Walker/Gibbs final at Australian Match titles
Evan Walker from Sydney's Cruising Yacht Club of Australia and the Royal Perth Yacht Club's Robert Gibbs will meet in the final of the Barbagallo Marine Australian Match Racing Championships on Perth's Swan River on Sunday. 
'Doug Cooksey leads Evan Walker across the finishing'
John Roberson ©
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Both skippers won their best of three semi-final matches, after losing the first encounter, then coming back to take the next two.
Evan Walker, who defeated local Perth skipper Doug Cooksey in the semi-final, is relishing the coming competition, 'tomorrow's racing should be good, we've got a lot of history with Gibbsey,' he commented.
Robert Gibbs confirmed the healthy rivalry, 'me and Evan used to be training buddies in Sydney, we've raced plenty of times, I'd say the record between us in major events is about 50/50,' was his assessment.
Gibbs had defeated fellow Royal Perth member and local legend Gordon Lucas in three hard fought semi-final races.
With Perth's fabled seabreeze, the Fremantle Doctor, arriving late on the Swan River's Matilda Bay, the first of the semi-final rounds was a very slow and delicate dance, with Lucas winning by a substantial 2 minutes plus, while Cooksey scraped home by a boat's length.
Both defeated skippers protested the fairness of the encounters, but their complaints were dismissed, with Walker later admitting, 'they won it fair and square, but in those circumstances you have to try anything.'
When the breeze filled in, Walker and Gibbs stamped their authority on the game, though both praised their opponents, saying the tough semis had honed their skills for Sunday's finals.
Robert Gibbs commenting of Lucas, 'he was lightning fast down wind,' and in truth the veteran handed the series to the young gun by incurring a number of penalties.
Walker said of South of Perth Yacht Club's Doug Cooksey, 'he and his team lifted their game a lot during the round robins, and really pushed us.'
The final is scheduled to be a best of three match series, starting at 2pm on Sunday, with the forecast for good conditions.
by John Roberson 
Devonport, TAS
