The key matchup of the day was Price and George Anyon (NZL) at the end of Round Robin one. Both were undefeated through their first ten matches.
After a closely-contested pre-start, Anyon gained control on the final stretch to the line and won the start cleanly. Price had to tack away for clear air, but then Anyon got ensnared in dirty air from another match that was on their second upwind leg. Price had clear air on the upwind right, and was welcomed by a bit of a right shift.
He grabbed the lead and never looked back, winning by a distance of five boat lengths. With a nice 7-8 knot late afternoon air current, the Race Committee kept the sailors on the lumpy Pacific Ocean until nearly 1900 (7pm), completing four flights of Round Robin two. Price continued his victorious bout, taking all four of those matches to end the day undefeated on 15-0. The upset of the day was the Anyon-Whitfield match in Round Robin two which caught the audience unawares. Matt Whitfield (GBR) has been coming on strong and defeated Anyon, his second defeat of the day.
Anyon led early, but Whitfield found some breeze on the second upwind leg to surge ahead. Despite the loss, Anyon still stands second among all on 13-2.
Ettore Botticini (ITA) was defeated in an important match to American Greiner Hobbs (Tampa, FL), but won his other matches to end the day at 10-5. Hobbs had an excellent day, pulling his team even with Botticini on 10-5. The two had tied for third on the whole. Local favorite, American Charlie Welsh of Newport Beach, is also in the docks for a semifinal berth, ending the day fifth overall in 8-7.
Round Robin racing for the twelve teams from nine nations (two from AUS, NZL and USA) continues, with the top four teams advancing to the best-of-five knockout semifinals. The semifinal winners will compete head-to-head for the championship in a best-of-five final on Saturday.
