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Dean Barker match racing - Source: ONE Sport -
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Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker rode his luck on Saturday
to take out the Auckland match racing regatta, beating Briton Ben
Ainslie 2-0 in a shortened final.
Barker had been in danger of failing to qualify out of the round
robin stages, after he and his crew were sixth among the 10-strong
fleet with two rounds to go.
However, those two rounds were cancelled this morning because of
lack of wind.
A recalculation pushed Barker into the top four on the points
table.
He then took full advantage as the breeze picked up, embarking on a
unbeaten run to the title.
He got past compatriot and Team NZ colleague Adam Minoprio 2-0 in
their semifinal, in the process avenging the defeats he suffered
against Minoprio, the world match racing champion, in their two
round robin meetings.
Barker then repeated the feat against Ainslie, who had been the
clear top qualifier going in the knockout stage.
Barker admitted that, after the round robin phase had ended
prematurely, he and his crew had thought they were out of the
running.
"We came back in and we had the boat packed up, not really
expecting to be still racing," he said.
"Fortunately, for once, the tiebreaker worked in our favour and we
scraped into the semis. From there, as the conditions changed and
got a bit more normal, we hit our straps, which was our best time
to do it."
Barker said one thing his crew needed to work on was performing in
unpredictable airs.
But he said the great thing for him was seeing his crew stay
positive despite the setbacks earlier in the regatta.
Ainslie, a three-time Olympic champion and former backup helmsman
with Team NZ who is now skipper of Britain's Team Origin syndicate,
was gracious in defeat.
He was disappointed, but what happened was part of match
racing.
Barker dominated the final, managing to get the left-hand side of
the course, with its advantage of the current, during both starts
and was not headed in either contest.
The winning margins were comfortable at 40 seconds and 35sec.
The final was meant to have been a best-of-five, but the wind died
after race two and, after waiting for more than an hour for
conditions to pick up, officials called the boats in.
The regatta is one of three making up the Auckland Festival of
Sailing, with the main event, the Louis Vuitton Trophy, beginning
on Tuesday and running through to March 31.
The Louis Vuitton Trophy features eight teams racing in Team NZ's
America's Cup boats and both Barker and Ainslie will be among the
skippers.
