Objective Australia - Two very solid results for Objective Australia

4 September 2013

Objective Australia had another busy night after failures, yet again, with the regatta supplied equipment. The team worked tirelessly to diagnose and replace the supplied faulty equipment that caused them to drop from first to last place in Race 4 of the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup.

With fresh evidence from Race 4, Team management also lodged a new request for redress with the International Jury for Races 2 and 4.

Most importantly, the Objective Australia team mentally re-grouped, showing maturity well beyond their years and when the team went out onto San Francisco Bay for Races 5 and 6 today they were fully prepared to race hard.

Keeping their nose clean at the start line, Jason Waterhouse and team pushed hard to round the first mark just behind current regatta leader Peter Burling of NZL Sailing Team (NZL2).

Choosing to safely tuck in and follow the Kiwi’s down the run, Objective Australia rounded the bottom left mark right on NZL2’s heels. However, they were forced to take a higher, slower course into the favoured left hand side of the course. This allowed a couple of the teams who went to the middle of the course to make gains on them. But the Aussies did well and maintained their second place at the top mark.

On the run, NZL2 extended a little in the clear air. The American Youth Sailing Force (US1), who lost a crew member down the run, gained a little on the Aussies at the bottom mark but couldn’t maintain it up the beat with the Aussies clear in second by the next visit to the top mark and then all the way to the finish.

With second place to the current leaders of the regatta, the Objective Australia crew were visibly more confident heading into Race 6. They settled into the lower half of the line, right with NZL2. It was a tough place to be, with a number of boats nearly going over the top and taking their wind, but they rounded the first mark overlapped in 4th place and immediately gybed to get clear air.

This brought them back into the race and they rounded the bottom mark in third place behind the two Kiwi boats. Great boat speed and some precision calls kept them in the best of the pressure up the next work and when they crossed NZL1 they secured second place across the line in Race 6.

Having sailed two excellent races today and with the regatta organiser supplied equipment failures behind them, the Australian team was satisfied that their performance demonstrated their potential but for the issues beyond their control over the last two days.

With the final day of competition tomorrow and with the final Race 8 counting for double points, it’s a race for the podium for Objective Australia in the inaugural Red Bull Youth America’s Cup.