Korea Cup, World Match Racing and Race Management Report by V Max

From a sailing forum we all love and sometimes hate. This was a post of V Max last 10 June 2011:

Thanks guys! Yes the SYD 40 was Korean owned, it's name is U2. 

Many of these boats are hampered by support infrastructure. There is no sailmaker in Korea I was told and also no West Marine ;) Having a shackle pin fall overboard was literally race endangering because spares were not readily available. However I was constantly impressed with efforts of the Korean Sailing Federation to put on a world class event. They have the hospitality side absolutely nailed, that side of the event was nothing short of spectacular! 

What they really have to work on is race management though. Start sequences were totally confusing and they started the entire fleet at once for all the races which was just bedlam. On the other hand maybe it was just me because the Korean guys all seemed to know approximately when the race was going to start, put RRS was pretty much out the window as everyone continually violated normal protocols. 
The time deadlines were a little ridiculous for the offshore. Out of a fleet of 30 odd boats in the last offshore, only 5 finished in time. That included a Farr 44 Mod, B&C46, Taylor 47 and a Cookson 12 metre; pretty hot boats in any fleet. None of the cruising class finished and if I was one of those guys I'd have to think about whether to do this event again just based on race achievability.  

But! They want to fix everything and having Americans and Canadians come in for this event will definitely help it grow and achieve recognition. The race director has asked me for a detailed report on my impressions and ways ahead for the future so that is promising. In addition these Korean folks are just fabulous hosts, I just can't say enough about that, really impressive! Their youth sailors are as good as any I've come across and their dedication is admirable. There is no question in my mind that this country means business when comes to having a future in international competition and it will be very interesting to see what happens with the Americas Cup campaign. I think they're going to surprise a few people!!!!    

Today's racing at the World Match racing tour is about to start and the buzz here is incredible. The dial ups are phenomenal and the race yesterday between Bruni and Richard was just mind-blowing! On the other hand it just shows me how far I have to go in this sport to get to that level..... ;) 

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