GBR Match Race Girls

Nicky Souter and her Australian team beat the home hero Marie Bjorling 3-0 today to win the World Championships in a very busy, sunny Lysekil. Hundreds of spectators lined the rocks and bay to watch the racing in somewhat different conditions to yesterday!

In the semi finals both series went to 4 matches with Souter beating Leroy 3-1 and in the battle of the Swedish Bjorling beat Kjellberg 3-1 and after a break for lunch it was Souter on form in the finals and Anna Kjellberg with the edge in the petite final beating defending champion Claire Leroy 2-0.

Our 9th/10th playoff was raced at the beginning of the day against Linda Rahm. After a good start we led the first lap well but were then caught up on the second up wind and final downwind. A solid defending position however gave us a clear gybe to the bias end of the finish line and take the win.

Its been a tough regatta for us where just one more win could have made such a massive difference but we’ve used the event well to learn for the long run and we’re certainly looking forward to the European Championships next week!

Yesterdays 3 races to finish the opening round robin were must wins for us in order to get through to the top 6 quarter final round robin, unfortunately after winning against Hahlbrock (GER), we were on the back foot against Spithill (AUS) and in the 15knot breeze were not then able to pass. Our final win against Meldgaard (DEN) put us on to 5 wins and tied with 3 other teams but when the tie is broken it unfortunately puts us 9th overall in the round robin.

Today the programme is to sail the quarter finals and then our playoffs but the current conditions outside are about 35knots and horizontal rain so it currently looks like we could be spending the day onshore!

Through to the quarter finals are Leroy (FRA), Bjorlling (SWE), Kjellberg (SWE), Souter (AUS), Spithill (AUS), Ulrikkeholm (DEN)

Update: no racing at all today due to the conditions, so the top four are going straight through to semi-finals and finals tomorrow.

Today was another close day of racing for us at the Women’s World Match Racing Championships in Lysekil. We had just 3 races to sail today, all of which were important for us to win to make the top 6 for the next round. With slightly less breeze we were back on genoas… all good for us! After the first two races it was so far so good with 2 wins, but unfortunately in our final match against Sally Barkow we were unable to win the favored end of the start line and from there we couldn’t claw it back.

The results are still all quite close, so if we can sail well tomorrow and do the all important posting of some more wins then we can still make it through to the top 6 quarter final round robin.

It’s looking like another breezy day tomorrow which is good for us, so fingers crossed!

Lucy x

It was a tough day to start the Worlds with today with 5 matches against some of the top names at the event. With some great training over the last few days we were pleased to see around 15 knots of breeze to start the day with. This morning in our first match against Björling, a mistake in the final approach to the line meant we started behind and were unable to make the difference up throughout the race. In the next two races however we had great control through most of the pre-start however we were not able to convert it into enough control off the start line and were not quick enough around the course.

After a good break however we were sailing really well this afternoon, first winning against Linda Rahm pre-start and extending throughout to a win. Next we had a fantastic race against Claire Leroy where a split tack off the line saw us ahead up the first beat and leading round the windward mark by half a length. Down the run the control switched from boat to boat and unfortunately it was Claire who rounded ahead. Another tacking duel up the next beat resulted in us inches away on the final run, but unable to roll and loosing by just half a length in the end.

Although we’re dissapointed to be 4–1 down in the start of the round robin, we learnt a lot this morning and converted it into some great sailing this afternoon, so bring on the other races!

For full results check out the event website at http://en.lysekilwomensmatch.se/, and if your Swedish is up to scratch you can enjoy live video and commentary as the event progresses over the next few days.