Yachting: Kiwis crash out of Korean Match Cup

Phil Robertson was crashed out in the quarterfinals. Photo / Sub Zero Images

There is no more New Zealand interest in the Korea Match Cup, after Kiwi number one Phil Robertson was eliminated before the quarter final stages on Saturday.

The world number ten ranked Robertson had come into the event with high hopes, after an impressive third placing at the previous World Match Racing Tour event in Germany last week.

But the 24-year-old and his Waka Racing team struggled to gain any momentum throughout the round robin phase, recording just five wins across the eleven qualifying races.

Coming into their final three races on Saturday, Robertson needed at least two wins against Bjorn Hansen (world number eight , Ian Williams (world number three) and Damien Iehl (world number nine) to seal a place in the top eight.

They managed to beat Iehl, and had great chances against Williams and Hansen but failed to capitalise. The match against Hansen was particularly galling, as the young New Zealand crew did everything right in the pre start manouerving but got their time on distance wrong, getting to the start line early.

"That mistake was unacceptable really," reflected Robertson. "We had done everything right and even if we had been a metre behind we still would have been two lengths ahead off the line. It is about knowing when to push it and when not to push it and in that case we didn't need to."

From the start of the week things didn't quite gel for the young but experienced crew. They made a poor start - losing their first three races - but showed some mettle to bounce back and take four of their next five before the final failure on Saturday.

"We had a lot of chances throughout the week but we kept throwing races away. Our crew work in genera has been good, our speed fine but a few crew errors in really tight situations have killed us. We have made slight mistakes where the crew wasn't quite in the zone where they needed to be."

Robertson and his crew will return to their European bases now, with a few weeks break before their next event in Sweden in the first week of July. They have three more events (Sweden, Switzerland and Bermuda) before the season finale at the Monsoon Cup and have to make every performance count.

"Although it is a fine line, we performed way below expectation this week," admitted Robertson "The positives are that we are sailing really well and we just need to minimise the silly errors."

Meanwhile, Rueben Corbett also endured a disappointing regatta in Korea. Competing in just his third WMRT event, the 23-year-old managed just one round robin win in eleven races. There were some close calls - they were pipped on the line in two races and led in several others - but overall failed to make the most of their opportunities.

"It just comes down to experience," says Corbett. "We know are good enough but it is hard to step up to this level against such seasoned professionals. They are ruthless on mistakes."

His AON racing team were the youngest in the event, with an average age of just 22, but they have undoubted potential. They finished seventh in their first WMRT event in Bermuda last year - taking some big scalps on the way - and will have a chance to make amends at the next WMRT event in Portimao, Portugal, in two weeks.

"It's all a learning curve - and sometimes it feels pretty steep - but I am sure we will get there."

Michael Burgess is at the Korean Match Cup with assistance from the World Match Racing Tour.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY