Two-time Olympian Nia Jerwood entered the Women’s National Match Racing Championship with very little match racing experience but clinched the final with a convincing three-one scoreline. 

Sydney-based skippers Harriet McLachlan and Heidi Ferguson, carrying world rankings of 42 and 78 respectively, were clear favourites in the regatta, sailed out of Fremantle Sailing Club over three days in Elliott 7 yachts. Harriet lived up to her ranking, finishing the round robin on top of the leaderboard with a score of 11-4. With a view to what lay ahead, Nia Jerwood was second on ten wins. The other finalists were Heidi Ferguson (9-6) and Kirstin Norris (9-6). 

Mc Laughlan chose Norris for the semis and with the score level at two all, looked beaten while trailing by 100 metres or more on the final downwind leg.  Inexplicably though, Norris forgot about a penalty she was carrying from early in the race, thus handing the semi to McLachlan. 

Nia Jerwood despatched Heidi Ferguson in the other semi, leaving the stage set for a final between McLachlan and Jerwood. 

The final lived up to expectations. Starts were tough and competitive and the tacking duels on all the windward legs would make sure that both crews slept well on Friday night! There was little between the two teams but Jerwood won the first two races. The third was another tight affair, won by McLaughlan and when she established a lead of five boat lengths on the final downwind leg in race four, it looked as though all would hinge on a final decider. 

That was not to be! A final gybe on the McLaughlan boat saw the spinnaker pole tangled in a halyard and flying skyward, just out of reach of the crew. The spinnaker collapsed, the boat stopped and a jubilant Jerwood surged past to win the race and the Championship. 

Heidi Ferguson claimed third place over Kirstin Norris in the petit final, while local skipper Mia Lovelady finished fifth ahead of Queensland’s Ayla Barney. 

Photos by: Bernie Kaaks