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Brian Trubovich admits he might not be as agile as some of his rivals but thinks he will make up for it with cunning when the 2019 New Zealand Match Racing Championships get under way on Thursday.
That quality usually comes with experience and Trubovich has plenty of that considering he is 79. Most of the 14 teams who have entered the event will be skippered by teenagers and twentysomethings and there will even be a Kings College outfit skippered by 16-year-old Hamish McLaren.
Trubovich is a well-known figure in the Auckland sailing scene and he's competed in the match racing nationals "about half a dozen times" before. He started match racing at 57 and won his first event, the Auckland match racing series, as a 60-year-old.
"Age isn't really a factor for me," he said. "It wouldn't matter if people were 90 or 19.
"I know a lot of those competing so it will be like racing against my buddies. I might not be as agile as the young ones but I will try to make up for it with a little bit of cunning. I know how the tide works in Auckland harbour, which balances it out a little bit."
He will also have a handy crew on board with him, including two-time runner-up Graeme Sutherland, 2009 Laser world championships silver medallist and former NZL Sailing Team member Mike Bullot as well as Holly McNeil and Connor Mashlan.
A quality fleet will line up for the Yachting Developments New Zealand Match Racing Championships, including world No 3 Nick Egnot-Johnson and his Knots Racing team, world No 13 Celia Willison and the Edge Women's Match team, Jordan Stevenson and Vento Racing who recently won the Grand Slam in the United States as well as Olympic class Laser sailor Tom Saunders.
Josh Junior won't be defending the title he won last year with Jason Saunders, Josh Porebski and Sam Meech because of his Emirates Team New Zealand commitments.
Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron youth training programme head coach Reuben Corbett, who in 2016 was ranked as high as nine in the world match racing rankings, will also come out of 'retirement' to race this week.
Trubovich will still have nearly 50 years on Corbett and will be looking to upset a few of the more fancied teams over the four days of racing. Trubovich has notched plenty of well-known scalps over the years, including Chris Dickson, John Bertrand, Gavin Brady and John Cutler.
"That's what I love about match racing," he said. "Occasionally you can fluke a result. It's my favourite form of the sport."
He's also a regular rum racer, and can usually be found lining up for the winter series and Bay of Islands Sailing Week and later this month will be on board Serena for the PIC Coastal Classic.
"I do a lot of sailing," said Trubovich, who is also a regular race official and has often been found assisting blind and visually impaired sailors. "Too much according to my wife but not enough if you ask me.
"I'm pretty lucky, really, in that I can still be doing all of this. I seem to be naturally fit. I've never been to a gym; although I went once to pick up my daughter."
Trubovich famously performed 70 press-ups for his 70th birthday but has ruled out doing 80 for his next one. Maybe he could be convinced to roll out a few if he wins the national title this weekend.
- Racing will begin on Thursday with a round robin, followed by quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. You can follow the results here.
- Pic: Brian Trubovich helming loves being out on the water. Photo: Andrew Delves / RNZYS.
