Medal Race Beckons for Lynch in Mallorca
The final day of fleet racing for the Princess Sofia Trophy in Mallorca saw race wins for two Irish sailors as attention now turns to Saturday's medal finals.
Ireland's Finn Lynch (National Yacht Club) has now moved into second overall in his men's one-person dinghy event as the series draws towards its conclusion.
The Carlow sailor enjoyed a close battle with Britain's Michael Beckett in the first race of the day when the leading pair duelled throughout the 50-minute contest which the Irish sailor led for the most.
Lynch won the race convincingly and the score propelled him into third overall while Beckett's second place extended his points lead in first place.
"When you're leading a race like that you really try to just keep the tactics and strategy in mind," said Lynch afterwards. "If any unhelpful thoughts come in you just have to bat them away and refocus."
"It’s good to have a medal race where I'm challenging for the medal so I'm looking forward to it," Lynch continued. "It was really great to race against Mickey at the front of the fleet - I was very happy to take the win."
An arduous five-hour wait afloat for the wind to return saw Ewan McMahon (Howth Yacht Club), Lynch's teammate, take an early leaders’ group position which he converted to first place to finish off his ten race series in style.
While the win moved him up to 13th overall, he recorded a back of fleet result earlier that was the worst of his series meaning he missed a place in the medal race final by 12 points.
Elsewhere in the regatta, there was disappointment for the other Irish sailors who didn't qualify for their medal race finals.
Eve McMahon (Howth YC) in the Women's one-person dinghy incurred her second yellow flag penalty in the morning before serving up a fifth in the last race to place her 17th overall in her 114-boat event.
"It's pretty bittersweet to end the regatta like this. If I hadn't incurred the two Yellow flags - and I also had a Black flag - I would have been eighth overall going into (a medal race) tomorrow," said McMahon.
Howth clubmate Sienna Wright placed 36th overall, a hugely impressive debut at a Grand Slam event.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the bay, the skiffs faced similarly challenging weather conditions though were sent ashore for several hours waiting for wind.
A 13th and an 8th for the day plus a penalty that effectively meant a 22nd place ended hopes of a medal race appearance for Robert Dickson (Howth YC) and Sean Waddilove (Skerries Sailing Club) as they finished 18th overall in their 91 boat event.
Newcomers to the women's skiff event Lauren O'Callaghan (National Yacht Club) and Charlotte Eadie (Ballyholme Yacht Club) ended their first foray in this technical class in 42nd overall.
Medal racing for the men's one-person dinghy (ILCA 7 class)is scheduled for 10am (Irish time) on Saturday 5th April - subject to weather conditions.