RPAYC recently conducted the 2023 edition of Pittwater Secondary Schools Teams Racing Regatta, with the winners crowned and honoured with the ‘Pittwater Cup’ Trophy. 6 teams from 5 schools across Sydney participated on the twilight of Friday 3rd and the afternoon of Saturday 4th March.
A double round robin commenced on Friday evening with a light south-easterly. Knox Grammar School, St Aloysius’ and the Cranbrook School teams were fast out of the blocks, getting some wins on the scorecard. It was a challenging first day for both Pittwater High School and Pymble Ladies College, with the teams only scoring 1 and 0 wins respectively.
Racing continued on Saturday afternoon with the remaining 5 round robin races to be completed, followed by the 5th/6th sail off, the semi finals and finals. Teams were faced with a very light and shifty easterly breeze in the waters to the south-east of Scotland Island. The course presented many opportunities for lead changes throughout racing.
Following the round robin flights, it was the team from St Aloysius’ school who were ranked the highest. St Aloysius quickly achieved 2 wins against Cranbrook 2 in their semi-final to progress to the next stage.
Knox Grammar School showed some great form in their semi-final against Cranbrook 2 and progressed to the final after 3 races.
In the 5th vs 6th sail offs, Pittwater High School showed some early promise with a first match win against Pymble Ladies College, however the Pymble team were able to regroup and keep their 5th place ranking.
As the semi-finals and the 5th v 6th sail offs wrapped up, the breeze had dropped significantly and time was running out to get the full racing program in for the final stage. Race Officer Ted Anderson made the call for the final and petit-final stages to be a winner-takes-all race!
The two teams from Cranbrook School battled it out in the Petit final, with Cranbrook 1 ultimately getting the better of their fellow students and training partners.
In the final, St Aloysius’ made a strong start and were leading at the first mark, thanks to some early penalties against the Knox Grammar School team. However, on the final windward beat, the Knox Grammar team worked hard to find some passing lanes. Crucially, two of the Knox boats were able to pass ahead of the St Aloysius’ team to gain a 1,2 finish, and to win the ‘Pittwater Cup’ trophy!
The Abbotsleigh Umpires Trophy was deservedly awarded to the Pittwater High School team. RPAYC would like to thank our Race Officials and Umpires, in particular Race Officer Ted Anderson and Chief Umpire Simon Barrington.
FINAL RESULTS:
6th Place – Pittwater High School
5th Place – Pymble Ladies College
4th Place – Cranbrook 4ths
3rd Place – Cranbrook 3rds
2nd Place – St Aloysius’ College
1st Place – Knox Grammar School
