ahead to claim the win and the Championships, 3-1.

“We had a lot of fun out there, but it was hard work. We had some tight matches, despite what the deltas might show. We sailed well today in the final, but we had to, as there was a strong breeze today and you are vulnerable if you go hunting penalties in that breeze – it’s just not worth it” said Robertson after being presented with the New Zealand Match Racing Cup.

Phil Robertson sails to victory in the New Zealand Match Racing championship. Auckland, 21 November 2010. Photo copyright Brad Davies

I’m proud of where we finished in the Championships” said Junior. “I only put together our crew 5 weeks ago and we have been practising about 3 times a week since. We feel we really stepped it up coming in to the finals and we’re very pleased with our result. Phil sailed well and he was tough to beat. Coming 2nd for us is a great end to our Championships.”

Robinson will be feeling buoyed by his team’s performance. Next week they’re off to compete in their Sunseeker Australia Cup in Perth in which Tiller & Corbett are also competing. That will be the last match racing event in their build up to the Monsoon Cup in Malaysia in December.

FINAL RESULTS

1st - Phil Robertson
2nd - Josh Junior
3rd - Will Tiller
4th - Reuben Corbett
5th - Chris Dickson
6th - David Wood
7th - Dan Pooley
8th - Samantha Osborne
9th - Byeong Ki Park

Phil Robertson moves to the New Zealand Match Racing Championships finals undefeated

Phil Robertson has continued his domination of the Telecom New Zealand Match Racing Championships coming out on top of the Round Robin series with 15 wins from 16 races. A 3-0 win in the semi-finals advanced him to the finals and he ends the day 1-0 up in the first to 3 final series.

At the start of the day only two flights remained to determine the four semi-finalists. Robertson was already secure in top place with a 3 point advantage and it was all to play for between Josh Junior (starting the day on 10 points) and Will Tiller, Chris Dickson and Reuben Corbett, all on 8 points. Tiller had raced one more race than the others and was starting the day with a bye.

Flight 8 ended with wins for Dickson and Corbett, putting them on 9 points. Junior lost to Roberston so remained on 10 points.


In the crucial match between Dickson and Junior, Junior copped a penalty as the windward boat not keeping clear. Junior sailed well and managed to get rid of the penalty on the 2nd upwind leg. Whilst still behind he came back at Dickson and managed to slam dunk them after which Dickson’s crew fumbled their gybe set and it was game over. Junior crossed the line 16 seconds ahead of Dickson to take the win.

The win by Junior was enough to give Will Tiller the much sought after 4th spot after the two skippers ended the Round Robin both tied on 9 points. Tiller had beaten Dickson in their last match which broke the tie and thus advanced Tiller straight into the semi-finals. Corbett won over Park and finished on 10 points, with Junior on 11 and Phil Robertson with 15 wins from 16 races.

Robertson chose to race against Will Tiller in the semi finals leaving Corbett up against Junior. Robertson continued his dominating ways with a 3/0 win.

I’m pleased with our performance” Robertson said once back on the dock. “We’ve sailed well all championships, we’ve had good starts and been fast on the water. The only race we lost was to Byeongki Park from Korea when we didn’t have a great start. We ended up with a big split which we couldn’t recover from. Our core team of 4 have been sailing together for over 2 years now and we’re really starting to see results. It’s great.”

Robertson’s win in the semis meant he would be facing Josh Junior from the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club in Wellington, after Junior defeated Reuben Corbett 3/1.

With an eye to Sunday’s light and variable forecast, Race Officer Megan Kensington saw her opportunity to get one match of the finals underway. Tiller beat Reuben Corbett in the petit final. Continuing his winning ways, Phil Robertson beat Josh Junior by 23s.

Racing gets underway at 1000 hours tomorrow in the first to 2 for the petit final and first to 3 in the finals.

Phil Robertson leads NZ Match Racing Championship

This morning’s raising of the AP flag on the Committee Boat, as she wallowed on the flat & glassy waters of the Waitemata Harbour had everyone wondering whether the predicted wind would actually arrive. Even the two national flags on top of the Auckland Harbour Bridge were limp. But with a delay of only an hour, Race Officer Megan Kensington was able to lower the AP flag and the first matches of the Telecom New Zealand Match Racing Championships were underway.

Conditions remained perfect for the remainder of the day. The 10-12 knot northerly breeze was so consistent that the set race course remained the same for the entire day and none of the marks required adjustment. With little tide, unusual in these waters, even the offset mark was not required.

Kensington, along with International Umpire Jeff Borland of the US, remarked on the day’s perfect conditions commenting that it was one of the easiest days of match racing they had ever managed. Seven flights were completed in Round Robin 1 and for what must be a record in match racing, only one penalty awarded (for a port/starboard in a pre-start).

There were no upsets until the 4th match of Flight 3 when Dan Pooley, skipper of the young team from the RNZYS Lion Foundation Youth Training Programme, beat seasoned match racer Chris Dickson. Providing extra motivation, included in Dickson’s crew was their coach, Guy Pilkington, their 17 second win understandably the highlight of their day.

Bottom placed Samantha Osborne also caused an upset with her 18 second victory over top ranked Reuben Corbett. Korean skipper Byeongki Park also claimed the scalp of Phil Robertson in a tight race by just 10 seconds.

However, it was only a matter of time before the tally of wins grew for the more experienced match racers with Dickson and Robertson tied in first position with 5 wins and 1 loss each at the end of the day’s racing.

Reuben Corbett will be hoping for a better day tomorrow to complete Round Robin 1. Ranked 12th in the world, he is currently sitting in 5th place with 3 wins and 3 losses.

Racing continues on Friday with the first start scheduled for 1000 hours. Conditions are once again expected to be light.

Current Standings
Robertson 5 wins/1 loss
Dickson 5/1
Junior 4/2
Tiller 4/2
Corbett 3/3
Pooley 2/5
Park 2/4
Wood 2/5
Osborne 1/5

Video: Phil Robertson reports on the final day of the BMW Berlin Match Race

Phil Robertson reports on the final day of the BMW Berlin Match Race. Berlin, 7 November 2010. Video copyright Waka Racing

Video: Phil Robertson reports from the BMW Berlin Match Race

Phil Robertson reports from the BMW Berlin Match Race. Berlin, 6 November 2010. Video copyright Waka Racing

Phil Robertson wins Asian Match Racing Championship title

[Source: Monsoon Cup] 23-year old New Zealand skipper Phil Robertson (Waka Racing) today showed why he has the scalps of some of the top guns on the ISAF World Match Racing circuit hanging on his belt.

The Asian Match Racing Championship sailed on the Pulau Duyong Basin in Terengganu, Malaysia, is one of three qualifying events ahead of the 2010 Monsoon Cup, the final event on the World Match Racing Tour.

Robertson defeated up and coming Australian match racer David Gilmour, the 19-year old son of four times World Match Racing Champion Peter Gilmour, in the final.

David Gilmour swept through the first of the round robins undefeated and finished the two round robins in second place, having twice beaten Phil Robertson and his Waka Racing Team.

In the semi finals, Team Gilmour steadied after a first match loss and went on to beat Wataru Sakomoto's Team Siesta (JPN) 2-1. Robertson was impressive against Reuben Corbett (Black Sheep Racing) and his Malaysian crew winning two races (2-0) to go straight through to the final.

Phil Robertson wins his second consecutive Asian Match Racing Champion title. Kuala Terengganu, 28 October 2010. Photo copyright SubZero Images / Monsoon Cup

In the first race of the final between Gilmour and Robertson it was tight in the prestart, with Robertson pushing his younger rival and in the fast moving tide Gilmour was OCS by half a metre, he had to go around and it was game over.

In the second race, the two crews were about even in the prestart with Robertson on the pin, when they came together as they approached the top mark; the two boats were bow to bow.

Roberson had to duck but he initiated a luffing match just before the top mark and managed to round ahead.

His crew had a slightly better set and down the run there was a tight gybing duel, with Gilmour losing a little ground.

But up the second beat the West Australian threw everything he could at the Waka Racing Team. Gilmour was determined not to die wondering. A dozen tacks later, Roberson had edged ahead to a two boat length lead and with a better set at the top mark, he edged away from Gilmour to take the win.

Dockside Robertson paid compliments to Gilmour, Sakamoto and Corbett and to his crew.

‘We have a big edge on David and his crew in experience. David is only 19, so he is sailing scarily well. We are really pushing for a World Match Racing Tour card for 2011. So we won't be leaving any stone unturned in our efforts between now and the Monsoon Cup. We have a grade one event in Berlin next week, then the New Zealand Nationals and then the Australia Cup, so our plan is to arrive back here in Terengganu right on the pace for the Monsoon Cup.'

David Gilmour was gracious in defeat. ‘We were beaten by a better crew this afternoon. Naturally we are disappointed to lose twice against Phil when we'd beaten him in both round robin matches.

‘But when it came down to the end, it was Phil's experience that made the difference. This is a game of seconds; we mistimed our first start and then in the second match we were just a little late in a few manoeuvres and he got away from us. This has been a good learning regatta. We are on the plane back to Perth tonight. I have Uni exams next week but we will be back again next year and we will be ready to take another step up.'

Wataru Sakamoto Team Siesta (JPN) was certainly not asleep, taking third place against Reuben Corbett.

‘We had a good series, we were very happy with our third place. We had our chances against Gilmour but every mistake is just one too many. The Monsoon Cup and the qualifying events have been great for Asian Match Racing. This was great training for us for the Asian Games; they are on in Guangzhou from November 12 - 27, 2010. We plan to be back next year. The only problem for us is that young Gilmour will be tougher and still only 19.'

New Zealander Reuben Corbett finished an impressive fourth in this event with his ever improving Malaysian crew and Corbett was full of praise for them. ‘They have just kept getting stronger every single race.

‘Overall the right guys won. Robertson was on fire, just not making mistakes. Gilmour obviously has a great future and Sakamoto was very strong.

‘Now I have a busy schedule ahead. With my Black Sheep Racing crew we will be sailing the New Zealand Nationals and the Australia Cup, trying hard to pick up the third Monsoon Cup slot from there.

‘We will be racing against Ian Ainslie from South Africa, the two Aussies Peter Nicholas and Keith Swinton, and another New Zealander William Tiller, so we are looking forward to another great series.'

After losing time on a windless afternoon yesterday, Principal Race Office David Tallis was relieved to have had the wind back for the finals day.

He summed up the event. ‘It was exciting racing; the standard has lifted significantly again this year, at both last week's Malaysian titles and here at the Asian Championship. The difference between first and fourth today was just a matter of a few metres. I was very impressed with Phil Robertson, I can see him in the semi finals at the Monsoon Cup the way he is progressing and David Gilmour definitely has a big future in this sport.'

Sakamoto flies the flag for Japan as Robertson takes the lead in the Asian Match Racing Championship

[Source: Monsoon cup] Wataku Sakamoto (JPN) Team Siesta is guaranteed a top four finish in the Asian Match Racing Championship (AMRC) as Mother Nature wrecked havoc on the third day of the event at the five-star Ri-Yaz Heritage Marina Resort and Spa.

After two-days of strong winds which saw a total of 16 of the scheduled 18 flights in the qualifying sessions completed, Sakamoto is fourth with a 9-5 record.

Defending AMRC Champion Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing (12-2) shrugged off his two defeats to David Gilmour (AUS) Team Gilmour (11-3) to top the standings ahead of his rival at end of racing, while Reuben Corbett (NZL) Black Sheep Racing is third (10-4).

Phil Robertson, currently leading the Asian Match Racing Championship, reports on day 3 of racing. Kuala Terengganu, 27 October 2010. Video copyright Waka Racing

The AMRC is the second qualifying event for the season-ending Monsoon Cup and the Champion will join Jeremy Koo (Mas) Koo Racing Team-Evernew, winner of the Malaysian Match Racing Championship (MMRC), the top eight skippers in the World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) standing, the winner of the Sunseeker Australia Cup and one wildcard entry for the season-ending race of the 2010 season.

The plan was for the top four to face off in the semi-finals with the winners than going on to the final to decide who gets the invitation to race in the Monsoon Cup. However, Principal Race Officer, David Tallis said if there is no wind tomorrow, there could be just a final.

“This is a sport which is dependent on the weather and there really isn’t anything we can do. I remember the 2003 America’s Cup was also delayed by two weeks as there was no wind,” he said.

“We have several options available to us and we are still determined to finish Qualifying Session 2 as that will be fair to all teams.

“If that is not possible, we would have to rescore the teams and make the semi-finals and final a ‘first to two’ instead of first to three as this will shorten the time. If, in the event, we can’t start the semi-finals by 3pm, we might go straight into the final. I would like to stress, that nothing is set in stone and we will evaluate our options in the morning.”

Phil Robertson leads the Asian Match Racing Championship. Kuala Terengganu, 27 October 2010. Photo copyright Subzero Images / Monsoon Cup

Meanwhile, Sakamoto said placing in the top four has made him even more determined to win the title before he competes in the Asian Games next month.

“Before coming to Malaysia, I wasn’t sure how the team would do. Obviously, we were not the favourites as there are many good teams,” said Sakamoto. “However, after two and a half days here, I feel we stand a good chance of winning. I'm here to prepare for the Asian Games and winning the AMRC will be a big boost for me and also help promote the sport back in Japan. It will also help me get more sponsors!”

ASIAN MATCH RACING CHAMPIONSHIP - STANDINGS (After 16 of 18 flights)
Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing 12-2
David Gilmour (AUS) Team Gilmour 11-3
Reuben Corbett (NZL) Black Sheep Racing 10-4
Wataru Sakamoto (JPN) Team Siesta 9-5
Graeme Sutherland (HKG) Team Hermes 7-8
Peter Nicholas (AUS) Freshie Racing Team 6-8
Mark Lees (GBR) 5-9
Tan Wearn Haw (SIN) SINYIDAI 3-12
Neil Semple (THA) Capital TV 1-13

Phil Robertson ready to defend his Asian Match Racing Champion title

Current ISAF World Match Racing Tour Champion (WMRT), Adam Minoprio (NZL ) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing has shown just what the Asian Match Racing Championships (AMRC) can do for a sailor’s career having first made a name for himself by winning the AMRC in 2006 and 2007. This year the AMRC starts today, October 25th and runs until the 28th at the Ri- Yaz Heritage Marina Resort & Spa in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia, the home venue of the Monsoon Cup.

Phil Robertson is the defending Asian champion and here's what he had to say right before the start of racing: "The venue is still very hot but the current is not as strong as in previous years. As the defending champions, the pressure is going to be on us but we are used to that. We have been training hard for the last three weeks to get ready to defend our title. The crew is almost the same, with the exception of our bowman as he could not make it this year. We have sailed here twice before and this will be an added advantage for us as this can be a tricky course. I think our inside knowledge will help us tremendously.

Winning this event last year has been good to us and raised our exposure massively. It has also helped us get into many other events and our skill level is now much higher as a result. We have taken part in two WMRT events this year - Korea and Bermuda but it's getting tougher as the skill level in the qualifiers is quite high."

Asian defending champion, Phil Robertson, trains on the eve of the Asian Match Racing Championship. Kuala Terengganu, 24 October 2010. Photo copyright SubZero Images / MonsoonCup

No wind, no race at the Korea Match Cup qualifier. Unfortunately, there was no breeze whatsoever on Sunday which meant the 4 finalist crews spent the entire day bobbing
around on the glassy harbour. The race committee tried to get races away but it was not possible. By consequence, the results were decided by the points counted from the round robin, giving Robertson the victory on count back with William Tiller.

Robertson secures now his entry in the Korea Match Cup and will try to get another World Match Racing Tour entry by competing in the Swedish Match Cup qualifier.

Phil Robertson reports on Day 4 of the Korea Match Cup qualifiers. Gyeonggi, 9 May 2010. Video copyright / Waka Racing

Phil Robertson reports from the Korea Match Cup qualifiers

Phil Robertson, the young up-and-coming kiwi match racer and his crew of Garth Ellingham (Mainsheet/Tactics), James Williamson (Trim), Sam Bell (pit) and Matt Randle (bow) are in Gyeonggi, Korea, taking part in the Korea Match Cup qualifier. As its name implies, the winner of the event will pocket an invite for the Korea Match Cup, one of the this year's ten World Match Racing Tour events.

They went through the round robin with 10 wins in 11 races, having succumbed only to Finland's Olli-Pekka Lumijärvi. As a result, they shared the top of the leaderboard with William Tiller, another very young and promising New Zealand match racer, but qualified first on the countback. Surprisingly, they picked Lumijärvi as their adversary for the best-of-five semifinal and they are now tied with one win each. The other semifinal is a purely kiwi affair with Tiller facing Laurie Jury. This match is tied as well, so Sunday will most probably see very close and tight races.

This endless stream of new and young New Zealand sailors never ceases to amaze me. It also the reason why I strongly doubt there will be any strict nationality rules in the America's Cup any time soon.

Phil Robertson reports on Day 3 of the Korea Match Cup qualifiers. Gyeonggi, 8 May 2010. Video copyright / Waka Racing

All-Kiwi final at the Warren Jones International Youth Regatta

[Source: Warren Jones International Youth Regatta] Former crew mates Phil Robertson and William Tiller will line up against each other in the all Kiwi final of the Warren Jones International Youth Regatta, on the Swan River’s Freshwater Bay this afternoon.

William Tiller and his crew scored a 3 – 0 victory in their semi-final against Peter Nicholas of Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club.

The other semi-final went to four races, with Phil Robertson taking the first heat, then David Gilmour levelled the score, before the Kiwi skipper wrapped it up by winning the next two heats.

When Phil Robertson won the event last year William Tiller was on his crew, so there will be good rivalry between these two when they confront each other this afternoon.

Phil Robertson moves to Warren Jones International Youth Regatta semis

[Source: Waka Racing] Perth, Western Australia, is the place for windsurfing and kite surfing not match racing. Another windy, windy day here that had us match racing in 30+ kts once again. ‘The Doctor’ is psychotic at the moment and we are hoping it will take a chill pill tomorrow for the semi finals.

We have qualified 1st equal, but losing on count back to Will Tiller our fellow RNZYS member after the round robin stage. We had strong winds again turning the highly technical Match Racing into survival racing. We had 6 races on Wednesday, only losing one this morning in very shifty conditions. Winning most of our starts we seemed to be able to control the rest of our races comfortably. Teams conclusion of the day was the the Lamb sandwiches (lambo sambo's) were outstanding.

Thursday brings the semifinals where we hope to be able to progress to the finals to have a crack at defending our title.

Thanks for the support,

WAKA Racing

Phil Robertson
Garth Ellingham
James Williamson
Mike Edmonds
Matt Kelway
Taylor Holland

Monsoon Cup - Day 2 - Flight 13: Ainslie leads with 7 points; Robertson on "steroids" upsets world match racing order

[Sorry but there are no photos from that flight] The last flight of the day had two clear protagonists; Ben Ainslie and Phil Robertson, the former for leading the round robin with 7 points and the latter for continuously upsetting the world's match racing order.

Ben Ainslie had to race against Malaysia's match racing champion, something of a formality for a 4-time Olympic medalist. After his easy victory, the skipper of Team Origin and his crew are now sitting on the top of the leaderborad with 7 wins and 2 losses and have surely set their eyes on Friday's quarterfinals.

Yet, the flight's, and day's, big protagonist is Phil Robertson and his WAKA racing team. The team of young kiwis was on some kind of match racing "steroids" today, winning all 5 of their races. The last one to fall was Sweden's Magnus Holmberg who got a penalty at the prestart and despite leading throughout the race he didn't build a margin big enough to offload the penalty and win the race.

WAKA Racing came to Kuala Terengganu being considered one of the teams that probably wouldn't make it to the semifinals and they are currently sitting on 2nd place together with Mathieu Richard, one point behind Ainslie.

Phil Robertson is on fire!!

The young kiwi sailor won all four of his races today, beating the world's number 1 and 2, and is now tied on the top with Magnus Holmberg and Ben Ainslie. We caught up with Phil Robertson during the lunch break (the race course being right in front of the marina building, the crews have a lunch break in the posh skippers lounge).

Phil Robertson: "I think that the chemistry finally came together. Yesterday it was almost there, we made just a few big errors, and it could have been a much netter day. Everything worked fine today, we won all our starts and the boys kept the boat going fast round the track. In this race track if you win the right at the start you just about win the race. It's really hard to pass, there are very few passing opportunitites, unless you are very close to the top mark and to get there you have to do very well in the first beat. We won every start and got out to the tide first. It's up to 5 knots and you go a lot faster!

Even if we race against the world's best we don't feel intimidated any longer. We are just calm and try to race the best way we can. It would be nice now if we became as well some of the best of the world."

Phil Robertson is on fire. Kuala Terengganu, 3 December 2009. Photo copyright Sander van der Bosch / SubZero Images

Monsoon Cup - Day 2 - Flight 9: Who can stop Phil Robertson?

Well, it's three out of three for the young New Zealand skipper, Phil Robertson. He started the day beating Mirsky, he then moved on to Peter Gilmour and now the world's current number one ranked sailor couldn't catch up with his aggressive tactics. Adam Minoprio was forced to a bad start, hitting the line at a slower pace and on hte disadvantaged left side. Robertson went on to win the race, leading from start to finish.

Ian Williams had another bad race and lost to Magnus Holmberg who now sits on top of the leaderboard with 5 points. In the intra-French battle Col beat Iehl while Ainslie again had no problem leading the race against Peter Gilmout.

Ten seconds before the start, Adam Minoprio slows and Phil Robertson gets the right. Kuala Terengganu, 3 December 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Ben Ainslie hits the starting line with an advantage over Peter Gilmour. Kuala Terengganu, 3 December 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Sébastien Col squeezes Damien Iehl. Kuala Terengganu, 3 December 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Umpires fly the green flag and as a result Williams loses the match with Holmberg. Kuala Terengganu, 3 December 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Monsoon Cup - Day 2 - Flight 8: Phil Robertson is on a roll!!

It seems that nothing and nobody can stop Phil Robertson today. Fresh from his previous victory over Mirsky the very young kiwi (just 22 years old) went on to beat another Australian match racing powerhouse. Peter Gilmour succumbed to Robertson's skills and was handed a red flag at the starting line.

In the other matches, Iehl really blew his start with an awful timing. Homberg had then no problem winning the race. In what was the flight's "feature match" Ian Williams was unable to get his act together against Sébastien Col. The reigning world champion is currently on a dry spell and must start winning some races if he doesn't want to watch the rest of the Monsoon Cup form the comfort of the skippers lounge!

Red flag for Gilmour and match for Robertson. Kuala Terengganu, 3 December 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Is it possible to have a worse start? Iehl blows it and loses his race against Holmberg. Kuala Terengganu, 3 December 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Monsoon Cup - Day 2 - Flight 7: Great win for Robertson against Mirsky

The second day of the Monsoon Cup 2009 started with an upset. Phil Robertson executed a brilliant prestart, avoided all the tricks Torvar Mirsky threw at him and forced him to slow down at the start line. Having gained the advantage, Mirsky was unable to catch the young kiwi.

In the other matches of the flight, Magnus Holmberg beat Sébastien Col despite being handed a penalty at prestart. Frnacesco Bruni will have to start winning some races if he aims to move on. The Italian skipper got yet another penalty at the prestart against Mathieu Richard and handed the race to the French. Finally, Ian Williams had an easy win over local skipper Hazwan.

Great win by Phil Robertson over Torvar Mirsky. Kuala Terengganu, 3 December 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Great win by Phil Robertson over Torvar Mirsky. Kuala Terengganu, 3 December 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Magnus Holmberg is handed a penalty but will win the race against Sébastien Col. Kuala Terengganu, 3 December 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing