LOOK WHO IS ON THE WMRT!
- Tom Dawson
- Apr 21, 2015
- 3 min read
What a journey it’s been to earn a spot on the tour full time. Only eight tour cards are handed out worldwide, so rightly so the team is pretty chuffed to be one of the chosen eight! In 2010 the team ventured off for its first foray to Europe, making an instant impression by winning the grade one event in Russia and backing that up with a second in France. The team was delighted to prove they have the ability to mix it with the best and from that moment on decided to go for gold. However, the following season was just shy of a disaster as they set goals /expectations and trained hard but it just didn’t come together which was likely a case of not sailing with enough patience. After taking those lessons on board and working hard for the past three years the team has finally earned their spot on the World Match Racing Tour. The tour kicks off with the Congressional Cup USA followed by Match Race Germany, Stena Match Cup Sweden, Dutch Match Cup, Sopot Match Race, Bermuda Gold Cup and the tour finale Monsoon Cup. The World Match Racing Tour provides the perfect platform for the team to showcase their skills and personalities to millions of households and individuals via online streaming and TV highlight packages, not to mention the thousands lining the shorelines.
The team consists of skipper Reuben Corbett NZL, Mainsheet Robert Nyberg FIN, Trimmer Tom Dawson GBR, Pitman Paul Childs GBR and Bowman Jay Halligan AUS. Reuben hails from a small town called Kerikeri where many prominent New Zealand sailors developed their love for the sport. He has a passion for the aggressive boat on boat tactics required in match racing. Robert Nyberg has years of experience in a wide variety of yachts and has raced in all forms of sailing, be it offshore, inshore, fleet or match racing. Robert is team tactician. Tom lives on the renowned Isle of White so was sailing before he could crawl. Tom was in the Great Britain Olympic Sailing Squad sailing the 49er class. These boats are nimble, super quick and very responsive to trim adjustments so Tom has developed a knack for making boats go fast! Paul has similar experience to Tom in the GBR Olympic Squad sailing the Finn Class, he provides the power from the pit and picks the wind shifts. Jay learnt his craft in 420 dinghies before shifting to keel boats and now runs the Foundation 36 fleet in Perth in between his sailing commitments.
Corbett Racing is planning on training with the Danish teams in Copenhagen prior to the first event in Los Angeles because as per tour rules, card holders aren’t allowed access to the actual boats used in the event prior to the designated training time. The first two regattas of the seven stage tour will really test the team as they haven’t sailed either of those boats before. The team is up for the challenge! Fortunately though, the team has experience in the remaining four events.
The team is committing themselves to the tour for three years with the aim of winning it by 2017. Since the teams’ acceptance to the tour, they have been busily arranging sponsors to help them achieve their goal. The opportunity presents itself for significant brand exposure, hot seat experience, VIP access to events and corporate sailing activities – if this sounds like you or your company, please get in touch with Corbett Racing to discuss further at corbettmatchracing@gmail.com
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