WIM Series - Katie Spithill takes her first Busan victory

by WIM Series on 29 Oct 2016 As one of the most experienced match racing skippers in the world, Australian Katie Spithill has been to every Busan Cup Women’s International Match Race since the inaugural event in 2008, except for the single year she had her daughter.

But not until Saturday the 29th of October 2016 did she go all the way through to winning in Korea; over previous two-time Busan champion Lucy Macgregor of Great Britain:

“Finally, is all I can say. We’ve been here for eight years and we’re just so happy to take it home today,” the Aussie skipper cheers out, praising her crew of Alessandra Angelini, Jessica Eastwell, Kate Lathouras and Stacey Jackson from the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club.

The waters just outside the beautiful Haeundae Beach of Korean city Busan offered the most challenging of sailing conditions, as the Busan Cup Women’s International Match Race came down the wire with semi-finals and final Saturday. In incredibly shifty, puffy and gusty winds, Spithill won her semi three – one over round-robin winner Claire Leroy, who may have regret her earlier choice of opponent:

“I think the key in the semis was that we had superior boat speed, especially downwind,” says Spithill.

“We made too many small mistakes, allowing them to come from behind with the gusts to overtake us” Leroy comments.

In the other semi, Lucy Macgregor faced Swedish 2016 WIM Series Champion Anna Östling, who didn’t really seem to have a chance. The World number one was quite shamefully defeated three –zero:

“We sailed very, very well there, and made it quite easy for ourselves. That was very pleasant,” the British skipper admits.

“As good as our day was yesterday, it was equally bad today. We didn’t get the flow at all, didn’t have the speed and made too many stupid mistakes” sighs Östling, obviously not very happy at all.

As Macgregor and Spithill met in the final, the Aussie continued her winning streak, taking the first two matches straight and clear:

“By making too many mistakes in the prestarts, I unfortunately showed I’m a little out of practise. The races were sort of done from that point,” Macgregor explains.

Nevertheless, with three match points against her, Macgregor managed to break back, taking the next two matches to force a fifth and decisive final match. From the raised position at the Haeundae Beach lighthouse, the spectators could quite easily follow the gusts as they spread over the racecourse, but for the competitors on the water it was a lot harder to keep track of the puffy and shifty winds:

“It was so shifty out there today, so it felt like it could be anyone’s race each time,” says Macgregor.

The British skipper lost the fifth match by a few boat lengths, letting Katie Spithill and her crew walk away with the victory and 20 000 USD of prize money in this fourth event of the 2016 WIM Series:

“We had the better start and were in control, but it was very hard to match the tacks because of the shifts. Overall we’re happy, but obviously it’s disappointing to not get a win in that last match. But Katie and her team sailed really well, to take that last win,” says Macgregor.

“We had some great crew work and some really smart decisions, and to be honest there were moments in there when you just had to be focused, because it was so shifty. We tried to stay in focus and just push every opportunity, and that paid,” Spithill analyses.

With enthusiasm from her win, Spithill promises:

“Given the chance we’d love to be back next year and do the whole WIM Series!”

Previous double World Champion and 2007 World Sailor of the Year, Claire Leroy, defeated Östling two – zero to take the petite final and 15 000 USD:

“I think we did a great job this week and sailed very well, but not good enough to win the regatta. It was really fun to be back and see the new generation of women match racing sailors,” Claire Leroy concludes.

The next and final event on the 2016 WIM Series is the Carlos Aguilar Match Race, in St Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, December 1 – 4. Anna Östling and her crew has already secured the overall WIM Series win and the coveted Terry J Kohler perpetual trophy, but behind the Swedish winners a wasp’s nest of skippers are in the run for a podium finish. Pauline Courtois (FRA), Caroline Sylvan (SWE), Stephanie Roble (USA), Camilla Ulrikkeholm Klinkby (DEN) and Renée Groeneveld (NED) can all get their share of fame and honour, as well as a portion of the generous 50 000 USD WIM Series prize purse.



Results in the Busan Cup Women’s International Match Race, the fourth and penultimate event of the 2016 WIM Series (skipper, crew, country, WIM Series points, prize money):

1. Katie Spithill, Alessandra Angelini, Jessica Eastwell, Kate Lathouras and Stacey Jackson, AUS, 25, 20 000 USD.
2. Lucy Macgregor, Annie Lush, Mariana Lobato, Elodie Mettraux and Mary Rook, GBR, 22, 15 000 USD.
3. Claire Leroy, Marie Riou, Claire Pruvot, Julie Gerecht and Morgane Gautier, FRA, 20, 12 000 USD.
4. Anna Östling, Hanna Klinga, Linnéa Wennergren, Marie Berg and Annika Carlunger, SWE, 18, 10 000 USD.
5. Trine Palludan, Lea Richter Vogelius, Josefine Boel Rasmussen, Lærke Ilsø Nørgaard and Joan Vestergaard Hansen, DEN, 16, 9 000 USD.
6. Stephanie Roble, Maggie Shea, Aimee Famularo, Elizabeth Shaw and Janel Zarkowsky, USA, 14, 8 000 USD.
7. Pauline Courtois, Maelenn Lemaître, Bérénice Delpuech, Sophonie Affagard and Juliette Le Friec, FRA, 12, 7 000 USD.
8. Caroline Sylvan, Malin Holmberg, Anna Norlander, Frida Langenius and My Karlsten Sfiris, SWE, 10, 6 000 USD.
9. Renée Groeneveld, Annemieke Bes, Lobke Berkhout, Claire Blom and Marcelien de Koning, NED, 8, 5 000 USD.
10. Diana Kissane, Jane Butler, Clara Hynes, Tara Flood and Jennifer Andreasson, IRL, 7, 4 000 USD.
11. Milly Bennett, Alice Tarnawski, Rosie Lee, Stephanie Doyle, Carrington Brady and Tara Blanc-Ramos, AUS, 6, 2 000 USD.
12. Gyeong Jin Lee, Ji A Kim, Min Ju Kim, Da Eun Yang and Da Som Park, KOR, 5, 2 000 USD.

Results in the final:

- Katie Spithill, AUS – Lucy Macgregor, GBR, 3 – 2

Results in the petite final:

- Anna Östling, SWE – Claire Leroy, FRA, 0 – 2

Semi-final results:

- Katie Spithill, AUS – Claire Leroy, FRA, 3 – 1
- Anna Östling, SWE – Lucy Macgregor, GBR, 0 – 3

Standings in the 2016 WIM Series after four events out of five (skipper, country, WIM Series points):

1. Anna Östling, SWE, 93
2. Pauline Courtois, FRA, 60
3. Caroline Sylvan, SWE, 58
4. Stephanie Roble, USA, 54
5. Camilla Ulrikkeholm Klinkby, DEN, 54
6. Renée Groeneveld, NED, 49
7. Katie Spithill, AUS, 25
8. Lucy Macgregor, GBR, 22
9. Anne-Claire Le Berre, FRA, 22
10. Marinella Laaksonen, FIN, 21
11. Claire Leroy, FRA, 20
12. Lotte Meldgaard, DEN, 18
13. Samantha Norman, NZL, 14
14. Sanna Häger, SWE, 14
15. Diana Kissane, IRL, 14
16. Alexa Bezel, SUI, 12
17. Rikst Dijkstra, NED, 12
18. Nicole Breault, USA, 10
19. Johanna Bergqvist, SWE, 10
20. Antonia Degerlund, FIN, 10
21. Elizabeth Shaw, CAN, 8
22. Susanna Kukkonen FIN, 8
23. Milly Bennett, AUS, 6
24. Gyeong Jin Lee, KOR, 5
25. Sanna Mattsson, SWE, 5