Danes win WIM Series Helsinki

Helsinki, Finland (June 29, 2018) – A big change in the weather brought a strong breeze from the north for the final day of racing of the 2018 Helsinki Women’s Match, the first event of the 2018 WIM Series. After three days of racing in bright sunshine, it was the experienced Danish Team Kattnakken that defeated Swedish Team Bergqvist Match Racing in a very blustery final series.

The day began with the semi finals. The top team from the round robin, Marinella Laaksonen’s Finnish L2 Match Racing, had the hard decision of choosing their opponent. They chose Johanna Bergqvist’s team, which in hindsight may have been the wrong decision given the semi final outcome.

Bergqvist and her young Swedish team came out fighting and put Laaksonen’s team up against the ropes by winning the first two matches. In the must win situation, Laaksonen fought back and leveled the table 2 – 2 setting up a fifth and deciding match. With the spot in the finals on the line, Laaksonen led around the first lap, but an unfortunate trolling of the spinnaker at the leeward mark opened the door for Bergqvist to take the lead and hold on until the finish to advance to her first WIM Series final.

In the other semi final match, a similar scenario set up: Pauline Courtois’ Match In Pink By Normandy Elite Team, took the first two matches before Trine Palludan’s Team Kattnakken switched on a new gear and evened the score at 2 – 2 setting up another exciting do or die match.

The racing was quite close on the first beat, but Courtois was penalized at the first windward mark with an immediate penalty red flag penalty from the umpires for taking room that was not hers to take. By the time Courtois took her penalty, Palludan carried her comfortable lead to the finish and earned her spot in the finals.

By the time the finals and petit-finals were set to go, the wind had increased to 17-20 knots with gusts into the mid-twenties – challenging conditions in the powerful J/80 boats.

In the petit-final, Courtois’ team regained their focus after their tough semi final loss and “focused on keeping it simple and working on our boat handling.” The strategy worked and they defeated Laaksonen 2 – 0 to take the bronze medal.

In the breezy finals, the Danish Team Kattnakken “focused on sailing the shifts and picking our moments to tack and gybe to stay in control” said the tired but happy crew after emerging from a refreshing sauna.

In the third match of the finals, Bergqvist looked well on her way to forcing a fourth match as she had sailed the wind shifts well and gained a comfortable lead, but on the final downwind, as they gybed for the finish, a huge gust of wind caused an uncontrolled broach. Before they could regain control of their boat, Palludan was able to pass and take the win by one boat length to take the championship.

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

 
WIM Series – Event details – Results – Facebook

2018 Helsinki Women’s Match Results:

Finals:
Trine Palludan, DEN defeats Johanna Bergqvist, SWE 3 – 0

Petit-Finals:
Pauline Courtois, FRA defeats Marinella Laaksonen, FIN 2 – 0

Semi-Finals:
Johanna Bergqvist, SWE defeats Marinella Laaksonen, FIN 3 – 2
Trine Palludan, DEN defeats Pauline Courtois, FRA 3 – 2

Quarter-Final Results:
Marinella Laaksonen, FIN – Sanna Häger, SWE, 3 – 0
Trine Palludan, DEN – Celia Willison, NZL, 3 – 0
Johanna Bergqvist, SWE – Antonia Degerlund, FIN, 3 – 0
Pauline Courtois, FRA – Allie Blecher, USA, 3 – 2

Round Robin Results (skipper, team name, nationality, wins – losses):
1. Marinella Laaksonen, L2 Match Racing Team, FIN, 11 – 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 – 4
5. Allie Blecher, Team BAAM!, USA, 8 – 4
6. Antonia Degerlund, Team Sköna Vibbisar, FIN, 7 – 5
7. Celia Willison, NZ Match, NZL, 6 – 6
8. Sanna Häger, Stockholm Match Racing Team, SWE, 5 – 7
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9. Jassi Skogman, Team Skogman, FIN, 5 – 7
10. Margot Vennin, Matchmoiselles by Normandy Elite Team, FRA, 4 – 8
11. Margot Riou, APCC Women Sailing Team, FRA, 3 – 9
12. Hanna Ericksson, Peregrine Racing, SWE, 2 – 10
13. Sanna Mattsson, Swedish Women’s Match Racing Team, SWE, 0 – 12

Final Standings (Team name – Skipper, Crew – Country):
1. Team Kattnakken – Trine Palludan, Lea Richter Vogelius, Josefine Boel Rasmussen, Vivi Lund Møller, Joan Vestergård Hansen – Denmark
2. Team Bergqvist Match Racing – Johanna Bergqvist, Isabelle Bergqvist, Johanna Thiringer, Ellinor Hansson, Fanny Edgren – Sweden
3. Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team – Pauline Courtois, Maëlenn Lemaître, Louise Acker, Nathalie Corson , Sophie​ Faguet – France
4. L2 Match Racing Team – Marinella Laaksonen, Daniela Rönnberg, Camilla Cedercreutz, Henna Holopainen, Eva-Lotta Hokkonen – Finland
5. Team BAAM! – Allie Blecher, Beka Schiff, Katja Sertl, Abby Featherstone, Meg Six – USA
6. Team Sköna Vibbisar – Antonia Degerlund, Carla Westersund, Janina Hallberg, Disa Långström, Lisa Gerkman – Finland
7. NZ Match – Celia Willison, Charlotte Porter, Paige Cook, Erica Dawson, Alison Kent
8. Stockholm Match Racing Team – Sanna Häger, Karin Bäckström, Beata Törneman, Klara Häger, Karin Flinkenberg – Sweden
9. Team Skogman – Jassi Skogman, Julia Jaatela, Tua Jaatela, Katariina Aarnio, Roosa Wederhorn – Finland
10. Matchmoiselles by Normandy Elite Team – Margot Vennin, Marie Zugolaro, Clotilde Ponçon, Jeanne Lebouvier, Sophonie Affagard – France
11. APCC Women Sailing Team – Margot Riou, Clémentine Hilaire, Marion Ledoux, Pétronille Lauzeral, Tiphaine Ragueneau – France
12. Peregrine Racing – Hanna Ericksson, Susu Kukkonen, Sara Edholm, Charlotte Eklund, Raisa Räisänen – Sweden
13. Swedish Women’s Match Racing Team – Sanna Mattsson, Niki Blässar, Sarah Rosell, Therese Berg, Louise Lindkvist – Sweden

Background:
The Women’s International Match Racing Association (WIMRA) was formed in 1996 and is an international association of women sailors whose mission is to expand and strengthen global match racing and promote opportunities for competitive women’s sailing at every level.

WIMRA created the first and only professional sailing series for women in 2013 – the Women’s International Match Racing Series (WIM Series). The WIM Series delivers a global circuit of competition to test the world’s best sailors in a format of round robin and knock-out matches.

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