Danish skipper Camilla Ulrikkeholm and team made it a home win on Sunday, winning the Danish stage of the 2024 Women’s World Match Racing Tour season in which Ireland was represented by a team skippered by the National Yacht Club's Nicole Hemeryck.
As regular Afloat readers know, the former ILCA ace arrived in Denmark after steering the J122 Valentina to Cruiser Zero success at the ICRA National Championships on Dublin Bay earlier this month.
Ulrikkeholm defeated fellow Danish finalist Lea Vogelius and team 3-0 in the final to secure victory. The event was hosted by the Royal Danish Yacht Club in Rungsted Harbour, approximately 25km north of Copenhagen.
Unusually hot September weather welcomed the ten all-female teams representing 11 nations for Stage 5 of the 2024 Women’s World Match Racing Tour at the Royal Danish Yacht Club’s Rungsted Harbour location from 5-8 September.
The Irish team skippered by the National Yacht Club's Nicole Hemeryck (right) at the Danish stage of the 2024 Women’s World Match Racing Tour Photo: Mogens Hansen
After a break in competitive match racing for the last several years, Ulrikkeholm, a former winner of multiple women’s world tour events, marked her return to match racing in style with her crew of Sara Keir Wright, Line Mørfebjerg Fischer, Maria Juul, Louise Ulrikkeholm Bredvig and Lærke Ilsø Nørgaard.
“We are lost for words … it has just been amazing to be back on the water and match racing and we are thrilled to have won the event” commented Ulrikkeholm.
Ulrikkeholm and team defeated fellow Danish sailor Lea Vogelius in a close first-to-three-point final. After Ulrikkeholm won the first two races, Vogelius led the third race to gain a three boat length over Ulrikkeholm, only for Ulrikkeholm to pass on the last downwind leg and secure the 3-0 score. Australia’s Brooke Wilson finished in 3rd place after winning her petit-final match against Sweden’s Martina Carlsson 2-1.
Danish skipper Camilla Ulrikkeholm and team made it a home win on Sunday, winning the Danish stage of the 2024 Women’s World Match Racing Tour season Photo: Sailing. Photo: Mogens Hansen
Narrowly missing out on her first Women’s World Match racing Tour podium was Sweden’s Martina Carlsson and her Beyond Racing Team who were competing in Denmark in only their second Tour event.
After qualifying into the quarter-finals, Carlsson and her crew of Klara Utterström, Amanda Ljunggren, Elin Sevedag, Ebba Berntsson and Hedvig Hedström defeated Julia Aartsen’s Team Out of the Box from the Netherlands in an impressive straight 3 wins, advancing the team to the semi-finals against Camilla Ulrikkeholm.
However Ulrikkeholm and her crew’s superior experience in the DS37 match racing boats proved too much for the Beyond Racing team as Ulrikkeholm took three straight wins in the semis match. Carlsson then met Australia’s Brooke Wilson in the petit-final levelling at 1-1 before Wilson and her Amphitrite Racing Team clinched the deciding race 2-1.
“Denmark delivered four incredible days for us” commented Carlsson. “We’ve only done one race on the tour before this, so we came to the event to learn as much as possible, and we are excited to have reached the semi-finals. We look forward to training for the 2025 season!”
The Women’s World Match Racing Tour heads to Bermuda for its final stage of the 2024 season, the Bermuda Women’s Trophy from 29 October-3 November which will be staged alongside the 72nd Bermuda Gold Cup, the penultimate stage of the 2024 Open World Match Racing Tour. Both events are hosted by the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club.
Final results – Women’s WWMRT Denmark 2024
- Camilla Ulrikkeholm Klinkby
- Lea Vogelius
- Brooke Wilson/ Amphitrite Racing
- Martina Carlssson/ Beyond Racing
- Julia Aartsen/ Team Out of the Box
- Julia D’Amodio/ Shark Caviar Team
- Kristine Mauritzen/ Those Seagulls
- Bridget Groble/ Bow Down Racing
- Nicole Hemeryck
- Louise K Olesen
