Will Tiller report on winning the Warren Jones

5 Feb 2010,

Hey all, Team Sea Eagle Racing just competed in the Warren Jones Regatta and are pretty satisfied with the result! We qualified first from the Round Robin, beating Phil Robertson on count back and earning the right to choose our opponent for the semifinals. We had a tough time choosing and ended up racing the 4th placed team, helmed by Pete Nicholas.
In the Semifinal we raced in light conditions for almost the first time, with a dying easterly breeze. We had clean starts and good boatspeed and managed to wrap up the semis 3 nil, which boosted our confidence going into the finals.

Semi Finals

In the other Semifinal match Phil Robertson raced against David Gilmour, beating him 3-1 after an enormous come from behind victory in their final race. This secured what was apparently the first all kiwi final in the history of the Warren Jones.
After waiting on shore for the sponsors to get ready for the finals we headed out in a 15knt Southerly seabreeze. The first race was close and Phil opened up the scoring with a solid win,
leading from start to finish. We bounced back to win the next two matches, which were extremely close and decided by penalties in both cases. In the fourth race we were given a penalty early in the prestart. We then managed to control Phil and believed we had him locked out at the boat end and unable to start. He then went for an
insanely close bear away. We braced for impact but he just managed to dip us, giving him a good start and a comfortable lead that he held to the end.
With the score 2 all it was then do or die, winner takes all in the final race. We had a strong prestart and managed to win the favoured
right hand side of the course, with Phil starting slow at the pin.
After a close first run we opened up a comfortable lead on the second beat and when we rounded the top mark things started to get
interesting as Phil's team rounded a different mark! It was an extremely nervous run believing we'd missed a change of course. We crossed the line and were extremely relieved to hear the
finishing horn and see our flag flying from the finish boat.
This regatta win gains the team entry to the Australia Cup, the Spanish open which is a World Tour Qualifier and the Danish Open, a World Tour event!!!!
The Team would like to say thanks again to all those who have supported us, The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, Parents and the
Nicholas and Brownie families who looked after us during our time in Perth.
Thank you Team Sea Eagle Racing
(Skipper - Will Tiller, Main/Tactics - Adrian Short, Pit - Jono Spurdle, Trim - Harry Thurstons, Bow - Jimmy Maloney)