The Yachtsman 2016-2017 RPAYC Yachtsman 2016-2017 | Page 38

A U S T R A L I A N W O M E N ’ S M AT C H R A C I N G
RPAYC MEMBERS PLACE 1ST AND 10TH IN BUSAN, KOREA
A 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.
“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 representing the Royal Prince Alfred
Yacht Club. “We had some great crew work and some really smart
decisions, and 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.
s 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 29 October 2016 did she go all the way
through to winning in Korea; over previous two-time
Busan champion Lucy Macgregor of Great Britain:
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 to the wire with
semi finals and finals on Saturday. In incredibly shifty,
puffy and gusty winds, Spithill won her Semi 3-1 over
round-robin winner Claire Leroy, who may have
regretted 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. Katie and the team (right) after their victory.
Photo: WIM Media
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 #1 was quite
shamefully defeated 3-0:
“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
A