The 2023  Match Race was the 9^th edition of this premier occasion now firmly cemented into the world yachting calendar. I would place it among the realms of the GP catamaran series and Americas Cup, probably pushing them down to 2^nd and 3^rd spots.

Two teams comprising 7 stalwart sailors per team, prepared for their 9^th annual challenge, a challenge which started in 2013 and has been contested hotly since then. To date the EC12’s have remained victorious by a disturbingly large margin, but when I saw the calibre of this year’s cJ team I knew this could be the long awaited upset.

Selwyn Taylor and myself were the RO’s and Selwyn had devised a program which gave instant running results as matches were completed, this was a great help to me because I only saw the starts.

The wind was very light for the first few Flights, but not a drifter, and the cJ skippers immediately went into action in a professional manner chalking up an impressive lead over the first 2 flights. As the wind increased ever so slightly the EC12’s managed to hold their own, but it was fairly even between both classes.

Far be it from me to crow over the cJ’s victory, or the massive extent of that victory, because that is not the style of the humble cJ fraternity, I will simply state that the Cj’s triumphed in the year 2023.