Le Berre & Zuiderbaan share early lead
– Ulrikkeholm & Kjellberg trailing, also undefeated
Starting with a totally calm and sunny morning, and finishing the day in thunderstorms and heavy rain, the Women’s Match Race Golfe du Morbihan in Vannes, France, put the sailors to the test on the first day of racing. Four teams stay undefeated, with home sailor Anne-Claire Le Berre and Dutch veteran Klaartje Zuiderbaan sharing the top spot on four victories:
“I think we had a little bit easier to keep the speed in these tricky conditions, because we know the boat type so well” Le Berre admits with a big smile, not willing at all to reveal their speed secret in the Beneteau 7.5 until racing is over for the week.
For Zuiderbaan it was the first race with the current crew composition, though she’s sailed with all of the team members before, and obviously that was a winning concept. When sailing began for the day, after a few hours postponement due to the lack of wind, Klaartje & Co. immediately started their winning strike by defeating Kiwi Claudia Pierce in the first match. After another three straight victories the Dutch team now have gained ground on most of their opponents in this second stage of the 2014 Women’s International Match Racing Series (WIM Series):
“We’re, of course, happy for the good start in this regatta and for the great feeling on board, and I’m especially pleased with the way in which we solved any problems that came up” Zuiderbaan points out, explaining that she liked the racing conditions very much.
“It was actually more wind than you could see on the water, so it was really nice sailing.”
The world top ranked Scandinavian couple, Camilla Ulrikkeholm (#1) and Anna Kjellberg (#2), are undefeated too, tied on third place in Vannes with three victories each. Danish Ulrikkeholm was a lot more satisfied with her speed than during her short practise session on Wednesday:
“We improved the speed but also the boat handling, and managed to get out on the course ahead of our opponents after all start sequences. That definitely helped us to stay calm and keep the speed up” she says.
Although winning all her races of the day, Swedish World Champion and 2014 WIM Series leader Anna Kjellberg, was particularly delighted for the team’s improvement during the day:
“Our last race was close to perfect from start to finish, with great manoeuvres, splendid tactics and a really pleasant feeling in the boat” she smiles, looking forward to continue racing over the weekend.
Standings in the round-robin of the Women’s Match Race Golfe du Morbihan, the second stage of the 2014 WIM Series (name/nationality/wins – losses):
1= Anne-Claire Le Berre, FRA, 4 – 0
1= Klaartje Zuiderbaan, NED, 4 – 0
3= Camilla Ulrikkeholm, DEN, 3 – 0
3= Anna Kjellberg, SWE, 3 – 0
5. Morgane Fountaine, FRA, 2 – 1
6. Annabel Vose, GBR, 2 – 2
7. Pauline Courtois, FRA, 1 – 2
8. Claudia Pierce, NZL, 1 – 3
9= Lucie Scheiwiller, FRA, 0 – 3
9= Caroline Sylvan, SWE, 0 – 3
9= Rajaa Al Owaisi, OMA, 0 – 3
12. Anastasia Guseva, RUS, 0 – 4
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The 2014 Women’s International Match Racing Series is a professional sailing circuit, hosted by the Women’s International Match Racing Association for the world’s leading women match racing sailors. In match racing the crews meet two by two in exciting duels that can easily be followed and understood by the spectators.
An overall prize purse of 50 000 USD will be distributed by the WIM Series at the final event in Busan, Korea, in addition to the prize money at each of the five events included in the WIM Series (date, event name, location, boat type, prize money):
* June 3-8, ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship, Cork, Ireland, J/80, 17 000 USD.
* July 24-27, Women’s Match Race Golfe du Morbihan, Vannes, France, Beneteau 7.5, 14 000 USD.
* August 4-9, Lysekil Women’s Match, Lysekil, Sweden, DS 37, 50 000 USD.
* September 23-28, Buddy Melges Challenge, Sheboygan, USA, Elliott 6, 10 000 USD.
* October 11-16, Busan Cup Women’s International Match Race, Busan, Korea, K 30, 100 000 USD.
The WIM Series is hosted by WIMRA. Sebago is clothing partner. Official suppliers are Sailnet, 1080 Media, MILK, Sailing Education Association of Sheboygan, Adstream and Match Racing Results Service.
Images: A number of hi-res images are available for download on www.wimseries.com/media/
More information about the Women’s International Match Racing Series:
WIM Series Press Officer Joakim Hermansson, , +46 70 604 25 04
WIM Series Manager Liz Baylis, , +1 415 691 6202
www.wimseries.com
www.facebook.com/WIMSeries
www.twitter.com/WIMSeries
www.youtube.com/WIMRSeries
www.instagram.com/WIMSeries
The Women’s Match Race Golfe du Morbihan is sponsored by Vannes Agglo, Conseil Général du Morbihan, Région Bretagne and Habitat et Humanisme. Official Suppliers are Volvo Pemzec, Tropicana and Pro Marine. Regatta Partners are La Trinitaine, Ker Ronan, Office du Tourisme de Vannes and Vannes.
More information about the Women’s Match Race Golfe du Morbihan:
Press Officer Brice Menay, , +33 643 40 72 09
http://evenements.ffvoile.fr/cfemrf/
