Ulsan PWA World Cup

Day 1: Sailors rigged and ready for racing after a quiet opening day

The opening day of the Ulsan PWA World Cup proved to be a quiet affair with the wind remaining extremely light over the duration of the day. The sailors registered for the upcoming six days of competition between 10am-12pm, before making any final adjustments to their equipment to ensure they are 100% ready for when the racing kicks off.

Earlier in the day we caught up with Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / North), who changed sponsors during the close season:

PWA: You changed sponsors over the winter to Fanatic and North Sails — how are you getting on with your new gear and what have you been up to during the close season?

JV: “I’m very, very happy. This year I’m on Fanatic, North and Ion. Over the winter I went over to Tenerife for 3 months where several of my other teammates passed by; Pierre Mortefon, Marco Lang, Laurence Carey, Vincent Langer and a lot of the other sailors who compete on the tour were also there, which was great as it gave me all the information I needed about my new gear and gave me the opportunity to tune everything up. Over the 3 months I was able to test everything on the race course, which was the perfect preparation for the year.”

PWA: You also just won the first stop of the Dutch Championships — can you tell us a little about that?

JV: “It was a hard days racing with gusty, shifty winds — 6-33 knots — so it was impossible to choose the right gear, so you had to be kind of lucky also. Taty Frans was also there, so the level was high. I’d say that Taty actually won as he won both finals — I was on his tail for both finals — but because we were using IFCA rules he was disqualified for pushing 4 people into the boat, so there were quite a few angry sailors who then protested. So the results were revised and he received a last place in the final, so that’s how ended up in first and won the opening leg of the Dutch Championship, but not in the way I would’ve liked.”

PWA: How are you feeling ahead of the racing here?

JV: “I feel good. I feel comfortable on all my gear from small to large. I’ve already been able to use everything a lot, so it’s about time to turn the training into action.”

PWA: Thanks, Jordy, and good luck with the racing this week.

The forecast looks slightly better for tomorrow — although the wind is predicted to be from the northeast rather than the prevailing southwest — so the normal thermal effect will not come into play. The best opportunity looks set be in the late afternoon with 11-16 knots being predicted. As a result the skippers’ meeting will be held at 9:30am with a first possible start of 10am. Make sure you stay tuned into www.pwaworldtour.com — here you’ll be able follow the action as it happens via the PWA live stream. 

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