Helsinki Women's Match - Day 2

The Wednesday evening races of the Helsinki Women's Match were followed by huge crowds at Hernesaari (Ärtholmen) © Niklas Axhede / WIM Series

Groeneveld to the top

Renee Groeneveld (NED) broke the dominance of Camilla Ulrikkeholm Klinkby (DEN), by winning their Wednesday match. On nine wins and just one loss, the Dutch skipper takes over the top position in the round-robin of the Helsinki Women's Match, the opening event of the 2016 WIM Series: "We had a really good day out there on the water today, winning all five of our matches" Groeneveld comments.

Wednesday's racing started in the morning in excellent sailing conditions, with almost the same south-westerly breeze as seen on Tuesday, maybe just a little less. Then, at early afternoon, all sailors were called ashore, as the race committee wanted the sailors to have some rest before racing continued a few hours later. The break was planned, because the local yacht club Nyländska Jaktklubben (NJK) was keen to offer all evening strollers on the beach-walk of Hernesaari (Ärtholmen) a chance to see the races:

"A lot of people in Helsinki are not on holiday yet, so by racing after office hours we got probably the largest spectator crowds at a regatta in Finland ever" says NJK Sailing Center Manager Peik Åström.

As NJK took advantage of the bright Nordic evening for racing, it was Renee Groeneveld who shined more than the midnight sun on the water. The Dutch skipper and her crew lined up victory after victory, and continued their winning streak even after the afternoon break. The first evening match against the Danish World #1 was a tight one, after a pretty even start:

"We protected our starboard advantage and found more pressure on the right side of the course. I think that was the key" says the former World #1 (2010) Groeneveld.

"We made some small mistakes in the match, and a fairly short course also made it difficult for us to find an opportunity to pass Renee" Ulrikkeholm Klinkby explains.

World #3 Anna Östling (SWE) also put up a good performance today, winning all of her three races. Her total 7 – 1 score moves her to the runner-up position, just barely ahead of Camilla Ulrikkeholm Klinkby, who stays on 6 – 1 so far:

"We haven't raced in J/80s for a couple of years, but now I think we're beginning to find the trim, the speed and the manoeuvres. I'm hopeful for the rest of the regatta!" says the Swedish skipper.

Marinella Laaksonen from Espoo close to Helsinki is still the highest placed local skipper, on sixth place and definitely with a quarterfinal spot within her reach. Laaksonen was more or less given her first match of the day, when Swedish skipper Sanna Mattsson received her second penalty and failed to immediately do her penalty turn. The Swede got a black flag disqualification and the point went to Laaksonen. In her second and last match of the day Laaksonen lost to Groeneveld:

"Renee got the favourable right side from the start, caught the puffs out there and stretched her lead all the way around the course. There was really nothing we could do about it" the Finnish skipper admits, shaking her head.

Round Robin Results after Day 1:

1. Renée Groeneveld, NED, 9 – 1
2. Anna Östling, SWE, 7 – 1
3. Camilla Ulrikkeholm Klinkby, DEN, 6 – 1
4. Caroline Sylvan, SWE, 6 – 2
5. Pauline Courtois, FRA, 5 – 2
6. Marinella Laaksonen, FIN, 4 – 3
7. Antonia Degerlund, FIN, 4 – 6
8. Rikst Dijkstra, NED, 4 – 7
9. Susanna Kukkonen FIN, 3 – 8
9. Diana Kissane, IRL, 3 – 8
11. Sanna Häger, SWE, 2 – 6
12. Sanna Mattsson, SWE, 1 – 9

The round-robin concludes Thursday, to be immediately followed by the quarterfinals at Hernesaari (Ärtholmen). Semi finals and final will be sailed on Friday, July 1.

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