Lynch clings to top 10 place
Laser Radial single-hander Finn Lynch maintained his eighth place overall thanks to a third place in the 58-strong class.
The Blessington sailor then fell foul of timing his next start and was over the line early under the Black Flag rule — instant disqualification — he was fortunate not to slip from his top 10 place.
Lynch’s Girls fleet counterpart Sophie Murphy from Quoile in Northern Ireland, competing in her third youth worlds, also scored a third place yesterday, confirming her potential.
However, recent exams prevented full preparation for this week, though her result yesterday helped move her from 17th to 14th place overall.
Other Irish results included the Royal Cork Yacht Club’s Patrick Crosbie and Grattan Roberts who lie 14th overall after a 19th and ninth today in the 420 boys class.
We had a really bad start in the first race, on the line too early and could not accelerate,” said Roberts. “We have been disappointed with the first two days but we are getting better.”
The pair have moved into the top half of their 30-strong class and have a 20-point gap to close to break inside the top 10, with three races remaining.
So far, the series has had a mix of weather conditions with occasional fresh moments such as yesterday afternoon when a front swept over the course and brought driving rain a sustained gusts of over 20 knots, more than doubling the wind speed in a minute or two.
That front caught plenty of boats off-guard and capsizes saw standings change instantly.
In the 29er skiff class that is already susceptible to acrobatics, Sean and Tadgh Donnelly did well to remain upright and gained valuable places in the squall. However, the visibility also played havoc with course management and an error in not laying a new windward mark in time for the second lap caused the race to be abandoned. The pair was undeterred and went on to sail the next race and finish sixth overall, their best result of the series to date.
In the 29er skiff class, Alexander Rumball and Rory McStay are 10th overnight in the 15-boat fleet after a disappointing second race yesterday when the tide got the better of the local pair and they placed second last.
