Robertson reigns at World Match Racing Tour in Perth

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Issue date

27 Mar 2017

Phil Robertson showed he's still the one to beat on the World Match Racing Tour after winning the season-opening event in Perth at the weekend.

(Phil Robertson Racing (in orange) won the final 3-0. Photo: World Match Racing Tour)

The Kiwi helmsman, the reigning world champion, made it look easy as he cruised to a 3–0 victory in the final of the Match Cup Australia, beating local skipper Matt Jerwood.

“It was a very, very good day for us,” was Robertson’s description of the final. “We always try to learn at all the events. You’ve got to be taking whatever you can to make any marginal gains, and we managed to make a few and get up to speed.

“Today was a bit lighter, which was nice, and very shifty which played into our hands. The boys got the boat going fast, and going the right way, it seems to all fall into place if you can pull those two things off.”

Robertson and his New Zealand crew of Stewart Dodson, Will Tiller and James Wierzbowski, put on a master class of match racing in the M32, winning all three starts, and allowed Jerwood to cross in front of him only once in the three races.

Jerwood was gracious in defeat. “I’m incredibly proud of the guys, it’s always disappointing to lose, but Phil and his team were better than us this week, and we can’t wait to sail against him again.”

Robertson had progressed to the final by defeating another local skipper, David Gilmour (Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club) 3–1 in the semifinals as he found the lighter breezes to his liking.

Until the final, Jerwood, who gained entry as a wildcard, had been the giant slayer of the week, moving smoothly through the opening rounds until the quarter-finals when another Kiwi, Chris Steele, pushed him to five races. This seemed to set him up to cruise through the semifinal, defeating Torvar Mirsky in three-straight races. But the dream run ended in the final.

This was the first event on the 2017 World Match Racing Tour, a seven regatta circuit, which takes in venues in Europe, and the United States before ending in China for the world championships in October.