National Match Racing Champs - Dunstan leads with six wins on Day One

8:31 AM Sat 5 Sep 2009 GMT

'Mackenzie closely overlaps Watehouse in their duel in the 2009 Australian Match Racing Championship - 2009 Australian Match Racing Championship' Tom Spithill Click Here to view large photo

Three time past winner, Michael Dunstan representing Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, had an excellent day on the water picking up six wins from seven matches to lead the 2009 Australian Match Racing Championships after day one on a picture perfect day on Pittwater. The ISAF Grade 3 event is being hosted by the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club in conjunction with Yachting Australia.

Race Offficer Ted Anderson had a busy day managing to get through all but one of 36 round robin matches to complete Round Robin One of the Championship. Racing got away on time commencing at 1000hrs due to a fresh South Wester blessing Pittwater this morning on a glorious spring day. A course was set to the North East of Scotland Island on Pittwater's 'big pond' taking advantage of the 10-15 knot SW breeze that remained consistent throughout the morning before a shift to the left just after midday swinging around to the SE after flight five. The course had to be reset as a result putting a halt to racing for some 20 to 30 minutes.

Unfortuntaley the breeze started fade late in the afternoon for the last flight making it frustrating for the six competitors on the water and forcing the Race Committee to abandon match two (Dunstan v Walker) in the final flight. This will be re run first thing tomorrow to complete Round Robin One. With Seve Jarvin breathing down his neck on equal points but ahead on a countback beating him earlier in the day, he will be keen to take on the important re-run in the match againt the defending champion Evan Walker. If he wins he will be the clear leader of Round Robin One on seven points.

For Dunstan today's result was pleasing, 'I am really happy with my crew's performance - it was a pretty pleasing result. We had good breeze most of the day except when it dropped out completely nearing the top mark in the final match of the day. We just tried to good starts and maintain consistent boat speed all day.'

Dunstan who won the National title in 2004, 2005 and 2006 said he is 'happy to be back on Pittwater with great weather and great sailing' following his two year absence from the helm. In 2007 he was overseas and 2008 was spent coaching the girls so is glad to be back on the water at the helm.

On the ones to watch this year Dunstan commented, 'Seve Jarvin is always tough to beat and Evan Walker is the one with the best form coming into this event so I expect him to be right up there and of course, Nicky Souter with her recent form, winning the Women's Nationals and Worlds will also be a tough competitor.'

'We are really looking forward to the rest of the regatta,' concluded Dunstan.

Reece tacks on top of Jarvin in the 2009 Australian Match Racing Championship - 2009 Australian Match Racing Championship - Tom Spithill Click Here to view large photo

There was excellent, close racing in many flights with a great field of competitors on the race tack today. Defending champion and winner of this event for the past two years, Evan Walker was pleased with his crew's performance commenting, 'Crew work is coming together well so am happy on that front. Our three losses today were down to losing the starts. There wasn't that much passing happening out there today, so much was dependent on the starts.'

On his prospects year and hoping to make it a hat trick of National Open Match Racing titles following victory in Melbourne and Perth, Walker said, ' this is a really competitive field this year so it will be hard but we're hoping to give it our best, it's early days and there's still three days to go. Yeah, but I would love to win it again.'

Royal Prince Alfred's Yacht Club's Nicky Souter and her all girl crew of Nicole Douglass, Amanda Scrivenor, Samantha Boyd and Rayschele Martin had a good day on the race track amongst the male field picking up four wins from her eight round one races. Fresh from her National Women's title this week Souter said, ' We did OK today and happy we're we sit going into Day Two. I 'm a bit disappointed with the final race but the breeze faded in the pre start and when we gybed we just lost boat speed and Seve Jarvin was lucky to pick up a gust at the start and just took off and we couldn't catch them.'

Souter added, 'It's been a while since sailing against the boys which brings us up against a different level of skill and experience, which is good for us. We will just have to be more aggressive in our pre starts and we're looking forward to tomorrow and aiming for a top four spot. All in all, a good day, I'm pretty happy and the crew worked well.' Souter sits in fifth spot going into Day Two.

Tomorrow's forecast is for variable 5/10 knots, tending NE 10/15 knots in the afternoon providing interesting and challenging conditions for the competitors and the race committee to ge through Round Robin Two.

Following Round Robin Two the top four competitors will go straight through to the semi finals and the fifth to ninth ranked skippers will sail it off for 5th to 9th placings in a best of three races.

The racing will continue on Monday with the semi finals and conclude with the petit and final on Tuesday 8th September.

Mackenzie leads Waterhouse in the 2009 Australian Match Racing Championship - 2009 Australian Match Racing Championship - Tom Spithill Click Here to view large photo

Results after Day One Round Robin

1. Michael Dunstan (RSYS) - 6 wins/1 loss/1 abandoned
2. Seve Jarvin (DBSC) - 6 wins/2 losses
3. Murray Gordon (RPAYC) - 5 wins/3 losses
4. Evan Walker (CYCA) - 4 wins/3 losses/ 1 abandoned
5. Nicky Souter (RPAYC) - 4 wins/4 losses
6. Jordan Reece (RSYS) - 3 wins/5 losses
7. David Chapman (RSYS) - 3 wins/5 losses
8. Will Mackenzie (CYCA) - 3 wins/5 losses (1/2 point deducted for gunnel damgae)
9. Jason Waterhouse (RPAYC) -1 wins/ 8 losses

For more details and live results go to www.rpayc.com.au/2009-australian-match-racing-championships.html

by Damian Devine