Katie Spithill has led her Team Leagues Racing to six straight victories in the round-robin of the Busan Cup Women’s International Match Race.
After two days of racing the Australian is now the only undefeated skipper in the regatta: “it was a great day for our team, no mistakes was the key. As long as we keep sailing this way it’ll be just fine” Spithill commented.
Due to very light winds Thursday morning, all racing in the Busan Cup Women’s International Match Race, the fourth and final event of the 2015 WIM Series, was postponed for quite a while. The Race Committee tried a few times to get the racing going, but didn’t succeed until a rather stable breeze of 10 – 15 knots appeared on the waters just off of the Haeundae Beach in Busan.
In the first flight of the day Katie Spithill defeated World #2 Anna Östling of Sweden, and then French Anne-Claire Le Berre had to face the Aussie power: “we had a close prestart against Anne-Claire, managed to push her over the line and then stay ahead until the finish” Spithill explained.
“A lot of our races today were close, because of the quite shifty conditions. We had to make sure we stayed near our opponents, with no big splits.”
The loss against Spithill was the only setback so far in the event for Le Berre and her French Women’s Match Racing Team, now standing on a 7 – 1 score: “we’ve done a good job, with great crew work and excellent boat handling in the team. But it’s also been very demanding, and we’ll certainly be happy to go to bed tonight” Le Berre smiled, praising the K30.s that are sailed in the event.
“It’s a powerful boat even in not so much wind, but there isn’t a lot of space for the middle crew, they often bump into each other.”
The WIM Series leaders of the American team Epic Racing had another couple of good races Thursday, winning three matches and losing only their fight against Le Berre & Co: “the French sailed really well today, executing their game plan when I messed up at the top mark” skipper Maggie Shea said, praising her team.
“We had a lot of fun and even when I made some mistakes it wasn’t a big drama. Everything worked out smoothly and we had great tactical calls, so I just drove the bus.”
The round-robin of the Busan Cup Women’s International Match Race, the fourth and final event of the 2015 WIM Series, is planned to conclude Friday (Korean time), followed by the knock-out stages over the weekend.
Standings in the round-robin of the Busan Cup Women’s International Match Race, the fourth and final event of the 2015 WIM Series (skipper, nationality, wins – losses):
1. Katie Spithill, AUS, 6 – 0
2. Anne-Claire Le Berre, FRA, 7 – 1
3. Maggie Shea (substituting for Stephanie Roble), USA, 7 – 2
4. Anna Östling, SWE, 5 – 3
5. Camilla Ulrikkeholm Klinkby, DEN, 3 – 2
5. Caroline Sylvan, SWE, 3 – 2
7. Pauline Courtois, FRA, 2 – 3
8. Denise Lim, SIN, 3 – 6
9. Renée Groeneveld, NED, 2,5 – 5
10. Milly Bennett, AUS, 2 – 6
11. Diana Kissane, IRL, 1 – 5
12. Sung Eun Choi, KOR, 0 – 6
