BUSA Match Racing Finals

John Greenland admits he must try harder next time as he relinquishes victory to Mark Campbell-James

Mark Campbell-James and his London crew sailed to a 2-0 victory over Southampton's John Greenland in two of the weekend's closest races at the United Airlines BUSA Match Racing Championships. Both Campbell-James and Greenland qualify for the National Match Racing Finals to be held on the 14/15 September.
With similar a similar wind strength to Saturday afternoon it was again as much a test of boat handling as match racing skills. Campbell-James sailed through the remaining flights of the round robin without dropping a race, placing him first going in to the semi-finals. Greenland, maintaining the consistency seen yesterday, finished the first round with a score sheet of 7 wins to 2 losses, having lost to Campbell-James and Simon Shaw. This score line was good enough to place him in second place for the semi-finals.

Shaw's place in the semi-finals was not so easy to secure. Having lost two races during Saturday's racing, and a third to Campbell-James today, Shaw could only sit and wait to see the outcome of flight 10 between Oxford's Chris Webber and Cardiff's Jono Rix. Webber's place in the semi-finals was confirmed before the start, assuming he sailed cleanly throughout the race, however Rix required a win to be assured of a place in the final four. Both fought hard before the start, however a well-timed run to the start saw Webber take the lead for the first beat. Rix pushed hard for the first lap however, a poor Spinnaker drop left him too far behind the Oxford crew, giving Webber the win. This left Rix with four loses to Shaw's three, giving Shaw 4th place in to the semi-finals.

Semi-final one brought the two top seeds, Campbell-James and Shaw together for the second time in the regatta. With only the top two places confirmed a place in the National Finals the best of three series was always going to be close. The first race saw Campbell-James only two boat lengths ahead at the first mark. Excellent crew work on Shaw's boat closed the gap leaving Campbell-James with little choice but to initiate a luffing match. Campbell-James defended well resulting in a scramble to drop the Spinnaker at the bottom mark. Shaw, with a couple of extra boat lengths to drop the Spinnaker, managed to sail inside Campbell-James taking the advantage for the second beat. Shaw held on to the lead to win the first leg of the series.

Campbell-James took a more aggressive approach to the second start. Controlling Shaw for the majority of the prestart Campbell-James made a move for the start line, only to find himself dangerously close to the pin end with 10 seconds remaining. Shaw, starting at the opposite end of the line, was unable to take advantage of this error, giving Campbell-James the advantage for the first beat. London sailed an almost faultless race to bring the scores level at 1-1.

With a square line set for the third and final race between Shaw and Campbell-James neither side had the advantage for entry. Campbell-James, starting from the starboard end, timed his run to perfection giving him the chance to "dial-up" Shaw. The two boats drifted as the skippers waited for the all-important advantage. However, with all the focus on the gap between himself and Campbell-James, Shaw drifted in to the pin end of the line; leaving him with a penalty and Campbell-James with the all-important advantage. Shaw was never able to recover from the start, leaving Campbell-James to take semi-final one.

Semi-final two was decided in the first two races, with Greenland winning 2-0 over Webber. Greenland pushed hard during the pre-start, leading Webber in to the line for both races. After two days of solid racing both crews were sailing the boats well. Greenland defended the lead well, securing the second spot in the finals.

With their places in the National Match Racing Finals secure, it was the title of 2001 BUSA Champion left to be decided. It was Campbell-James who looked to have control for the first start. However, good crew work on the Southampton boat gave Greenland the opportunity to escape Campbell-James' lock. After a loop around the committee boat, it was the Southampton boat that looked to have the advantage. Greenland led round the first mark, with Campbell-James only a boat length behind. As the two boats approached the leeward mark, it was Campbell-James that had the inside line, taking the lead from Greenland, which he held through to the finish to go 1-0 up.

The second start followed a similar pattern to the first, however this time Campbell-James held the port end advantage coming off of the line. Greenland initiated a tacking duel, closing the gap to only a single boat length as the two rounded the first mark. Both boats executed a slick hoist, with Greenland electing to gybe on the inside of Campbell-James. The two boats held level for the run, with Campbell-James managing to hold Greenland away from the leeward mark to retain his lead. Campbell-James went on to take the second race, winning the final 2-0.

Bill Edgerton, National Keelboat Coach, congratulated the top crews on the quality of racing he had seen over the weekend. Simon Shaw was also given an entry to the National Match Racing Finals having defeated Webber in the play-off for 3rd place.

Final Results:

1. Mark Campbell-James, Ian Martin, Chris Guy, and Andrew Palmer-Felgate, London University
2. John Greenland, Dan Walker, Ashley Curtis, and Nick Black, Southampton University
3. Simon Shaw, Andrew Cornah, Andy Thwaites, and Will Woodhead, Southampton University