Lynch will be all out to finish on a high

The 350 competitors in the Four Star Pizza Youth Sailing World Championships begin the final phase of the competition on Dublin Bay this afternoon as five races remain in the programme that concludes on Friday.

Moderate-to-light winds are forecast today and tomorrow, but Friday’s forecast currently suggests near-calm conditions, meaning the competitors from 63 nations will experience a complete range of weather.

However, across the eight classes, the leaders’ performances indicate that most are coming to terms with Dublin Bay’s tidal patterns as well as some shifting wind conditions.

Ireland’s five boats still have opportunities to build on their current standings, though podium results on Friday are improbable.

Blessington’s Finn Lynch, in the Laser Radial Boys fleet, is the best of the group and lies eighth overall in his 58-boat class.

His class is relatively high-scoring, meaning that even the leaders have counted some high placings in the series so far.

Lynch, himself, has reached as high as fourth place, though that was on Saturday in the first race of the series and since then, most of his scores have been outside the top 10 so he needs a return to his opening day form to stay inside the top 10.

Lynch’s counterpart in the Girls’ Laser Radial class, Quoile’s Sophie Murphy is also having a reasonably good series, but a goal of reaching the top 10 on home waters, or at least near-home waters, will make the final five races crucial to these hopes of improving on 17th overall.

In the Boys 420 class, Patrick Crosbie and Grattan Roberts from the Royal Cork Yacht Club lie 17th overall in their class.