On February 6, the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron welcomed ten teams to Raceday One of the annual Hardy Cup Sydney International Match Racing Regatta. Sailors represent six different clubs across three nations showing that international entries have returned to healthy status, despite the challenges of the pandemic.
Two teams from the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron crossed the Tasman to participate in the regatta. They are led by skippers Josh Hyde (RNZYS) and Mason Mulcahy (RNZYS).
A team representing Great Britain has also made the journey to Sydney, with skipper Robbie McCutcheon competing for Oban Sailing Club (OSC), Scotland.
ENE Winds between 10 to 18 knots at Fort Denison put pressure on sailors to pick the correct shifts in a fiery contest of wit and tactics.
The completion of the first Round Robin saw three boats in equal first with Will Sargent (CYCA), Robbie McCutcheon (OSC) and Josh Hyde (RNZYS) claiming eight wins each. They were followed by Max Paul (RSYS), who took out six wins, as well as Xavier McLachlan (RSYS) and Mason Mulcahy (RNZYS), who both sit on four wins.
Xavier McLachlan commented, “It was a great day on the water with four wins from nine races. The weather was lovely. We couldn’t have asked for better conditions out there, with fantastic breeze and plenty of shifts at the top of the course,”
“We had some good matchups with the Kiwis and the Perth sailors,” he added.
Lucy Alderson entered the competition from Perth’s Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club.
“We’ve got a new team, so we’re working on our boat handling,” she said.
“We sailed some good pre-starts and had control over many of the other teams. We haven’t sailed the Elliott 7s very much, but we recently got some of these boats into WA. I’m used to sailing a three tonne Foundation 36. The Elliott spins nicely on the start line with a high level of command.”
The second Round Robin will take place on February 7 to finalise competitors’ positions before the quarter-finals.
Live results are available here: https://www.matchracingresults.com/2023/hardy-cup/
All photos by Darcie Collington.
For more information on the history of the Hardy Cup visit the RSYS Hardy Cup regatta page. Follow the action on the RSYS Hardy Cup Facebook page.
