WIM Series Gets Underway in Busan

Busan, South Korea (October 25, 2016) – She’s “only” a substitute for regular Danish skipper Camilla Ulrikkeholm Klinkby, but apparently that doesn’t matter much. As the round-robin in the 4th event of the 2016 WIM Series (Women’s International Match Racing Series) kicked off today, Trine Palludan led her crew to four straight victories, one of which was over World #1 and reigning World Champion Anna Östling of Sweden.

“Today we just tried to keep things simple and avoid problems,” Palludan states. “I would lie if I said we expected this outcome, but I’m confident that we have great capacity within our team.”

It was not until almost sunset that the very last match of the day got underway outside the Haeundae Beach of the Korean city Busan, hosting the Busan Cup Women’s International Match Race. In the Scandinavian derby, Trine Palludan faced Anna Östling in quite challenging sailing conditions, with some testing swell and winds that shifted a lot, both in direction and in strength. Despite the challenges the Danes managed to take control in the prestart, getting out on the first upwind a couple of boat lengths ahead of their Swedish opponents.

“Actually our prestarts went very well in all of our four matches today, and that was pretty much the key,” Palludan explains. “I also think we found superior boat speed.”

“It’s never fun to lose a race, but the wind had dropped a bit and we were a little late to trim our sails for that,” says Anna Östling, currently on 3rd place with her 3 – 1 score. “They had better speed than us, but we learned something to bring with us for the rest of the week.”

Lucy Macgregor’s two-year absence from the match racing scene didn’t seem to have very much impact on her performance today. The British skipper went off the water early in the afternoon with a 4 – 1 score, for runner-up position so far in the round-robin. Her only loss came against Pauline Courtois of France, who was allowed to pass after the first lap, and couldn’t get caught after that.

“Unfortunately we caught a fishing net instead, but I don’t think that was a deciding factor,” admits Macgregor. “By then Pauline had already won the match.”

American Stephanie Roble didn’t race until late afternoon, winning all her matches but the one against Palludan.

“It’s always a bummer to lose, but we learned something,” Roble comments, tied for 3rd with Östling. “We underestimated a major left wind shift at the start, and then they did a good job keeping their lead.”

Katie Spithill sailed in the morning, posting three wins and two losses to be tied with the French skippers Courtois and Claire Leroy. The morning session saw some pretty dramatic weather changes, with almost no wind followed by 20 knots of breeze, heavy rain and then some sun and less wind again.

“We had our losses in the prestarts, due to being a bit out of practise,” notes Spithill. “Despite very good crew work we started behind and stayed behind.”

The round-robin stage of the Busan Cup Women’s International Match Race continues tomorrow with the finals to be on October 29.

Standings after first day of round-robin
1. Trine Palludan, DEN, 4 – 0
2. Lucy Macgregor, GBR, 4 – 1
3. Anna Östling, SWE, 3 – 1
3. Stephanie Roble, USA, 3 – 1
5. Katie Spithill, AUS, 3 – 2
5. Claire Leroy, FRA, 3 – 2
5. Pauline Courtois, FRA, 3 – 2
8. Caroline Sylvan, SWE, 2 – 3
9. Renée Groeneveld, NED, 1 – 3
9. Diana Kissane, IRL, 1 – 3
11. Gyeong Jin Lee, KOR, 0 – 4
12. Milly Bennett, AUS, 0 – 5

WIM Series – Event details – Entry list – Facebook

About the WIM Series
The Women’s International Match Racing Series (WIM Series) is the first and only professional sailing series for women, hosted by the Women’s International Match Racing Association and joined by the world’s leading women match racing sailors. Match racing is sailed in two identical boats around a short course, providing fast action close to the crowds on shore. The intense racing is just as exciting for the spectators as it is strategically, tactically and physically challenging for the competing crews.

An overall prize purse of 50 000 USD will be distributed by the WIM Series, in addition to the prize money at each of the events included in the 2016 WIM Series (date, event name, location, boat type):
* June 27-July 1, Helsinki Women’s Match, Helsinki, Finland, J/80.
* August 8-13, Lysekil Women’s Match, Lysekil, Sweden, DS 37.
* September 21-25, Women’s Match Racing World Championship & Buddy Melges Challenge, Sheboygan, USA, Elliott 6m.
* October 25-29, Busan Cup Women’s International Match Race, Busan, South Korea, K30.
* December 1-4, Carlos Aguilar Match Race, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, IC 24.

Source: WIM Series