Light Day at WIM Series Busan

Busan, Korea (November 16, 2017) – A slow start to the third day of the Busan Cup Women’s International Match Race, the third event of the 2017 Women’s International Match Racing (WIM) Series, as the wind alternated between spinning circles and glassing off completely.

The patience of the race committee paid off as the round robin was completed in a light cold northerly breeze before moving on to the quarter-finals. Three of the four quarter-finals were decided with the last one to be finished tomorrow.

The morning saw the completion of the round robin stage and the fight for the top of the leaderboard. Trine Palludan and her Danish Team Kattnakken continued their domination finishing the round robin undefeated and earning the right to choose their quarter-final opponent.

“It was difficult out there,” remarked Palludan. “It must have been very frustrating for Alfredo (Ricci, event Principle Race Officer) as the wind shifted around. It was a bit crazy, one minute the crew is hiking out fully and then they are sitting to leeward.”

After the round robin the skippers gathered on the signal boat for the quarter-final draw where they surprised Principle Race Officer Alfredo Ricci with a lighthearted rendition of “Happy Birthday,” much to the embarrassment of Ricci. With the focus back on the races at hand, Palludan selected WIM Series rookie, Sarah Parker from Australia, as her opponent in the quarter-finals.

With six K30 boats in the Busan Sailing Federation fleet, the first three pairs of quarter-finalists took to the water leaving Team Kattnakken and Team Parker to wait for one of the other pairs to finish before they could sail.

The scores of the first three quarter-finals may appear lopsided with each ending 3-0, but the sailors all confided that the matches were very close and there were many lead changes in the shifty breeze.

Swedish Team Anna skipper Anna Östling noted the keys to her team’s wins: “The team work was very smooth and the dance moves on the boat worked very well. In all of the pre-starts we were able to be where we wanted to be and were then able to go the way we wanted to after the start.”

“The races were really close. Getting a good start was key in the light and shifty conditions. We had two good starts and the race where we did not win the start we stayed close and pass on the first run,” said Team Mac skipper Lucy Macgregor.

French skipper Pauline Courtois felt good coming off the water having won 5 of the six matches her Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team sailed: “We had a good day. We kept the boat moving well and sailed to the shifts.”

All of the sailors were quite keen to leave the venue and the skippers kept their remarks short as the sun was setting and the temperatures were dropping fast. Tomorrow’s forecast will once again challenge everyone as more cold temperatures and light winds will great the sailors.

Quarter-Final Results
Anna Östling, SWE defeats Renée Groeneveld, NED 3-0
Lucy Macgregor, GBR defeats Caroline Sylvan, SWE 3-0
Pauline Courtois, FRA defeats Marinella Laaksonen, FIN 3-0
Trine Palludan, DEN leads Sarah Parker, AUS 1-0 (To be completed on day 4)

Round Robin Results (skipper, nationality, team, wins – losses):
1- Trine Palludan, DEN, Team Kattnakken, 11-0
2- Pauline Courtois, FRA, Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team, 9-2
3- Lucy Macgregor, GBR, Team Mac, 8-3
4- Anna Östling, SWE, Team Anna, 8-3
5- Caroline Sylvan, SWE, New Sweden Match Racing Team, 7-4
6- Renée Groeneveld, NED, Matchrace Team Netherlands, 7-4
7- Marinella Laaksonen, FIN, L2 Match Racing Team, 5-6
8- Sarah Parker, AUS, Team Parker, 4-7
9- Clare Costanzo, AUS, Team Costanzo, 3-8
10- Alexa Bezel, SUI, Swiss Women Match Race Team, 3-8
11- Linnea Floser, SWE, Peregrine Racing, 1-10
12- Eunjin Kim, KOR, Team Ladies, 0-11

The Busan Cup Women’s International Match Race in Busan, South Korea, continues with the remaining quarter-final matches followed by the semi-finals, then the final races, prize giving and closing ceremonies on Saturday the 18th of November. The race village, open to the public with large video screens, is based in the historic Suyeong Bay Yacht Center, which hosted the Olympic Sailing Competition in 1988.

Racing is planned for November 14 to 18.

 
WIM Series – Event details – Entry list – Results – Facebook

Background: The Women’s International Match Racing Series is in its fifth season, providing in 2017 a four-event professional sailing circuit organized by the Women’s International Match Racing Association for the world’s leading women match racing sailors.

2017 Women’s International Match Racing Series
June 16-21 – Women’s Match Racing World Championship – Helsinki, Finland
August 7-12 – Lysekil Women’s Match – Lysekil, Sweden
November 13-18 – Busan Cup Women’s International Match Race – Busan, South Korea
Nov 30-Dec 3 – Carlos Aguilar Match Race – St Thomas, US Virgin Islands – Cancelled
December 11-16 2017 International Bedanne’s Cup – Tourville-la-Rivière, France

WIM Series Standings (After 2 events)
1. Renée Groeneveld, Dutch Match Racing Team, NED, 47
2. Anna Östling, Team Anna, SWE, 38
3. Trine Palludan, Team Experience, DEN, 38
4. Pauline Courtois, Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team, FRA, 34
5. Caroline Sylvan, New Sweden Match Racing Team, SWE, 26
6. Marinella Laaksonen, L2 Match Racing Team, FIN, 26
7. Lucy Macgregor, Team Mac, GBR, 25
8. Johanna Bergqvist, Team Bergqvist Match Racing, SWE, 20
9. Alexa Bezel, ChicaCER Women Match Racing Team, SUI, 14
10. Mikaela Fors, Pen & Hammer Sailing Team, FIN, 14
11. Antonia Degerlund, Team Sköna Vibbisar, FIN, 11
12. Linnéa Floser, Peregrine Racing, SWE, 8
13. Octavia Owen, Athena Racing, GBR, 7
14. Margot Riou, APCC Women’s Sailing Team, FRA, 7
15. Martina Karlemo, Team Karlemo, FIN, 6
16. Sanna Häger, Stockholm Match Racing Team, SWE, 4
17. Ekaterina Kochkina, Team SailWay, RUS, 3

Source: WIM Series