Camilla Ulrikkeholm (third from the left) with fellow athletes – picture credits to ISAF
Danish crews skippered by World #1 Camilla Ulrikkeholm and World #4 Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen have taken command at the ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship in Cork, Ireland.
After the first day of racing both teams are undefeated in the round robin of the ISAF Women’s Match Race Worlds, the first event of the 2014 Women’s International Match Racing Series (WIM Series)
“We’re of course happy for the results, but I have to admit we struggled a bit with our boat handling, ” said Ulrikkeholm, topping the scoreboard with 5 wins and no losses.
The Cork J/80s have their spinnaker halyards on the other side of the mast compared to what the Ulrikkeholm team is used to from their Royal Danish Yacht Club J/80s, causing some problems before the crew adapted to the new circumstances.
Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen (firts from the right) with fellow athletes – picture credits to ISAF
The very challenging conditions on the Cork waters, with puffy winds changing both in strength and direction, together with a rather sturdy tide, also caused the World #1 crew some problems, “We’ve had only around 4 knots of wind when practising this spring, so it took some time for us to find ourselves in these tougher conditions, ” explained the Dane who sailed in winds of up to 25 knots on the opening day.
The Irish sun was shining brightly also over Ulrikkeholm’s fellow club member Meldgaard Pedersen. With one match less sailed she stays at a 4 – 0 record after the first day of round-robin, hence holding second place in the regatta.
“It was really challenging today, with a lot of breeze and puffs. Some of our opponents capsized, but we managed to get out of everything where needed and could pass the marks in good order despite some spinnaker problems, ” said the Dane on her day.
American Stephanie Roble ended the day with a 4 – 1 record, beaten only by Swede Caroline Sylvan and holds third place in the World Championship.
“Caroline was actually faster than us. We managed to pass her, but then she overtook us again and finished ahead. After that match we had to improve our speed, ” commented Roble.
With a lot of byes between matches and a couple of extra pauses due to breakdowns, Stephanie Roble found herself racing in the first flight of the day as well as in the last, “We had a long day on the water, but tried to focus on making less mistakes than our opponents. The shifty and windy conditions keep you on your toes when you’re in front, and gives you a chance to pass if you’re behind.”
Results after day 1 of the round-robin at the 2014 ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship, (skipper name, nationality, wins/losses):
1. Camilla Ulrikkeholm, DEN, 5 – 0
2. Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen, DEN, 4 – 0
3. Stephanie Roble, USA, 4 – 1
4. Anna Kjellberg, SWE, 4 – 2
5. Caroline Sylvan, SWE, 4 – 2
6. Claudia Pierce, NZL, 4 – 2
7. Anne-Claire Le Berre, FRA, 3 – 2
8. Klaartje Zuiderbaan, NED, 3 – 4
9. Annabel Vose, GBR, 2 – 4
10. Mary O’Loughlin, IRL, 2 – 5
11. Anne-Christianne Kentgens, NED, 1 – 4
12. Lucie Scheiwiller, FRA, 0 – 4
13. Laura Dillon, IRL, 0 – 6
For further information on the Women’s Match Racing World Championships please seewww.matchracing.ie
Day 1 Video Highlights
URL – http://youtu.be/OzGw0FpOU6A
Embed – <iframe width=”640″ height=”480″ src=”//www.youtube.com/embed/OzGw0FpOU6A” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>
