London (09 August , 2022) The Oakcliff World Match Racing Tour Academy Grade 3 saw young teams make big gains. Cormac Murphy and his Waterfront Center team won with an average age of 21.8. The Waterfront Center is an Oyster Bay community sailing organization. Alfonso Garcia Bringas, who only won one race at his last Oakcliff appearance, dominated the round robin but fell in the finals to Murphy. Doug Shannon, sailing with two Oakcliff Graduates, Lindsey Winter and Anne Corvi rounded out the podium.

The two WMRT Academy teams finished 5th and 6th but continued to push harder and harder with strong, hot winds driving them through the regatta.   They will continue training for the next three days under coach Chris Kennedy.  A rare opportunity to get straight back in the boats and fill in any holes they discovered by being under the intense pressure on the race course.

“Match racing is all about those who made the least mistakes. In the first round robin we saw overall good crew work and solid tactics from Alfonso and his team,” commented Coach Chris Kennedy.

“We had some great success this year coming in straight from the Grade 4. We kept our boat handling together and we’re happy to take the Grade 3,” added Murphy.

Chris Kennedy, Oakcliff graduate, has been coaching the World Match Racing Tour Academy Acorns and led the clinic on Friday. On Saturday Kennedy rotated as an observer, debriefing with teams after each flight. The first round robin on Saturday brought a 10-12 knot breeze from the southwest.The second round-robin started late Saturday afternoon and gusts into the 20s caused some spicy mark roundings.

This is the last Oyster Bay match race regatta before the Oakcliff International August 25-29 and the Thompson Cup August 30 – September 3.  Both events are official stages of the 2022 World Match Racing Tour.  Alfonso qualified for the Oakcliff International by winning in Chicago earlier this year.

Live coverage available on Facebook and Instagram:
https://www.facebook.com/Oakcliffsail
https://www.instagram.com/oakcliffsail

Full results:
https://d282wvk2qi4wzk.cloudfront.net/z58qAaW5gg_results_1659910971824

Oakcliff’s Match Race Calendar:
https://secure.oakcliffsailing.org/np/clients/oakcliffsailing/publicaccess/eventCalendarBig.jsp

More Information on the World Match Racing Tour Academy Acorn Program next summer:
https://www.oakcliffsailing.org/programs/

 

About Oakcliff:

Oakcliff Sailing is an adult and youth training center for athletes who have progressed beyond traditional coaching methods and want to explore the next steps in their sailing and professional careers. Located in Oyster Bay, New York Oakcliff offers trainees a proving ground to develop their skill set in the three big areas of competitive sailing: the America’s Cup, the Olympics, and The Ocean Race. With an onsite fully accredited high school, an America’s Cup like campus, a strongly rooted responsibility to the waters we rely on and a commitment to improving our sport, Oakcliff is Building American Leaders Through Sailing.

About World Match Racing Tour Academy:

The World Match Racing Tour Academy was founded in 2021 as a global initiative to grow the appeal and participation in match racing through accessible training facilities and educational programs. The WMRT Academy works closely with existing yacht clubs, event organisers and independent training centres to support and endorse programs which provide an introduction to match racing skills, as well as intermediate and advanced courses in match racing tactics, rules and umpiring. wmrt.com/wmrt-academy/