Yachting-Live

ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship
Auckland, New Zealand: Finland’s Silja Lehtinen lies in first place after eight matches on the first day of racing at the BSPORT ISAF Women’s Match Racing Worlds in Auckland.

Silja Lehtinen (FIN), aged just 22 and the youngest of the 14 competing skippers, won five of her six opening matches to top the round robin leaderboard. She is closely followed on the scoreboard by Australia’s Nicky Souter and Liz Baylis from the USA, who each have four wins after five races. With just a very narrow range of scores separating the top six skippers, the quarter-finals spots will be very closely fought tomorrow.

ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship
Hiking out on Jess Smyth’s RNZYS team, semi finalists in last year’s Harken International Women’s Photo: Luca Villata
This weekend in Sydney the battle begins for the final qualification place at the 2008 ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship.

Less than three weeks now remain until the 2008 ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship launch into action at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron in Auckland, with racing scheduled from 1-6 April. To date, 13 of the 14-strong line up set to contest the 2008 World title has been decided, with the final skipper to qualify at the ISAF Grade 2 Harken Women’s International Match Racing Regatta, taking place in Sydney, Australia from 16-19 March.