(San Francisco, CA – May 28, 2025) – The opening day of the Casa Vela Cup 2025 hosted by the St Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco kicked off the 2025 Women’s World Match Racing Tour in spectacular fashion with ten of the world’s top all-female match racing teams battling a fresh 18-25 knot westerly breeze between the iconic Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island.
The ten teams representing the USA, Sweden, France and the Netherlands started the opening round-robin qualifier stage in a fresh breeze which increased during the day as the cold Pacific air pushed into the Bay setting the tone for the four-day event running through Saturday 31 May.
Completing the first seven flights of the day, defending Women’s Match Racing World Champion Pauline Courtois and her indomitable Match In Pink Normandy Elite team of Maelenn Lemaitre, Louise Acker, and Laurane Mettraux lead the opening day undefeated with seven straight wins. Julia Aartsen and her Team Out of the Box from the Netherlands dropped just one race to finish the day with six wins and one loss, their first time sailing in San Francisco.
“ That was quite a day for our first time ever sailing here in San Francisco” commented Aartsen. “We had a great day in the windy conditions and we are very happy with a solid 6 wins and looking forward to the next few days.”
Local San Francisco sailor and four-time US Match Racing Champion Nicole Breault finished the day in fourth position with five wins and two losses for her Vela Racing team. Breault had to make a last minute crew replacement earlier in the day after crew member Hailey Thompson suffered an injury in training yesterday.
Racing continues tomorrow at 1030 Pacific time with viewing available from the St.Francis Yacht Club. Follow live results at www.matchracingresults.com
For updates and information on the Women’s World Match Racing Tour, visit womenswmrt.com and follow us on social media at Facebook (@womenswmrt), Instagram (@womenswmrt) and X (@womenswmrt)
See full Casa Vela Cup 2025 image gallery HERE
About Women’s World Match Racing Tour
The Women’s World Match Racing Tour was launched in 2022 to continue the hugely successful legacy of the WIM Series (Women’s International Match Racing Series) providing a global match racing series for female sailors. The name of the series was re-launched as the Women’s World Match Racing Tour with its continued mission to expand and strengthen global match racing and promote opportunities for competitive women’s sailing at every level. The Women’s World Match Racing Tour is the world’s first and only professional sailing series for women providing a valuable pathway for aspiring female world champions in the sport of sailing. See womenswmrt.com
@womenswmrt
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