Bakewell-White design fleet for Korea Match Cup

by Yvonne Reid, ISAF and Sail-World on 12 Feb 2008
The World Match Racing Tour has announced the inaugural Korea Match Cup from 11-15 June this year in Jeongok, Hwasung City.

The new event will be sailed in fleet of yachts designed by leading New Zealand yacht design company Bakewell-White Yacht Design, who have designed similar matchracers for supplied fleet use on the Grand Prix circuit in several countries.

Hwasung City is located in the Gyeonggi Province of Korea, approximately 45 kilometres southwest of Seoul. The event will be staged in conjunction with a boat show, part of a US$232m government initiative to expand and promote the leisure boating industry in Korea including the construction of four large scale marinas. The British Marine Federation, organizers of the successful London and Southampton Boat Shows in Great Britain, are assisting with the planning of the show in Jeongok.

The event will offer a minimum prize purse of US$320,000 and the organizers are building a brand new fleet of Bakewell White 36-foot match racing yachts for the event. The boats are being built at a facility close to the event venue.

'Korea is a totally new venue for the World Tour and I am delighted that the Gyeonggi Province has selected the Korea Match Cup to headline their considerable investment of leisure boating in the region,' commented Tour President, Scott MACLEOD. 'The Korea Match Cup prize purse of US$320,000 is also the highest on the Tour for 2008 which takes the total Tour prize purse to over US$1.9 million, which is exceptional.'

ISAF Match Racing World Championship - www.sailing.org/matchworlds

World Match Racing Tour - www.worldmatchracingtour.com

Bakewell-White Yacht Design - www.bakewell-white.com