Ainslie dominated early on, losing just two matches in the round robins, while Barker struggled and at one stage looked unlikely to make the final four. However, when the second round robin could not be completed a countback system was used, which saw Barker advance.
“We scraped into the semi-final on a countback, much to our surprise,” admitted Barker. “We had the boat packed up and we were not really expecting to be still racing. For once the tie-breaker worked in our favour.”
With the finals in sight, Barker and the Emirates Team New Zealand crew came out strong, first defeating Adam Minoprio and his BlackMatch team 2-0 in the semi-final, and then defeating Ainslie by the same score.
Ainslie said he was pleased with the way he and his crew had sailed, but were disappointed with the final, “But that is the game,” he said. “Dean Barker sailed really well in the last couple of hours.”
And, facing off for 3rd and 4th was Minoprio and Torvar Mirsky, rivals on the world match racing circuit, where they are ranked #1 and #2 respectively.
With a brisk north easterly sea-breeze of 15 - 18 knots, Minoprio won the first match against Mirsky, having led from start to finish. The second saw Minoprio came from behind to clinch the match and the Petit Final by 12 secs.
The finals saw a powerful ebb tide favouring the yacht that reached the left side of the upwind leg first. Barker managed to claim the left both times and rode the tide into the lead for back to back wins of 40 secs and 35 secs.
With Barker on match point, the wind deserted the course, and after a 90-minute wait the Race Committee declared the regatta at an end and Barker the champion.
“Ben Ainslie and his Team Origin crew set the benchmark in the regatta. They sailed consistently well all four days. Sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesn’t. We were lucky it came good for us at the end,” said Barker.
Final Finish Order
Dean Barker (NZL)
Ben Ainslie (GBR)
Adam Minoprio (NZL)
Torvar Mirsky (AUS)
Karol Jablonski (POL)
Bertrand Pace (FRA)
Magnus Holmberg (SWE)
Francesco Bruni (ITA)
Sebastien Col (FRA)
Chris Dickson (NZL)