Linda Rahm into the lead

Joakhim Hermansson reports from day one of the Swedish Match Cup

The ladies started the Swedish Match Cup on Monday with the first round robins. After four matches the club mates Linda Rahm and Marie Björling from the hosting club GKSS (The Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club) had three victories each, and they are holding the leading positions going into tomorrow's races.

Shortly before the finish line in today's last race, Rahm succeeded to take the lead over Björling with just a few metres to spare to take victory. This means that Rahm and her crew now are alone on the first place.

"It was a tough race against Marie, but very important for us to win," said Rahm of herself and her crew - Suzanne Nyberg, Victoria Engström, Helena Barne, Anna Nordlander and Therese Hjalmarsson. "We made some really good starts and the team worked very well onboard, she says and admits that they did a few really big mistakes against Björling & Co, but, on the other hand,  that their mistakes were even worse"…

The only loss for Linda & Co came in the second race today, against the Danish team of Lotte Meldgaard-Pedersen. After a good start Rahm made a mistake and had to steer out of the way at the first windward mark, allowing Meldgaard-Pedersen to take the lead.
"We gave the victory away there," Rahm sighs, but instead she can enjoy victories over the Danish sailor Nina Braestrup and her second club mate in the race, Malin Millbourn.
Millbourn has now returned to GKSS after a stay at KSSS (the Royal Swedish Yacht Club) in Stockholm. She has borrowed the crew of Malin Källström who for the moment is on maternity leave - Karin Dahlberg, Anna Skarenhed, Lotta Harrysson, Nina Barne and Marie Öberg.

"Our expectations are more than fulfilled, even if we didn’t operate the new boats very well later in the afternoon," says Millbourn, who started out with two victories and continued with two losses.

The new boats Milbourn refers to are the Swedish Match 40s, designed by famous Swede Pelle Petterson and built by Swedish Maxi Yachts. They have already been raced in other events on the Swedish Match Tour - in Portugal last year and on Elba this spring - and they are also used by America’s Cup-syndicates for training. For the ladies the Swedish Match Cup is their premiere in the new boats:

"They are really good boats but different to sail comparing to the DS 37 that we used to race with before. You are forced to sail less aggressively, otherwise it will come back on you," she says.

The preliminary standings after sailing the first day’s round robin for the ladies in the Swedish Match Cup:
1. Linda Rahm, SWE, 3 victories – 1 loss
2. Marie Björling, SWE, 3-1
3. Nina Braestrup, DEN 2-2
3. Lotte Meldgaard-Pedersen, DEN, 2-2
3. Claire Leroy, FRA, 2-2
3. Christelle Philippe, FRA, 2-2
3. Malin Millbourn, SWE, 2-2
8. Sandy Hayes, USA, 0-4

Round-robin for ladies will continue during Tuesday morning and after that the round-robin for men will start, group A. The ladies will sail their semi finals on Wednesday and the finals will be on Saturday.