Claire Leroy and team (FRA). Image copyright Fried Elliott/www.friedbits.com
by Michael Levitt
It was moving day at the ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship. The fog closed out the predicted sunshine, but with opportunities to climb almost to the finals, the competitors were not thinking about the weather.
Two of a possible five flights in the semifinals were sailed at the end of the day and the round robin series for fifth through eighth place has one flight remaining.
What happened between 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. today, however was the most exciting racing we have seen. The day started with the completion of a knockout series from the top repechage teams to determine the last two slots in the quarterfinals. There Russian sailor Ekaterina Skudina and her team unseeded Americans Anna Tunnicliffe and her team. Renee Groeneveld gained the final slot for the Netherlands by beating Julie Bossard from France who had been on a winning streak.
There was a heartbreaking quarterfinals match up between Australians Nicky Souter and Katie Spithill where the former of the two top ranked teams prevailed. “I don’t believe this has ever happened with our teams,” said Australian coach Dayne Sharp. “That’s the way it goes sometimes. We’re happy to have one team still in it.”
After such a long and stressful day, the wind remained strong and the Gold Fleet teams came out to spar for the semifinals, and each race was a nail biter. Claire Leroy tied her series with Lucy Macgregor after pulling even with the Brits on the last downwind and just nipping them by a foot at the finish.
In the other semifinal pairing, Sally Barkow’s 2-0 lead in the first-to-three wins series against Nicky Souter belies the intensity of those matches. The two teams were practically overlapped both races and in one, Barkow passed Souter only to gain a penalty and a red flag where she had to take her penalty turns immediately. Barkow came back to win the race just before the finish.
In the round robin series to determine places five through eight, the matches were equally as exciting with the puffy, misty southerly dishing out race changing shifts and puffs each leg. The American team led by Genny Tulloch is leading the race for fifth with two wins followed by Groeneveld, Skudina and Spithill.
If today’s races were exciting, tomorrow’s completion of the semifinals and the march towards the championship title here at New York Yacht Club’s Harbour Court will be unlike any racing most have ever seen.
Video of the press conference:
Semifinal Results (first to three wins)
Leroy/Macgregor match tied 1-1
Barkow leads 2-0 over Souter
5-8 Round Robin (one flight left)
Tulloch 2pts
Groeneveld 1pt
Skudina 1pt
Spithill 0pts
Women's Match Racing Worlds
