On the final day of the Musto Youth International Match Racing Regatta, New Zealanders Jordan Stevenson, Mitch Jackson, George Angus, Jake Erson and Jeb Lardies have been declared overall winners of the 2019 ‘Joy Ride’ Trophy, winning their first World Sailing Grade 1 event, conducted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia.
Representing the powerhouse which is the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron (RNZYS), under the direction of Rueben Corrbett, Stevenson joins the ranks of six other RNZYS skippers to have won the trophy. This leaves RNZYS now only one win behind equalling the host Club’s record of eight ‘Joy Ride’ trophy victories.
For Stevenson, the writing was on the wall since the beginning of the week, with the young Kiwi sailing smart throughout the competition. In the end, his team won the Finals 2-1 over Great Britain’s Matt Whitfield.
Runner-up, Whitfield, was also second at the Harken International at the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club last weekend.
In the petit-final, it was a re-match of the current world champion, Tom Grimes, against long-time rival and world champion runners-up Nick Egnot-Johnson. Once again it took the three races to decide the winner, with Egnot-Johnson coming out on top this time around.
Over the four-day competition, 93 races were completed for the first-ever World Sailing Grade 1 for the east coast of Australia.
Final placings:
1. Jordan Stevenson – NZL
2. Matt Whitfield – GBR
3. Nick Egnot-Johnson – NZL
4. Tom Grimes – AUS
5. James Hodgson – AUS
6. Frankie Dair – USA
7. Jeffrey Petersen – USA
8. Finn Tapper – AUS
9. Niall Powers – AUS
10. David Wood – USA
11. Niall Malone – IRL
12. Jed Cruickshank – AUS
