Breeze on at WIM Series Helsinki

Helsinki, Finland (June 27, 2018) – The wind picked up and the sun continued to shine for the second day of the Helsinki Women’s Match which saw Finnish skipper Marinella Laaksonen and her L2 Match Racing Team continue to lead the field.

“Other than the last match it has been good, we have had nice close races today with tight wins, so it has been fun,” said Laaksonen.

When asked about that last match of the day with Laaksonen, Pauline Courtois (FRA) gave credit to her crew: “My crew did an amazing job for a good prestart. The wind was quite strong, so that was important to have a good start.” And Laaksonen agreed that the prestart was the key to the race: “We did some mistakes in the prestart and got a penalty in it. It also took a little bit too much time for us to get away from being locked.”

But Laaksonen did not let one loss bother her too much by concluding, “Of course there is always some small things that you could do better, but we will continue winning tomorrow.”

Two teams currently stand between Laaksonen and Courtois in the standing: Trine Palludan’s Danish Team Kattnakken and Johanna Bergqvist’s Swedish Team Bergqvist Match Racing. With only two losses (to Laaksonen and Courtois), Palludan is comfortable at this stage of the event.

“We are slowly starting to get in to the boats and we are coming better all the time,” notes Palludan. “One of our teammates had some problems with her stomach yesterday, so she was a bit tired today, but she is getting better as well.”

Bergqvist, with nine wins and three losses, was also quite upbeat about the day despite losing the last match to Palludan: “It has been two good days of racing, except for our last race today. It was really close, so I am a bit upset right now, but I am probably going to be happier about it later.”

Midway through the day the decision was made to switch from the genoas to the smaller jibs as the wind increased which was universally applauded by the crews. “As the wind increased, there was a bit too much power in the sails with the genoa, so it was a good thing to change,” explained Bergqvist. “The jib was easier for the girls to get in.”

Further down the standings, there is still a battle to see which teams will join the top four in the quarterfinals tomorrow afternoon as only two points separate 7th to 10th place. With even more wind forecast for the next two days, the racing will continue to be exciting.

The round robin racing will finish tomorrow with the top eight teams from the round robin series then advancing to the knockout quarter-finals later tomorrow. The event will conclude with the semi-finals and finals on June 29.

The Helsinki Women’s Match is being held June 26 to 29 in the J/80 Class.

Results after day 2 of the round-robin:
1. Marinella Laaksonen, L2 Match Racing Team, FIN, 10 – 1
2. Trine Palludan, Team Kattnakken, DEN, 10 – 2
3. Johanna Bergqvist, Team Bergqvist Match Racing, SWE, 9 – 3
4. Pauline Courtois, Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team, FRA, 8 – 3
5. Antonia Degerlund, Team Sköna Vibbisar, FIN, 8 – 3
6. Celia Willison, NZ Match, NZL, 6 – 4
7. Allie Blecher, Team BAAM!, USA, 5 – 4
8. Margot Vennin, Matchmoiselles by Normandy Elite Team, FRA, 4 – 6
9. Sanna Häger, Stockholm Match Racing Team, SWE, 4 – 7
10. Jassi Skogman, Team Skogman, FIN, 3 – 6
11. Margot Riou, APCC Women Sailing Team, FRA, 2 – 9
12. Hanna Ericksson, Peregrine Racing, SWE, 1 – 9
13. Sanna Mattsson, Swedish Women’s Match Racing Team, SWE, 0 – 11

WIM Series – Event details – Results – Facebook

Teams Competing in the 2018 Helsinki Women’s Match:

Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team
Pauline Courtois, Maëlenn Lemaître, Louise Acker, Nathalie Corson , Sophie​ Faguet – France
Current World Sailing Ranking: 2

L2 Match Racing Team
Marinella Laaksonen, Daniela Rönnberg, Camilla Cedercreutz, Henna Holopainen, Eva-Lotta Hokkonen – Finland
Current World Sailing Ranking: 4

Team Kattnakken
Trine Palludan, Lea Richter Vogelius, Josefine Boel Rasmussen, Vivi Lund Møller, Joan Vestergård Hansen – Denmark
Current World Sailing Ranking: 5

Team Bergqvist Match Racing
Johanna Bergqvist, Isabelle Bergqvist, Johanna Thiringer, Ellinor Hansson, Fanny Edgren – Sweden
Current World Sailing Ranking: 7

Team Sköna Vibbisar
Antonia Degerlund, Carla Westersund, Janina Hallberg, Disa Långström, Lisa Gerkman – Finland
Current World Sailing Ranking: 9

Stockholm Match Racing Team
Sanna Häger, Karin Bäckström, Beata Törneman, Klara Häger, Karin Flinkenberg – Sweden
Current World Sailing Ranking: 11

Team Skogman
Jassi Skogman, Julia Jaatela, Tua Jaatela, Katariina Aarnio, Roosa Wederhorn – Finland
Current World Sailing Ranking: 16

Matchmoiselles by Normandy Elite Team
Margot Vennin, Marie Zugolaro, Clotilde Ponçon, Jeanne Lebouvier, Sophonie Affagard – France
Current World Sailing Ranking: 18

Swedish Women’s Match Racing Team
Sanna Mattsson, Niki Blässar, Sarah Rosell, Therese Berg, Louise Lindkvist – Sweden
Current World Sailing Ranking: 19

APCC Women Sailing Team
Margot Riou, Clémentine Hilaire, Marion Ledoux, Pétronille Lauzeral, Tiphaine Ragueneau – France
Current World Sailing Ranking: 20

Team BAAM!
Allie Blecher, Beka Schiff, Katja Sertl, Abby Featherstone, Meg Six – USA
Current World Sailing Ranking: 41

NZ Match
Celia Willison, Charlotte Porter, Paige Cook, Erica Dawson, Alison Kent – New Zealand
Current World Sailing Ranking: 44

Peregrine Racing
Hanna Ericksson, Susu Kukkonen, Sara Edholm, Charlotte Eklund, Raisa Räisänen – Sweden
Current World Sailing Ranking: unranked

2018 WIM Series Schedule
June 25-29: Helsinki Women’s Match – Helsinki, Finland (J/80)
August 6-11: Lysekil Women’s Match – Lysekil, Sweden (Fareast 28r)
August 14-18: Women’s Match Racing World Championship – Ekaterinburg, Russia (Ricochet 747)
October 30-November 3: Swiss International Women’s Match – Ascona, Switzerland (J/70)
November 29-Decenber 2: Carlos Aguilar Match Race – St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (IC 24)

Source: WIM Series