Dean Barker crowned NZ Match Racing champion

[Source: RNZYS] The fourth and final day of the New Zealand Match Racing Championships was held in extremely frustrating conditions for the competitors and the Race Committee alike. A light southerly breeze prevailed for most of the day but was very shifty, so the volunteers aboard the mark laying boats work hard to maintain a fair and equal course.

The three remaining flights of the second round robin were completed in the morning, as the final charges for the four semi final places began. It was a tight contest between the leading six teams, and the day was sparked by an upsetting race for Dean Barker, when his winning streak was cut short by Ben Ainslie who beat him by 30 seconds. Rod Davis claimed a win over Adam Minoprio, whilst Laurie Jury beat Adrian Short, securing his spot in the semi finals. Minoprio fought back hard in the next flight, clawing a vital point back with an impressive win over Ben Ainslie. Minoprio then went onto beat Dean Barker in the following flight; however it wasn’t quite enough to see him through to the final four.

Phil Robertson’s last hopes of making the semi finals were dashed by Laurie Jury, who beat Phil and put him out of the running for the top four. With Rod Davis securing a spot in semis, the four teams were decided. Ainslie, Barker, Jury, and Davis were then to fight it out for the match racing title.

Barker won the first race of the semi finals against Jury, who put up a fight in the second race to equal the scores. However the third race saw Barker into the finals and it was Ben Ainslie who was going to match him. After defeating Rod Davis, Ainslie took his spot in the final two, and it was all on from there!

The petit finals and finals saw some close racing as teams battled to get the 1st and 3rd placing. Jury had two wins over Davis, putting him in third place overall, whilst Barker had three consecutive wins over Ainslie, giving him the Auckland Match Racing Cup and making him the 2008 New Zealand Match Racing Championships winner.

With a day to spare the regatta came to end, with a forecast of very light winds tomorrow, the Race Committee was pleased to complete two round robins, semi finals and finals within four days. A very successful event, and after four exhausting days, the sailors, umpires, race committee, and all the volunteers will sleep well tonight. We’re looking forward to another exciting regatta next year!

Dean Barker sweeps NZ Match Racing Championships round robins

[Source: RNZYS] Competitors were greeted with a fresh easterly breeze of 15 – 18 knots as they sailed out into the third day of the Match Racing Nationals. The heavier conditions made for exciting spectator viewing, as boat handling and crew work was critical to maintain control of the boats.

Another brilliant performance from Dean Barker today saw him leave the water with 17 wins, and is yet to lose a race. If anyone was to disturb this winning streak, it was the young team helmed by Phil Robertson, who really put the pressure on the Emirates Team New Zealand crew during the early stages of the day. After a very tight and exciting pre-start, both boats sailed neck and neck to the top mark, where Barker rounded in front by a mere three seconds. Robertson, known for his fast downwind sailing, managed to creep past Barker on the downwind leg, coming out just in front at the bottom mark. With only one leg to go, Barker fought his way back in front and extended his lead to a 12 second victory at the finish line.

Robertson continued to threaten the leading sailors, with a tough race against Ben Ainslie. On the last downwind leg the boats gybed all the way to the finish, and after an intense luffing dual just before the finish line Robertson was given a penalty which saw Ainslie claim the race. The penalty which was given to Robertson occurred after serious contact causing damage to their two boats, thus both teams were deducted half a point for failing to avoid a collision. Unfortunately for Robertson, he still had to complete his penalty before he could finish the race. Nevertheless an excellent effort from the young helmsman!

While Barker and Ainslie look safe to make the semi-finals, the next three flights are critical in deciding who will fill up the other two spots. With Rod Davis on 12 wins and Adam Minoprio on 11, they will be fighting for the spots as Laurie Jury and Phil Robertson are not that far behind. The Race Committee got six flights away today, so still have three flights to complete the round robin. With Ben Ainslie, Rod Davis and Dean Barker yet to match each other in this round, we are looking at an exciting start to tomorrow's racing!

POINTS TABLE (after Round Robin One and eight flights of Round Robin Two)

Dean Barker 17 wins / 0 losses / 17 points
Ben Ainslie 14 / 3 / 13.5*
Rod Davis 12 / 5 / 12
Adam Minoprio 11 / 6 / 11
Laurie Jury 10 / 7 / 10
Phil Robertson 9 / 8 / 8.5*
Josh Junior 6 / 11 / 6
Reuben Corbett 6 / 12 / 6
Jessica Smyth 4 / 14 / 4
Adrian Short 4 / 13 / 4
Jan Dawson 2 / 16 / 2

* Phil Robertson & Ben Ainslie have been penalized 1/2 point

Dean Barker undefeated, leads NZ Match Racing Championships

[Source: RNZYS] Intensity levels were high going into day two of the New Zealand Match Racing Championships, with some tight races being fought out under the increasing pressure to make it into the semi finals. A fresh breeze of 10 – 15 knots coming from the South West made for perfect match racing conditions and created a mixed bag of results, with some upsetting losses and surprising wins.

Rod Davis suffered 4 losses today, losing races to Ben Ainslie, Dean Barker Reuben Corbett, and Josh Junior. The two young teams made it hard for last years defending champion, with some close races. The match between Corbett and Davis was definitely a highlight of the day, the young team rising to the competition and pushing Davis into a nail biting finish. Davis, having a penalty to complete on the last downwind leg forced Corbett into a trap at the finish line in an attempt to clear his penalty. However by keeping his nose clean, Corbett was able to keep well clear and sail to the finish, beating Davis by 10 seconds. This match triggered the start of a good day for the youth team, as they then went on to beat Ben Ainslie in the following race. Corbett’s team attributed their wins to their crew work and boat handling skills. This just proves the point that experience isn’t everything in a match racing regatta, where anything is possible!

The Race Committee was able to get away eight flights today, completing the first round robin and also two races of the second round robin. Dean Barker leads the field, coming off the water today with 11 wins, and remains undefeated. Ben Ainslie isn’t far behind with 9 wins, closely followed by up and coming Phil Robertson on 8 wins. Rod Davis, after a few hard blows today still holds 7 wins, followed by Jury and Minoprio tied up on 6. With the rest of the teams not far behind, it’s all on for tomorrow’s day racing!

POINTS TABLE
(after Round Robin One and Two Flights of Round Robin Two)

Dean Barker 11 wins / 0 losses
Ben Ainslie 9 / 3
Phil Robertson 8 / 4
Rod Davis 7 / 5
Adam Minoprio 6 / 5
Laurie Jury 6 / 6
Reuben Corbett 5 / 7
Jessica Smyth 4 / 8
Adrian Short 4 / 8
Josh Junior 4 / 8
Jan Dawson 1 / 11

Rod Davis wins NZ Match Racing Championships

[Source: RNZYS] Rod Davis with his Emirates Team New Zealand crew of Tony Rae, Grant Loretz, Chris Ward and Richard Meecham have ‘done the impossible’ have beaten Dean Barker in the finals of the New Zealand Match Racing Championships on the Waitemata harbour today! It was nail – biting racing as Davis won the first, Barker the second, Barker the third, Davis the fourth as the final went down to the very last race in the best of 5 series.

The start was even and during the day the breeze had increased to over 20 knots. This increased breeze tested the crews and Davis’s crew were up to the challenge. At the top mark Davis was around first but Barker was close behind, just a boat length in it. Davis had a good hoist and as the spinnaker set, the boat lurched towards the bottom mark. Barker and team did the same and were right on Davis’ transom. The spectators watching around Westhaven marina and from the Members Bar deck at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron were leaning out over the rock wall and balcony to gain a better line of sight! The race was extremely close!

Rod Davis and Dean Barker race at the finals of the NZ Match Racing Championships. Auckland, 25 November 2007. Photo copyright Chris Cameron

At the top mark for the second time Davis again rounded the top mark in front and kept just in front of Barker to win the race, win the regatta & win the New Zealand Match Racing Championships for the second time!

In the petit final Chris Dickson and his young crew won the first race against Laurie Jury. Jury then went onto to win the next two races in the strengthening breeze and secure third spot in the regatta.

All the competitors commended the Race Committee and Umpires for the excellent job they did through out the series! And all involved are looking forward to next year already!

Rod Davis and Dean Barker race at the finals of the NZ Match Racing Championships. Auckland, 25 November 2007. Photo copyright Chris Cameron

Semi-finalist found at the NZ Match Racing Championships! Barker, Davis, Dickson & Jury

[Source: RNZYS] The final four flights of the round robin were completed on Saturday morning and in his final race, Barker beat his team mate Rod Davis, giving him a total of 10 wins from 11 races and the top place in the round robin.

This left Davis with 9 points and second overall.

Adam Minoprio beat his younger cousin 20 year old Michael Thorpe by 34 seconds and this gave Minoprio the extra point he needed to beat Thorpe overall in the round robin.

The Quarter Finals began around midday.

Quarter Final 1: Barker racing 8th ranked David Wood. Barker beat Wood twice and was the first to qualify for the semi finals and being the top ranked from the round robins Barker chooses his opponent in tomorrow morning’s briefing.

Quarter Final 2: 4th placed Laurie Jury sailed Minoprio. Jury and his team showed a lot of experience and beat Minoprio 2 nil to secure the second spot in the semi finals.

Quarter Final 3: Rod Davis and his ETNZ crew beat Jonathan Rankine 2 nil.

Quarter Final 4: In the mate-against-mate battle the youth programme team skippered by Michael Thorpe beat Chris Dickson and his youth programme crew in the first race by 29 seconds.

In the second race Dickson controlled the start and the youth programme team could never get close enough to attack, Dickson won the race by 1 minute and 19 seconds.

The third race was one that the youth programme team wish they could sail again. The start was even and around the top mark they were just behind Dickson but coming into the bottom mark the wind increased and the young crew found themselves flying towards the mark a bit out of control!

The spinnaker was dropped late and the rounding was slow. The team cleaned up and when they looked up their opponent was gone. Dickson won the race by a massive 3 minutes and 23 seconds.

Guy Pilkington, coach of the RNZYS Lion Foundation Youth Training Programme who is sailing with Dickson said “we just scrambled better”!

Thorpe and crew finish the regatta in 6th place overall which is the highest ever placing by a youth programme team!

Racing finished around 2.30pm and the Race Committee were satisfied with another great day on the water. With just semi-finals and finals to sail on Sunday, Race Officer Megan Kensington and Chief Umpire Jack Lloyd decided to give the sailors a small sleep in and briefing will be held 45minutes later at 9am on Sunday morning. Racing is scheduled to being at 10am.

Davis and Barker lead the NZ Match Racing Championships

[Source: RNZYS] Rod Davis added another two wins to his total of 9 points and remains on top of the leader board still undefeated!

Next his team mate and training partner – Dean Barker is just one point behind with a total of 8 points. The duo is scheduled to race tomorrow morning in Flight 13.

Throughout the regatta Davis has never looked like losing until this afternoon against the all female crew helmed by Jessica Smyth. The pair started evenly with Smyth to windward and Davis to leeward. Just after the start Smyth looked to be in control and looked over onto Davis’ boat which was just to leeward and heard bowman Richard Meecham say to his skipper “Yes, the girls are higher and faster than us”!

Dean Barker and Laurie Jury race during the 2nd day of the NZ Match Racing Championships. Auckland, 23 November 2007. Photo copyright NZRYS

It gave the girl’s team a boost and they rounded the top mark for the first time ahead of Davis. Closing in on the bottom mark and getting ready to drop the spinnaker the genoa sheets got wrapped around the spinnaker pole and trimmer Aimee Famularo couldn’t bring on the genoa on in time, this gave Davis enough room to get around inside the girls at the bottom mark and enough of a lead to win the race!

Friday can only be described as a long day on the Waitemata harbour the crews were held ashore until mid morning when Race Officer Megan Kensington brought them out on to the water with the hope of racing. It wasn’t to happen and the crews were sent back ashore.

The race committee stayed on the water and at around 3pm were satisfied there was enough breeze building to send the boats out again.

3 flights were completed (flights 8 – 10).

Chris Dickson and his young crew were undefeated today with another two wins out of two races – taking their total points to 6.

The team had a close pre-start with young skipper Adam Minoprio and his Blackmatch Sailing team. But Minoprio was over at the start. As Dickson crossed the line he pointed this out to the race committee who had already seen it and Minoprio was signaled over and had to turn back to re-start.

Chris Dickson and his young crew during the 2nd day of the NZ Match Racing Championships. Auckland, 23 November 2007. Photo copyright NZRYS

Dickson was very pleased with the day and is happy with the way “the boys” are sailing. There are three current members of the RNZYS Lion Foundation Youth Training Programme sailing with Dickson; bow Bradley Farrand; main Scott Burling and pit Tom Blampied. For all three youngsters this is their first match racing regatta sailing in the Farr MRX’s, and for Tom practice day was his first time sailing on a Farr MRX!

I asked 18 year old Farrand what is the difference sailing with Dickson to other skippers? He replied quickly “He wins every start”!

Points Table Sailed / Wins / Loses / Points
Rod Davis 8 / 8 / 0 / 8
Dean Barker 9 / 8 / 1 / 8
Chris Dickson 8 / 6 / 2 / 6
Jonathan Rankine 8 / 6 / 2 / 5.5
Laurie Jury 8 / 6 / 2 / 5.5
Michael Thorpe 8 / 5 / 3 / 5.0
Adam Minoprio 9 / 5 / 4 / 4.5
David Wood 8 / 3 / 3 / 3
Jessica Smyth 8 / 2 / 6 / 2
Jan Dawson 9 / 1 / 8 / 1
Phil Robertson 9 / 1 / 8 / 1
Simon Dickey 8 / 0 / 8 / -0.5

Davis leads Day One of the New Zealand Match Racing Championships

[Source: RNZYS] Rod Davis and his Emirates Team New Zealand crew lead day one of the New Zealand Match Racing Championships winning all 6 of his races.

Fellow team mate Dean Barker is next on 5 wins only losing his last race of the day to Chris Dickson.

In the pre-start Dickson was close to leeward with Barker to windward off the start line, Dickson came up under Barker who had to tack off. Dickson extended a little and then tacked over onto port. After the tack Dickson looked to be 1 boat length in front of Barker. As the two boats closed in on the top mark Dickson caught a favourable left hand shift, and his lead jumped out to around 4 boat lengths. Dickson’s young team worked hard and kept the lead to win the race.

Also on 5 wins for the day is Jonathan Rankine and Laurie Jury, but both end the day with a total of 4.5 points.

Chris Dickson (left) leads Dean Barker. Auckland, 22 November 2007. Photo copyright RNZYS

Rankine was deducted half a point after a collision with the all female crew in Flight 2 this morning. Rankine completed his penalty turn for the incident and went onto win the race, however after the match the umpires deducted half a point for the damage caused.

Jury’s half point deduction was not for damage. In his final race of the day against Adam Minoprio running side by side the two boats crossed the finish line at the exact same time and the Race Committee awarded them a dead-heat and half a point each.

The racing was extremely close this afternoon once a moderate southerly breeze filled in, but when racing began this morning it was light airs, tricky sailing and a few crews found patches of no-wind on the Waitemata Harbour.

In the first flight of the day the Youth Training Programme team skipper by Michael Thorpe raced Youth Programme graduate Phil Robertson. Off the start line the two boats looked very even but Thorpe and crew protected the favoured right hand side of the course and kept pushing Robertson to the left which put Robertson in a hole with no wind and Thorpe and crew went on to win the race.

Laurie Jury (left) and Phil Robertson during the prestart. Auckland, 22 November 2007. Photo copyright RNZYS

In his next race Thorpe matched up against Jan Dawson. As both boats entered the pre-start, Thorpe on starboard started to luff Dawson on port and Dawson failed to keep clear and was given a penalty by the match umpires. The pair tacked away and came back together again with Thorpe again on starboard and Dawson tried to cross in front of him on port but failed to clear him resulting in a second penalty to Dawson. After the start Dawson had to complete one penalty turn and the youth team sailed away for their second win.

The match up of the day that really mattered to Thorpe and crew was racing their fellow Youth Programme members and coach onboard with Chris Dickson, it was always going to be a tough race against Dickson who is one of their sailing hero’s!

It was a split tack start and Dickson’s team were just ahead at the top mark for the first time, the youth team closed in and rounded the bottom mark just behind Dickson. Dickson went to the favoured right hand side and gained to take the win by 34 seconds.

Points Table Sailed/ Wins / Loses
Rod Davis 6 / 6 / 0
Dean Barker 6 / 5 / 1
Jonathan Rankine 6 / 4.5 / 1
Laurie Jury 6 / 4.5 / 1
Chris Dickson 6 / 4 / 2
Adam Minoprio 6 / 3.5 / 2
David Wood 6 / 3/ 3
Michael Thorpe 5 / 2 / 3
Jessica Smyth 5 / 1 / 4
Jan Dawson 6 / 1 / 5
Phil Robertson 6 / 0 / 6
Simon Dickey 6 / 0 / 6

Dean Barker & Chris Dickson contest national NZ match racing championships

[Source: RNZYS] Dean Barker & Chris Dickson both get back into the local racing scene with the New Zealand Match Racing Championships, hosted by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron held over the next four days on the Waitemata Harbour.

Barker who is the only skipper to win the National Championships four times (1997, 2004, 2005 & 2006) is on a roll and is back to defend his title.

Dickson, the 1999 Champion is back but this time is sailing with the Coach of the RNZYS Lion Foundation Youth Training Programme, Guy Pilkington & and an all youth programme crew under 20 years of age. Pilkington was elated when Dickson said he would sail with the young team, “I think it’s great for these young guys, the racing will be hard but they will give it their all and come away with a great experience”.

Rod Davis the 2000 & 2001 Champion is back with his Emirates Team New Zealand crew of Tony Rae, Chris Ward, Grant Loretz & Richard Meacham,

The three established stars will have to work hard to beat the young guns of New Zealand Match Racing.

Laurie Jury, Adam Minoprio, Phil Robertson, Simon Dickey, Jonathan Rankine & David Wood are all graduates of the RNZYS Lion Foundation Youth Training Programme and have been training extensively for this regatta.

The year’s championship has attracted two female helmsmen, Yachting New Zealand President Jan Dawson & another Youth Programme Graduate Jessica Smyth. While Dawson will be sailing with an all male crew Smyth has a young all female crew onboard.

Smyth who in August competed in the ISAF Women’s World Match Racing Championships held in France is looking forward the next four days, “This week the boats are bigger and a lot harder to sail but the girls and I are up for the challenge”!