Robb Strikes Back to Take Championship Lead at Ten Rater Nationals

Conditions were again close to perfect for Ten Rater racing, with an ESE breeze of around 10–15 knots providing fast and tactical racing throughout the fleet.

After dominating the opening day, Andrew Reid began Day 2 with a comfortable championship lead. However, the middle part of the day proved costly as a run of radio issues — or possibly a brief spell of “sailing like an old woman” — saw several valuable points slip away.

That was all the invitation Kirwan Robb needed.

Sailing his Trance+, Robb delivered a clinical performance, racking up a string of race wins to take control of the leaderboard and finish the day on 23 points, giving him a six-point advantage over Reid heading into the final day.

Reid remains very much in the hunt in second place on 29 points, and with the two Victorian sailors trading blows all regatta, the championship appears set for a fascinating final showdown.

Behind the leading pair, Greg Torpy produced one of the most consistent scorecards of the day to consolidate third place overall. His sequence of 5, 5, 2, 4, 6, 5, 1, 2 allowed the Gladstone sailor to open a useful gap over Brett Osborn, who currently sits fourth.

Further back, John Gower rounds out the top five, while Phil Page, Steve Sedgmen and Andrew Holly remain locked in a tight battle inside the top ten.

After sixteen races completed, the championship is now shaping into a two-boat duel between Robb and Reid, with the title likely to be decided in the final races tomorrow.

If the forecast holds true, sailors can expect more of the same tomorrow, with similar breeze predicted once again for Emerald Lakes — conditions that have already produced some of the best Ten Rater racing seen in recent years.

With one day remaining, the question now is simple:

Can Robb hold the lead, or will Reid strike back?

The answer will come tomorrow.