Trine Palludan early leader in Busan
– Danish substitute skipper beat World #1 Anna Östling
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 kicked of in Busan 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. I would lie if I said we expected this outcome, but I’m confident that we have great capacity within our team” Palludan states.
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. I also think we found superior boat speed” Palludan explains.
“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. They had better speed than us, but we learned something to bring with us for the rest of the week” says Anna Östling, currently on 3rd place with her 3 – 1 score.
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. By then Pauline had already won the match” admits Macgregor.
American Stephanie Roble didn’t race until late afternoon, to win all her matches but the one against Palludan:
“It’s always a bummer to lose, but we learned something. We underestimated a major left wind shift at the start, and then they did a good job keeping their lead” Roble comments, tied for 3rd with Östling.
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. Despite very good crew work we started behind and stayed behind” says the Australian skipper, not seeming to be too disappointed about that.
The round-robin stage of the Busan Cup Women’s International Match Race continues Wednesday on the beautiful waters outside Haeundae Beach.
Standings after first day of round-robin in the Busan Cup Women’s International Match Race, the 4th event of the 2016 WIM Series (name, nationality, wins – losses):
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
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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 four 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 20 – 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.
The WIM Series is hosted by WIMRA. Official suppliers are Sailnet, Sebago, MILK, Sailing Education Association of Sheboygan, Adstream, Intertidal Ventures, Fredag 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 Busan Cup Women’s International Match Race is hosted by the Busan Sailing Federation, with the support of the Metropolitan City of Busan.
More information about the Busan Cup Women’s International Match Race:
Busan Cup Organizing Committee Jay Lee, [email protected], +82 10 8745 5754
Busan Cup Press Contact Ji Hyun Choi, [email protected]
www.busanmatch.com
www.facebook.com/BusanMatchRace
