Racing for the Yngling World Championship took place in Austria on a small lake in a mountainous region, making it difficult for the competitors to get accurate weather predictions. No team finished consistently within the top 10 in the first four races of the Championship.

For the last race of the Championship, a lack of wind meant the start was delayed until just before the 3 p.m. local time deadline. Barkow held a nine-point lead over Sharon Ferris, Raynor Smeal and Ashley Holtum (NZL), who in turn were defending a two-point gap to the third place Russian team of Vlada Ilienko, Ekaterina Kovalenko and Natalia Gapanovich. The three teams finished together in the final race, with Barkow edging out Ferris to finish one place above them in eleventh, with the Russians following in 13th. Another American team, skippered by 2003 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Hannah Swett with crew Laura Schmidt and Melissa Purdy, finished an impressive 6th overall.

This is the second World Championship title for skipper Barkow and her crew.  In 2004, the team won the ISAF Women’s World Match Racing Championship. So far this year, team Barkow has been enjoying a successful year after winning US SAILING’s Rolex Miami OCR and Semaine Olympique Française in Hyères, France.