Women's International Match Racing Series & Lysekil Women's Match 1 - 1 in both semi finals of Lysekil Women's Match - final event of the inaugural WIMR Series to finish racing Saturday.
Friday's races on the Swedish west coast waters of Lysekil offered excellent conditions for the sailors as well as for the large crowds on the cliffs, packed with prestart dramas, wild gybes, luffing duels and other breath-taking manoeuvres.
British Lucy Macgregor is facing local hope Anna Kjellberg in their semi, with Danish Camilla Ulrikkeholm against Claire Leroy, France, in the other one. All of them scored 5 - 2 in the quarter final round-robin, and both semi finals are now tied 1 - 1, numbers that really demonstrates how extremely tight the match racing is at this level:
"To be honest we didn't know the exact points in the quarters, we just took one match at a time. But I was pleased we didn't have to choose an opponent for the semis, since the competition is so consistent" Lucy Macgregor smiled.
Swede Anna Kjellberg had to use all her rules knowledge and manoeuvrability against Macgregor when starting the first semi final match a couple of boat lengths ahead. But already on the first beat the British skipper managed to get out on the starboard side of Kjellgren, slowly but steadily working her way through as the wind shifted to the right.
"We played chicken against the rocks, and managed to get half a crucial boat length to windward of the Swedes" Macgregor explained. The first top mark rounding saw a lead change, and then Macgregor and her crew stretched the lead further as the race went on. In the second semi final race Kjellgren had learned her lesson:
"The margins are very small, and you can't afford to give away one single centimetre. Our tactics and manoeuvres were significantly stronger in the second race" said Anna, who evened the standings to 1 - 1.
Current ISAF world ranking number one Camilla Ulrikkeholm and former ditto Claire Leroy, developed their semi final matches into spectacular shows of exciting duels and stunning fighting for millimetres, all the way round the course.
Swedish umpire Johan Norén had a busy time, especially in a downwind luffing duel with flapping spinnakers and two shouting skippers pumped with adrenaline in the second match. After contact between the boats, that situation ended with a Danish penalty, and Leroy could break back to 1 - 1: "I tried all I could to keep clear of Claire, but obviously the umpires thought I could have done more" a disappointed Ulrikkeholm sighed.
"I'm never satisfied with a loss, but Claire is a very competitive match racing skipper. Now we're looking forward to tomorrow's races" she continued. "We also have good faith for tomorrow. Of course we want to win, but we will see." the French skipper commented.
The semi finals of Lysekil Women's Match will be raced Saturday morning, followed by the grand finale in the afternoon. Standings in the semi finals of Lysekil Women's Match 2013, the final event of the inaugural Women's International Match Racing Series: Claire Leroy, FRA - Camilla Ulrikkeholm, DEN 1 - 1 Anna Kjellberg, SWE - Lucy Macgregor, GBR 1 - 1
Results in the Lysekil Women's Match 2013 quarterfinals. Skipper, nationality, won/lost matches: 1. Claire Leroy, FRA, 5 - 2 2. Anna Kjellberg, SWE, 5 - 2 3. Lucy Macgregor, GBR, 5 - 2 4. Camilla Ulrikkeholm, DEN, 5 - 2 5. Ekaterina Skudina, RUS, 3 - 4 6. Anne-Claire Le Berre, FRA, 3 - 4 7. Caroline Sylvan, SWE, 1 - 6 8. Johanna Larsson, SWE, 1 - 6
