SailGP Inspire - Day 4: Barker and Batten win Open title - Female crews perform strongly
by Richard Gladwell/Sail-World.com/nz 19 Jan 19:21 NZDT
Day 3 - SailGP Inspire- RS Feva - Royal Akarana YC - Jan 18, 2025 © Justin Mitchell
www.justinmitchell.co.nz - Instagram: @jl_mitchell_
Matteo Barker and Blake Batten (Murrays Bay SC) won the SailGP Inspire title after an arm-wrestle throughout the three day regatta with Nate Soper and Lauchie Wills (Murrays Bay SC/Howick SC).
The event marked a coming together of the top young sailors in New Zealand, many of whom compete in singlehanded classes. The Sail Inspire event provided the chance for them to team up and get their first experience in crewed sailing - and perhaps progress to the SailGP event being sailed further up the harbour.
Sailing from Royal Akarana Yacht Club, on a course just inside the entrance to the inner Waitemata Harbour, the easterly breeze was in for the third successive day reaching 14-20kts. It asked plenty of questions of the 50 crews, invited from different yacht clubs around New Zealand.
Soper and Wills led the regatta after the first day, but dropped the ball on the last couple of races on Day 2, and relinquished the lead. They went into the third and final day, unable to have any further misadventures. Their two double-digit placings on from Day 2 were able to be discarded, but they still had to keep the pressure on Barker and Batten, and hope they too, would stumble in the remaining three races.
Going into the third day, the consistent performance of the Murrays Bay SC crew meant the regatta was theirs to lose. With a win in Race 9, followed by a 5th and then a second in the Race 11, Barker and Batten did enough to retain their points lead. Sopher and Wills regained their first day form starting with a third place in Race 9, backing that up with two wins in the final two races. However it was not enough and when the final points were tallied, with two discard races taken into account, Barker and Batten's consistent sailing earned them top place on the podium on the main stage at SailGP.
Harry Strang and Thomas Linklater from Tauranga YPBC, finished third place overall - which they had resided right through the regatta.
Female crews filled three of the top eight placings overall. A Mixed crew of Finloe Gaites and Sofia Turner (MBSC) finished 6th. In regular racing just under 50% of the crews are female.
Many thanks to Vanessa Robson, Justin Mitchell Photography, the NZ Feva Association and Royal Akarana Yacht Club for making this happen along with SailGP, including RS Fevas in the SailGP Inspire program.
For full results Click here
Additional Images:
From the Medal Presentation on the mainstage at SailGP Auckland