St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (December 2, 2018). Maintaining control, rather than having to regain control, is a strategy that earned France’s Pauline Courtois and her Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team of Maëlenn Lemaître, Louise Acker and Sophie Faguet first place at the 2018 Women’s International Match Racing Series (WIM Series) Finale, hosted at the Carlos Aguilar Match Race (CAMR). 
This spirit of determination was evident during the first two days of the November 29 to December 2 event when Courtois’s team went nearly undefeated in the round robin right through the last race in the finals when Courtois led the start to triumph 3-1 over Sweden’s Anna Östling.
Twelve teams of some of the best women’s match racing in the world, representing France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden and the USA, participated in the 2018 WIM Series Finale at the CAMR.
Over US $10,000 was awarded in cash prizes to the teams.
Race officials included the USA’s Darcy Cook at Principal Race Officer, Finland’s Chief Umpire Mats Bjorklund, and umpires Sweden’s Tina Ortendahl, the USA’s Kathy Lindgren, Christine Accettella and Charlie Arms; and the USVI’s Ruth Miller.
“It’s great to be back to host this event after going through the hurricanes last year,” says the USVI’s Verian Aguilar, co-director and co-founder with Bill Canfield. “It’s so special too that so many teams wanted to come back. We had an excellent level of competition, great conditions and most importantly lots of fun.”
Known internationally for introducing young sailors to the sport, CAMR organizers work cooperatively with the V.I. government and V.I. Department of Tourism in its efforts to get more of the island’s youth out on the water. As such, the CAMR Youth Regatta took place on Saturday. Eleven members of the Boys & Girls Club of St. Thomas-St. John, who have also been enrolled in the Marine Vocational Program, served as crew for the women match race skippers in a best of three fleet race.
Final Standings
(Skipper, Team Name, Country)
1. Pauline Courtois, Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team, FRA
2. Anna Östling, Team Anna, SWE
3. Renée Groeneveld, Dutch Match Racing Team, NED
4. Johanna Bergqvist, Team Bergqvist Match Racing, SWE
5. Margot Riou, APCC Women Sailing Team, FRA
6. Margot Vennin, Matchmoiselles by Normandy Elite Team, FRA
7. Octavia Owen, Athena Racing, GBR
8. Janel Zarkowsky, As One, USA
9. Linnea Floser, Peregrine Racing, SWE
10. Morgan Collins, Caribbean Wind Racing, USA
11. Sanna Mattsson, Swedish Women’s Match Racing Team, SWE
12. Helena Nielsen, Team Nielsen, SWE
Media contact info Carol Bareuther | Photo Credit: Dean Barnes