The match-racing centre in Middelfart, Denmark hosted Frederik the Crown Prince of Denmark for a very special match-race. It was all part of the show for spectators who had come to watch some of the world's top young sailors compete for the ISAF Nation's Cup.

The Crown Prince was skippering his four-man crew of Denmark’s Olympic legends; Jesper Bank (Olympic gold medallist, in soling in Barcelona 1992 and in Sydney 2000), Thomas Jacobsen (Olympic gold in soling in 2000), Henrik Blakskjær (Olympic gold medal in the soling in 2000) and Peter Lang (Olympic bronze medal in London in 2012). 

Their opponents were the young guns of Danish match-racing Nicolai Sehested and his crew; Thomas Hedegaard, Jesper Blom, Søren Secher and Peter Popp Wibroe. They had an unbeaten record in the competition going into the royal exhibition match. 

In the competition proper two teams made it through to the semi-finals. Australia's David Gilmore went through as did Denmark's Sehested and his crew.

Denmark’s Nicolai Sehested and Australia’s David Gilmour skippered their countries into the semi-final yesterday at the Nations Cup in Middelfart, Denmark.

Australia were unbeaten in all five matches to jump to the top of six-nation Group B. They finished the round-robin stage level on 8 points out of 10 with Brazil’s Henrique Haddad, who won four races for the second consecutive day. But Gilmour qualified by virtue of having beaten Haddad on Thursday.

That victory in the second flight of the day was particularly satisfying for Gilmour as his new team began to gel and they were able to turn Haddad’s aggression against him, laying a second, vital, penalty as the Brazilian came back. As he himself predicted Japan’s Wataru Sakamoto, who won four of five on Wednesday in the Match28 boats, struggled in the larger DS37s and won only two of five on Thursday. But he will still qualify for the repechage with Australia’s Ashlen Rooklyn. Canada’s Peter Wickwire and America’s Dustin Durant did not make the cut.

It was perhaps the perfect piece of royal diplomacy on the water. Crown Prince Frederik of the Denmark crossed the finish line first but came second to Denmark’s new sailing prince – Nicolai Sehested - in their exhibition match race in Middelfart, Denmark on Thursday morning. Sehested too found the perfect way to navigate the rule: ‘Don’t beat the boss at golf.”

The Crown Prince was skippering his four-man crew of Denmark’s Olympic legends; Jesper Bank (Olympic gold medallist, in soling in Barcelona 1992 and in Sydney 2000), Thomas Jacobsen (Olympic gold in soling in 2000), Henrik Blakskjær (Olympic gold medal in the soling in 2000) and Peter Lang (Olympic bronze medal in London in 2012). 

Day one of the World Cup of Match Racing got underway in Denmark with the home crews making their mark. The first day of the Nations Cup Grand Final tested all 17 crews in difficult conditions and it proved a perfect chance for the fans to experience the gladitorial nature of match racing. By the end of the day Sweden's men were the only ones who could match Denmark's Nicolai Sehested and Lotte Meldgaard with an unbeaten record.