Danish lead opening day of Women’s Match Racing Worlds

Cork, Ireland (June 4, 2014) – The Danish crews skippered by world #1 Camilla Ulrikkeholm and #4 Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen immediately took command when racing began today with the round-robin stage of the 2014 ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship. Both are undefeated so far in this first event of the 2014 Women’s International Match Racing Series (WIM Series).

“We’re of course happy for the results, but I have to admit we struggled a bit with our boat handling,” says Ulrikkeholm, topping the score board with 5 wins and no losses.

The Cork J/80s have their spinnaker halyards on the other side of the mast compared to what the Ulrikkeholm team is used to from their Royal Danish Yacht Club J/80s, causing some problems before the crew adapted to the new circumstances. The very challenging conditions on the Cork waters, with puffy winds changing both in strength and direction, together with a rather sturdy tide, also caused the Danish world ranking leaders some problems.

“We’ve had only around 4 knots of wind when practising this spring, so it took some time for us to find ourselves in these tougher conditions,” Ulrikkeholm says, referring to the wind speed that during the day reached up to 25 knots.

The Irish sun was shining brightly also over Ulrikkeholm’s fellow club member Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen. With one match less sailed she stays at a 4-0 record after the first day of round-robin, hence holding second place in the regatta.

“It was really challenging today, with a lot of breeze and puffs. Some of our opponents capsized, but we managed to get out of everything where needed and could pass the marks in good order despite some spinnaker problems,” Meldgaard Pedersen concludes her day on the water.

American Stephanie Roble ended the day with a 4-1 record, beaten only by Swede Caroline Sylvan and holding third place so far in the World Championship.

“Caroline was actually faster than us. We managed to pass her, but then she overtook us again and finished ahead. After that match we had to improve our speed,” Roble comments.

With a lot of byes between matches and a couple of extra pauses due to breakdowns, Stephanie Roble found herself racing in the first flight of the day as well as in the last.

“We had a long day on the water, but tried to focus on making fewer mistakes than our opponents. The shifty and windy conditions keep you on your toes when you’re in front, and gives you a chance to pass if you’re behind,” Roble sums up.

The regatta, which is being sailed in Cork Harbour, will conclude this Sunday (08 June). Teams are competing for the title of 2014 ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Champion and the €10,000 prize fund.

Results after day 1 of the round-robin (skipper name, nationality, wins/losses):
1. Camilla Ulrikkeholm, DEN, 5 – 0
2. Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen, DEN, 4 – 0
3. Stephanie Roble, USA, 4 – 1
4. Anna Kjellberg, SWE, 4 – 2
5. Caroline Sylvan, SWE, 4 – 2
6. Claudia Pierce, NZL, 4 – 2
7. Anne-Claire Le Berre, FRA, 3 – 2
8. Klaartje Zuiderbaan, NED, 3 – 4
9. Annabel Vose, GBR, 2 – 4
10. Mary O’Loughlin, IRL, 2 – 5
11. Anne-Christianne Kentgens, NED, 1 – 4
12. Lucie Scheiwiller, FRA, 0 – 4
13. Laura Dillon, IRL, 0 – 6

Event Website: www.matchracing.ie
Results: www.matchracing.ie/results
ISAF Event Microsite: www.sailing.org/Womens-Match-Worlds-2014.php
WIM Series Website: www.wimseries.com

About
The ISAF Women’s Match Racing Worlds is an annual event which was first held in Genoa, Italy in 1999 after a successful event was held as part of the 1998 ISAF Sailing World Championship in Dubai, UAE. Skippers are invited to attend the Championship based on their ISAF World Match Racing Ranking position. Denmark’s Dorte Jensen is the most successful sailor having amassed four World Championship titles.

Prize Money Allocation
1st €3000
2nd €2000
3rd €1500
4th €1250
5th €1000
6th €750
7th €500

Competing Teams
World #1 Camilla Ulrikkeholm (DEN)
World #2 Anna Kjellberg (SWE)
World #4 Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen (DEN)
World #5 Stephanie Roble (USA)
World #8 Caroline Sylvan (SWE)
World #15 Claudia Pierce (NZL)
World #17 Anne-Claire Le Berre (FRA)
World #43 Klaartje Zuiderbaan (NED)
World #50 Annabel Vose (GBR)
World #54 Lucie Scheiwiller (FRA)
World #67 Anne Christianne Kentgens (NED)
Unranked Laura Dillon (IRL)
Unranked Mary O’loughlin (IRL)

Source: Report by event media. Photo by Michael MacSweeney.