2015 Starling Match Racing Nationals won by Canterbury’s Matthew Wylie

by Brian Peet on 21 Jan 2015 The 2015 Starling Match Racing Nationals just completed at the Glendowie Boating Club was won after a hard fought battle by Canterbury’s Matthew Wylie.

Going into the third and final day of racing, Jason Hewitt from Waikato held the slenderest of leads over Auckland’s Jeremy Mitchell. After a two day round robin series comprising 132 races by the 12 regional representatives, the top two sailors were tied with score of 19 wins and 3 losses.

On countback Hewitt was deemed overnight leader. Close behind was Nick Gardiner from Nelson/Marlborough region and Matthew Wylie. As is the feature of match racing, these early results were set aside and the four top sailors paired off for two semi-finals, then a deciding final round.

The penultimate day’s sailing was one for the light weather specialists, with the breeze hovering in the 5 knot range and only occasionally rising to hiking strength. By dispatching Hewitt in the semis with two straight wins, Wylie progressed to face the other semi-final winner Jeremy Mitchell in the final. With a best of five to decide class champion, Wylie and Mitchell each achieved a win. In the end it was cool clear sailing and two more straight wins by Wylie that sealed the contest, becoming the twenty fifth winner of the Caltex Cup. In a first for this event, sail-offs were also sailed for the minor placings.

The Starling Match Racing nationals are going from strength to strength with the standard of competition improving each year. International Umpire Mike Alison said, 'The level of tactical skill shown by the sailors was superb and above previous nationals.' He commented the 12 sailors deserved a scorecard 8 out of 10 for tactical planning and execution in comparison to adult regattas he’s judged around the globe. While opportunities for teenage match racing in NZ are limited, the expansive school teams racing programme continues to provide a sound tactical platform for the paired variation.

Glendowie Boating Club once again took another step towards claiming this event as their regatta. This was the third consecutive year the club has run the series and the combination of friendly club spirit, billet options, quirky location, wonderful catering and expansive facilities makes this a regatta like no other in the country. As the spiritual home of the Starling, the GBC provided identical sets of MacKay and Sail One GRP boats for the regatta, negating the need for sailors to bring boats. Richard Brown, Starling Class Association Chairman did a fantastic job of race management, getting two full days of complete round robins and a third day of finals completed. This was a first for the class.

As with all yachting regattas, volunteers are important to an event’s success, but for Match Racing umpires are absolutely essential. This year the event was fortunate to have the services of Mike Alison, Roger Purdy, Tim Short and Hamish Hay. Their experience, even handed rulings and friendly advice to sailors was greatly appreciated.

Final Results
1st - Matthew Wylie (Canterbury)
2nd - Jeremy Mitchell (North Harbour)
3rd - Jason Hewitt (Waikato)
4th - Nick Gardiner (Nelson Marlborough)
5th - Shae Donahoe (Northland)
6th - Fergus Frame (South Island Wildcard)
7th - Rick Sanders (South)
8th - Tom Maidment (Bay of Plenty)
9th - Cameron Wright (North Island Wildcard)
10th - William Pitt (Taranaki)
11th - Charlotte Porter (Auckland)
12th - Zoe Bennett (Wellington)