Macgregor defeated Bossard 3 – 1 in Saint Quay final
– and Stephanie Roble beat Klaartje Zuiderbaan 2 – 0 for third place

In the finals of the women’s match racing event in Saint Quay, local sailor Julie Bossard gave the French crowd at the pier some hope after beating former Olympian Lucy Macgregor in the first match. But then the supreme sailor from Great Britain fought back, winning three consecutive matches to secure the title in this first event of the inaugural 2013 Women’s International Match Racing Series.
– The races were very tough today, with tricky conditions and very good competitors, a tired but certainly happy Lucy says, just before receiving her prize check of 2.475 euros (3.200 USD).

She has undoubtedly been the sovereign of the event, winning not less than 24 of her 29 matches during the ISAF Grade 1 Saint Quay Women’s Match Racing. On the last day of racing she also lost one match in the semi-final, against Dutch veteran Klaartje Zuiderbaan, but apart from that it was all a victorious Sunday for the British crew:
– We are quite a new team but we started working together really well, and the boathandling got us out of a few tight situations, Lucy Macgregor comments.
– Our starts were really good, and that obviously helped. There were a lot of gains and losses and a few calls downwind, so you had to have at least five boat lengths to feel a little comfortable. With the short wind shifts it was very important to cover, she explains.

Julie Bossard reached the final after defeating her semi final opponent Stephanie Roble of the USA in three straight matches:
– We made some weak prestarts, in which we lost the game in the last 20 seconds before the signal. Then we fought hard but were not able to get it back, Roble sighs, not too disappointed after then winning the petit final against Zuiderbaan with a 2 – 0 record:
– Our boathandling was superior and my crew made an awesome job. Everything was perfectly executed and we managed to keep calm in the tricky conditions, Roble says.
– Our matches were really close, but the others were obviously better than us today. I’ve never sailed the Elliott 6 before, so we have to be happy finishing within the top four, Zuiderbaan smiles.

Despite losing the final Julie Bossard is happy with her performance, and she also praises her crew:
– I have a new team and it was our first time together, but everybody did a good job. There was a lot of fighting in the final, and in the last match we got a penalty that we couldn’t recover from, after a luffing duel on the first downwind.

In the round-robin for deciding 5th to 8th place Caroline Sylvan of Sweden excelled, winning all her three matches while all the others just had one win each. In her matches against Kiwi Claudia Pierce and Milly Bennett from Australia, Sylvan & Co managed to take the start, then strengthening their advantage when the opponent was penalized. In Sylvan’s match against compatriot Anna Kjellberg the racing was tighter, at least at the beginning:
– We got off the starting line fairly well and then we could tack on them all the way up the first beat. Then we read the windshifts right, and stretched our lead further, Sylvan says.
– We’ve had an incredibly fun event, with a lot of sailing and a lot of lessons learned.

Liz Baylis, Executive Director of Women’s International Match Racing Association (WIMRA), was invited by organizing yacht club Sport Nautique de Saint-Quay-Portrieux (SNSQP) to this first event on the inaugural 2013 Women’s International Match Racing Series. Summing up she is very enthusiastic:
– All the sailors are very happy that we’ve managed to get this series going. Here in Saint Quay we’ve had a lot of matches in good conditions, and it has for sure been a fantastic start to the inaugural series, she comments.

Results in ISAF Grade 1 Saint Quay Women’s Match Racing, the first event of the inaugural 2013 Women’s International Match Racing Series. Place/crew/nationality/prize money:
1. Lucy Macgregor, Saskia Clark, Claire Lasko, Maria Stanley, GBR, 2.475 € (3.200 USD)
2. Julie Bossard, Pauline Courtois, Nadege Douroux, Clara Scheiwiller, FRA, 1.275 € (1.640 USD)
3. Stephanie Roble, Maggie Shea, Meg Six, Janel Zarkowsky, USA, 975 € (1.250 USD)
4. Klaartje Zuiderbaan, Morgane Gautier, Lena Koter, Sarah Hornby, NED, 750 € (965 USD)
5. Caroline Sylvan, Louise Kruuse af Verchou, Sofia Engström, Frida Langenius, SWE, 675 € (868 USD)
6. Anna Kjellberg, Johanna Larsson, Karin Almquist, Therese Antman, SWE, 600 € (770 USD)
7. Claudia Pierce, Aimee Famularo, Marie Kent, Janelle Peat, NZL, 450 € (580 USD)
8. Milly Bennett, Kajsa Doyle, Alice Tarnawski, Seldon Coventry, AUS, 300 € (385 USD)
9. Alexa Bezel, Corinne Meyer, Romy Hasler, Laurane Mettraux, SUI, 0 €
10. Morgane Dréau, Pauline Bryere, Violette Lemercier, Tifanie Leon, FRA, 0 €

Final results:
Lucy Macgregor, GBR vs Julie Bossard, FRA, 3 – 1

Petit final results:
Stephanie Roble, USA vs Klaartje Zuiderbaan, NED, 2 – 0

Semi final results:
SF 1: Lucy Macgregor, GBR vs Klaartje Zuiderbaan, NED, 3 – 1
SF 2: Stephanie Roble, USA vs Julie Bossard, FRA, 0 – 3

Results in round-robin for 5th to 8th place (place/name/nationality/wins – losses):
1. Caroline Sylvan, SWE, 3 – 0
2. Anna Kjellberg, SWE, 1 – 2
3. Milly Bennett, AUS, 1 – 2
4. Claudia Pierce, NZL, 1 – 2

The inaugural 2013 Women’s International Match Racing Series is a professional sailing circuit, hosted by the Women’s International Match Racing Association for the world’s leading women match racing sailors. In match racing the crews meet two by two in exciting duels that can easily be followed and understood by the spectators.

An overall prize purse of 50 000 USD will be distributed by the WIMRSeries at the final event in Lysekil, Sweden, in addition to the prize money at each of the five events included in the WIMRSeries (date, event name, location, boat type):
* May 15-19 – Saint Quay Women’s Match Racing – St Quay-Portrieux, France – Elliott 6m.
* June 6-9 – Busan Cup International Women’s Match Race – Busan, Korea – K 30.
* June 20-23 – Danish Open Ladies Cup – Copenhagen, Denmark – J/80.
* July 11-14 – New York Women’s Invitational – Oakcliff, New York, USA – SM 40.
* August 5-10 – Lysekil Women’s Match – Lysekil, Sweden – DS 37.

Macgregor, Roble, Zuiderbaan & Bossard to semis
– as ISAF Grade 1 match racing event in Saint Quay, France, went on

There were no Saturday surprises at the first event of the inaugural 2013 Women’s Match Racing Series, as all four of the crews that dominated the double round-robin also qualified for the semi-finals.

The event’s sovereign Lucy Macgregor of Great Britain, and Klaartje Zuiderbaan from The Netherlands, both swept away their opponents (Milly Bennett of Australia and Swede Caroline Sylvan) with a clean 3 – 0 score in their respective quarterfinal. Sylvan admits a few mistakes that turned out to be critical in the quarterfinals against the Dutch helm, with her international crew from France, Slovenia and Great Britain:
– I think we made pretty good starts and got away ahead in our matches, but twice we sailed into light air after rounding the top mark, and then Klaartje managed to come with good speed from behind and roll us while we didn’t have any pressure, Caroline sighs.
– Summing up we’ve still had great fun in this regatta, learning a lot for the coming events on the new Women’s International Match Racing Series this year, she says.

Local hope Julie Bossard and American Stephanie Roble lost only one match each in their respective quarterfinals against Anna Kjellberg of Sweden and Kiwi Claudia Pierce:
– We had a good morning wrapping up the round-robin, but as we went into the quarterfinals our prestarts weren’t too strong. We indeed got the side of the course that we wanted, but with Stephanie ahead of us it really didn’t matter, Claudia explains.
– In the first quarterfinal match we were ahead of Stephanie after the start, but then we made a stupid mistake and sailed to the wrong top mark, Claudia says, also revealing that she will bring her team to Korea, USA and Sweden for the inaugural Women’s International Match Racing Series events.
– Hopefully we will improve along the way!

Stephanie Roble opened her Saturday in France with three consecutive wins, to finish the double round-robin on 14 wins and 4 losses. Going into the quarterfinals as second seeds she and her crew from the Chicago Match Race Center decided to focus on what they had to improve:
– It was mostly communication issues, such as how to tack on the opponent, but our discussions obviously paid off in the quarterfinals, Roble says.
– I think we had close quarterfinal races, not always knowing exactly where on the course to go. But my crew did an excellent job in finding that out, so I could concentrate on driving the boat fast, she concludes.
Results after the quarterfinals in Saint Quay Women’s Match Racing, the first event of the inaugural 2013 Women’s Match Racing Series. The four winners advances to the semi-finals, to be sailed before the final on Sunday May 19 for the event prize purse of 7,800 Euros. Lucy Macgregor will choose her semi-final opponent on Sunday morning.

QF 1: Lucy Macgregor, GBR vs Milly Bennett, AUS, 3 – 0
QF 2: Stephanie Roble, USA vs Claudia Pierce, NZL, 3 – 1
QF 3: Klaartje Zuiderbaan, NED vs Caroline Sylvan, SWE, 3 – 0
QF 4: Julie Bossard, FRA vs Anna Kjellberg, SWE, 3 – 1

Bennett, Pierce, Sylvan and Kjellberg will sail a Sunday round-robin to decide 5 th to 8th place.

Results after the second round-robin in Saint Quay Women’s Match Racing, the first event of the inaugural 2013 Women’s Match Racing Series. The eight first teams advanced to the quarterfinals. Place/name/nationality/victories/lost matches:
1. Lucy Macgregor, GBR, 15 – 3
2. Stephanie Roble, USA, 14 – 4
3. Klaartje Zuiderbaan, NED, 12 – 6
4. Julie Bossard, FRA, 12 – 6
5. Anna Kjellberg, SWE, 10 – 8
6. Caroline Sylvan, SWE, 8 – 10
7. Claudia Pierce, NZL, 8 – 10
8. Milly Bennett, AUS, 6 – 12
9. Alexa Bezel, SUI, 5 – 13
10. Morgane Dréau, FRA, 0 – 18

Lucy Macgregor remains at the top in Saint Quay
– with Julie Bossard and Stephanie Roble just one victory behind

When racing continued today in Saint Quay-Portrieux, France, Lucy Macgregor won all her matches but two, keeping her top position with an impressive 12 – 2 record after a still unfinished second round-robin. Local sailor Julie Bossard and Stephanie Roble from the USA both defeated the British sailor today, and with a 11 – 4 record respectively they are now chasing her just behind. Despite losing two matches Lucy Macgregor thinks she and her team had a really good day:
– Yes, we sailed better and better as the day went on, but just as on the opening day we had to come from behind a couple of times, she sums up her Friday on the first event of the inaugural Women’s International Match Racing Series 2013.

Julie Bossard from neighbour city Saint Brieuc used her knowledge of the local conditions to climb up the scoreboard, after losing just a single match during Friday’s races:
– I’m actually in an Olympic campaign in 49er FX right now, so I didn’t know until very late that we could participate here in Saint Quay. Now we have got our teamwork together and found the speed too, she smiles, especially thinking of her match against Lucy Macgregor.
– There was a lot of fighting in the start, but no penalties were given. When the gun went off both boats lacked speed and were on different tacks, so it was a split start. We led at the first crossing and could then, thanks to better upwind speed, defend the advantageous starboard side of the course to stretch out our lead even further, Julie Bossard explains.
– Unfortunately we got the wrong side at the first beat, and once behind it was really hard to fight back and get round them, Lucy Macgregor admits.

Anna Kjellberg of Sweden and Klaartje Zuiderbaan, The Netherlands, are tied on fourth place with nine wins and six losses. The latter lost four matches but only won three during the Friday:
– Looking at the results it was worse than yesterday, but my impression is we sailed better today. Except for a few timing mistakes by myself. And we definitely came off the water with a good feeling!
So did Kjellberg & Co, who was defeated only by Stephanie Roble:
– We had a completely different mind-set today, sailing our matches from a tactical point-of-view instead of thinking too much about our manoeuvres. And the cooperation within our crew also worked a lot better, Anna Kjellberg concludes.

Event standings after the second day of racing in Saint Quay Women’s Match Racing, the first event of the inaugural 2013 Women’s Match Racing Series. The eight first teams will advance to the quarterfinals. Place/name/nationality/victories/lost matches:

1. Lucy Macgregor, GBR, 12 – 2
2. Julie Bossard, FRA, 11 – 4
2. Stephanie Roble, USA, 11 – 4
4. Anna Kjellberg, SWE, 9 – 6
4. Klaartje Zuiderbaan, NED, 9 – 6
6. Claudia Pierce, NZL, 6 – 8
7. Caroline Sylvan, SWE, 6 – 9
8. Milly Bennett, AUS, 5 – 9
9. Alexa Bezel, SUI, 4 – 11
10. Morgane Dréau, FRA, 0 – 14

The inaugural 2013 Women’s International Match Racing Series is a professional sailing circuit, hosted by the Women’s International Match Racing Association for the world’s leading women match racing sailors. In match racing the crews meet two by two in exciting duels that can easily be followed and understood by the spectators.

An overall prize purse of 50 000 USD will be distributed by the WIMRSeries at the final event in Lysekil, Sweden, in addition to the prize money at each of the five events included in the WIMRSeries (date, event name, location, boat type):
* May 15-19 – Saint Quay Women’s Match Racing – St Quay-Portrieux, France – Elliott 6m.
* June 6-9 – Busan Cup International Women’s Match Race – Busan, Korea – K 30.
* June 20-23 – Danish Open Ladies Cup – Copenhagen, Denmark – J/80.
* July 11-14 – New York Women’s Invitational – Oakcliff, New York, USA – SM 40.
* August 5-10 – Lysekil Women’s Match – Lysekil, Sweden – DS 37.

Excellent start for Lucy Macgregor in Saint Quay
– undefeated after first day of Women’s International Match Racing Series

The inaugural Women’s International Match Racing Series kicked off today with the first event in St Quay-Portrieux, France. Lucy Macgregor of Great Britain summed up seven straight victories, shining alone undefeated at the top of the scoreboard. But her day wasn’t at all as relaxed as the results may imply:
– No, we had a few close matches, also coming from behind, she comments.

One of them was the last match of the day, against fellow London Olympian Anna Kjellberg of Sweden:
– We started very badly in that match, and were left behind for a while. But good upwind speed got us back into the match, and on the last downwind leg we managed to do a couple of excellent gybes to get ahead of Anna and her crew, Macgregor says.
– We made a great start but then some things got stuck in the boat on the first downwind, slowing us down. And on the last leg we didn’t observe a major wind shift coming, when at the same time making a few bad gybes. Of course Lucy took the advantage of that, Anna explains, not too disappointed with her 2 – 5 score and eighth place so far.

Veteran Klaartje Zuiderbaan of The Netherlands is back in match racing after a few years break as a successful Paralympics coach (gold in London), now leading her international crew from France, Slovenia and Great Britain to second place so far in Saint Quay, with a 6 – 2 score:
– I’m so happy to be here! Today we really learned how to work together in the boat, she smiles.
In her match against young Stephanie Roble, both boats got penalized in the prestart. After a close match almost all the way around the course, Zuiderbaan managed to leave the American crew behind at the last top mark:
– My brain can still recall a few useful tricks, she admits, smiling again.

Stephanie Roble and her experienced crew from Chicago Match Race Center missed a plane and came in late to the event, without any time to do their practise session before racing. In their first match of the day they crossed the starting line too early, and had to turn back for a proper start:
– We clearly underestimated the current that pushed us over the line, Roble comments, happy with their 5 – 2 score and third place so far in the regatta.

Event standings after the first day of racing in Saint Quay Women’s Match Racing, the first event of the inaugural 2013 Women’s Match Racing Series. Place/name/nationality/victories/lost matches:

1. Lucy Macgregor, GBR, 7 – 0
2. Klaartje Zuiderbaan, NED, 6 – 2
3. Stephanie Roble, USA, 5 – 2
4. Julie Bossard, FRA, 5 – 3
5. Alexa Bezel, SUI, 3 – 4
5. Claudia Pierce, NZL, 3 – 4
5. Caroline Sylvan, SWE, 3 – 4
8. Anna Kjellberg, SWE, 2 – 5
8. Milly Bennett, AUS, 2 – 5
10. Morgane Dreau, FRA, 0 – 7

The inaugural 2013 Women’s International Match Racing Series is a professional sailing circuit, hosted by the Women’s International Match Racing Association for the world’s leading women match racing sailors. In match racing the crews meet two by two in exciting duels that can easily be followed and understood by the spectators.

An overall prize purse of 50 000 USD will be distributed by the WIMRSeries at the final event in Lysekil, Sweden, in addition to the prize money at each of the five events included in the WIMRSeries (date, event name, location, boat type):
* May 15-19 – Saint Quay Women’s Match Racing – St Quay-Portrieux, France – Elliott 6m.
* June 6-9 – Busan Cup International Women’s Match Race – Busan, Korea – K 30.
* June 20-23 – Danish Open Ladies Cup – Copenhagen, Denmark – J/80.
* July 11-14 – New York Women’s Invitational – Oakcliff, New York, USA – SM 40.
* August 5-10 – Lysekil Women’s Match – Lysekil, Sweden – DS 37.

Women’s International Match Racing Series kicks off
– newcomers and veterans gathered in Saint Quay-Portrieux, France

With an international mix of newcomers and veterans, the inaugural Women’s International Match Racing Series kicks off tomorrow with the first event in St Quay-Portrieux, France. Sailing the former Olympic class Elliott 6m, ten crews from eight countries will fight hard to reach the podium on Sunday.

One of the skippers is Dutch veteran Klaartje Zuiderbaan, currently only ranked 149 on the ISAF world ranking. But in 2006 she was second best in the world, and two years later she scored her last victory winning the Grade 1 match racing event in Trentino, Italy:
– Since then I haven’t done a lot of match racing, so it’s great fun to be back in this atmosphere again, Klaartje Zuiderbaan smiles, clarifying how she has spent the last few years.
– Well, I’ve been coaching the Dutch Sonar with Udo Hessels at the helm to a gold medal in the Paralympics in London, she explains.

The youngest crew of the St Quay event, comprising only teenage girls, has travelled to France all the way from Australia, led by talented skipper Milly Bennett. At the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club in Sydney she began her match racing career only two years ago, with experienced Tommy Spithill (younger brother of America’s Cup helmsman James Spithill) as her coach:
– We’re here in St Quay to win as many matches as we can, gaining racing experience for the future, Milly Bennett declares.

Also coming a long way to France is Kiwi Claudia Pierce, who is always match racing against male crews at her home club, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron:
– This is our first regatta in Europe, and our first event with only women crews participating. We really don’t know what to expect, but we’re excited to be here, Claudia Pierce comments.

Present in Saint Quay is WIMRA Executive Director Liz Baylis, invited by the local yacht club Sport Nautique de Saint Quay-Portrieux:
– I’m really happy to be here to follow the races of the first event of the Women’s International Match Racing Series. The Weymouth Olympics highlighted the spectacular nature of match racing and the WIMRSeries is going to take that to new heights. With events in France, Korea, Denmark, the United States and Sweden, spectators will be able to experience in person the excitement of the top women sailors duelling on the water.

Skippers participating in Saint Quay Women’s Match Racing, the first event of the inaugural 2013 Women’s Match Racing Series, are (ISAF ranking, name, country):
5. Lucy Macgregor, GBR
8. Julie Bossard, FRA
12. Alexa Bezel, SUI
20. Caroline Sylvan, SWE
21. Anna Kjellberg, SWE
25. Claudia Pierce, NZL
35. Stephanie Roble, USA
48. Milly Bennett, AUS
149. Klaartje Zuiderbaan, NED
Unranked. Morgane Dreau, FRA

The inaugural 2013 Women’s International Match Racing Series is a professional sailing circuit, hosted by the Women’s International Match Racing Association for the world’s leading women match racing sailors. In match racing the crews meet two by two in exciting duels that can easily be followed and understood by the spectators.

An overall prize purse of 50 000 USD will be distributed by the WIMRSeries at the final event in Lysekil, Sweden, in addition to the prize money at each of the five events included in the WIMRSeries (date, event name, location, boat type):
* May 15-19 – Saint Quay Women’s Match Racing – St Quay-Portrieux, France – Elliott 6m.
* June 6-9 – Busan Cup International Women’s Match Race – Busan, Korea – K 30.
* June 20-23 – Danish Open Ladies Cup – Copenhagen, Denmark – J/80.
* July 11-14 – New York Women’s Invitational – Oakcliff, New York, USA – SM 40.
* August 5-10 – Lysekil Women’s Match – Lysekil, Sweden – DS 37.