Ulsan PWA World Cup - Stunning opening ceremony at Jinha beach

by Chris Yates on 5 May 2013 On the opening day of the Ulsan PWA World Cup, both the men’s and women’s heats registered for the upcoming week of competition between 10am and 11am. With light onshore winds combined with beautiful sunshine in the morning, the sailors took the opportunity to finish preparing themselves and their equipment for the start of the competition.

The skippers’ meeting took place at half past one, but with light winds still dominating the proceedings, it was not possible to start of the competition. However at around quarter to three the wind swung cross-shore and started to show promise of picking up, which tempted several sailors out onto the water the test the conditions. Over the next hour the majority of the fleet took the water, but in the end this turned out to be in vain as the wind never fully materialized on day one of the Ulsan PWA World Cup.

After a flurry of action on both the beach and the water we quickly caught up with Karin Jaggi (Patrik / Severne):

PWA: Last year you got about as close as you can to winning the world title, are you feeling confident ahead of this year's campaign?
KJ: 'Fairly confidant, I didn’t train slalom so much this winter, but I’ve been sailing in the waves quite a bit. With just the three events there’s no room for error such as over earlies. I’ll try my best and if everything comes together then I’m definitely trying to win again.'

PWA: Which equipment have you registered for the season?
KJ: 'I have the Patrik 115l, 100l and 92l, so basically the same as last year and the same for the sails. So I have 8.6m all the way down to 5.1m, which means I’m ready for any conditions.'

PWA: Is there much difference between your kit this year and last year?
KJ: 'I don’t think there’s a massive difference. The boards are pretty much the same and the sails are very similar, which I think is a huge advantage because it means I already have experience with the gear in Korea with almost the exact same setup. Hopefully I can use that to my advantage.'

PWA: Lastly, what are your aims for both slalom and waves?
KJ: 'With the slalom it’s going to be interesting to see how everyone does at the first event. I think there are a few sailors that improved quite a lot. It looks like Lena Erdil (Patrik / Loft / AL360 / Mystic) is going to be quite quick, but for sure I’m going for the win. With the waves taking place in the Canaries, Sylt and Chile I’m aiming for the top three.'

To close the day the sailors and the crew were treated to an opening meal at five O’clock, before the stunning opening ceremony was held on Jinha beach in front of a packed out crowd. The forecast for tomorrow looks promising with more wind being predicted than for today, so hopefully we will see the first races of the 2013 season completed. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 10am tomorrow morning with the action commencing from 10:30am if conditions allow.

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