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Robbie McCutcheon

McCutcheon survives crash to take match racing title

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There was a moment when Robbie McCutcheon and his team thought their chances of defending their CentrePort International Youth Match Racing Regatta at the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club over the weekend were sinking, almost literally.

The team of McCutcheon, Chester Duffett, Sam Street and Leo Brown found their Elliott 6 boat was taking on water after Will Wright crashed into them in the pre-start of the deciding match of their semifinal. Wright went onto win that match but incurred a point deduction for causing the crash, meaning the race needed to be sailed again.

McCutcheon, in a replacement boat, won the match and the semifinal and then went on to defeat Megan Thomson and her 2.0 Women's Racing Team 3-0 in the final to claim the trophy for a second year running.

"We were both dialled up into the wind in about 18 knots and Will tried to dive down and get the hook on us but I guess they were too overpowered, didn't have enough windward heel and didn't get the boat down below us," McCutcheon said. "They ran straight into our starboard side, T-boned us.

"They came in with a bit of heat so we were bracing [for impact]. I fell in the water and there was a 10cm crack in the hull and a broken tiller extension. There was quite considerable damage and the boat was out of action for the day."

McCutcheon had earlier emerged from the double round robin with the best record of eight wins and two losses, with Thomson (7-3) second, Max McLachlan (6-4) third and Wright (4-6) fourth.

Thomson was also taken the distance in her semifinal, eventually winning 2-1 over McLachlan, and would have fancied her chances in the final against her fellow Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron members considering she had beaten McCutcheon in one of their two round robin matches.

McCutcheon (19), Duffett (19) and Street (20) have all sailed plenty together on the match racing scene, finishing third at the recent Harken Youth International Match Racing Cup in Auckland, and still have a few years left in the youth ranks (under-23). They recruited Brown, a 12-year-old Optimist sailor, for the Centrepoint International Youth Match Racing Regatta.

"We definitely want to make the most of our opportunities while we are young and get the best results we can," McCutcheon said. "We're also keen to get ranking points that go with these regattas and try to make a name for ourselves.

"I made a goal about 18 months ago to one day get on the World Match Racing Tour and hopefully the America's Cup."

McCutcheon is presently ranked 101st in the world match racing rankings but can expect to move into the top 100 for the first time on the back of this result.

The Wellington event represented the last youth match racing regatta of the summer and McCutcheon and his team are eyeing up the New Zealand keelboat national championships at the end of April. 

It's a fleet racing event in MRXs and McCutcheon, Duffett and Street will be hoping it's not quite as dramatic as last weekend.

Overall placings from the CentrePort International Youth Match Racing Regatta at the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club:

1st Robbie McCutcheon – Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron
2nd: Megan Thomson – Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron
3rd: Will Wright – Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club
4th: Max McLachlan – Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron
5th: Jon Barnett – Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club
6th: Emily McCarthy – Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club

Full results here

  • Photo: The winning team of Chester Duffett, Sam Street, Leo Brown and Robbie McCutcheon. Photo: Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club.