Lynch remains at the top of the fleet at Princess Sofia
At the halfway stage of the Princess Sofia Trophy in Mallorca Finn Lynch lies fifth overall in the Gold fleet of his 174-boat Men's one-person dinghy event.
The double Olympian had mixed fortunes in the conditions on the Bay of Palma for the two 50 minutes races. A poor start in the first race of the day saw him score a 37th place, as his highest score this will now become his discarded race of the series and with a bounce back in 14th place in the second race he remains 5th overall.
"I struggled with the starts today," Lynch admitted. "When its offshore and shifty you need to get out in front to the first (wind) shift but when you're a little bit behind you become compromised and can't sail the shortest distance to the first mark."
Lynch's team-mate Ewan McMahon (Howth Yacht Club) had a nearly identical score, similarly scoring a 39th for the first race before finishing ahead of teammate by two places in the second race of the day. He is now 12th overall with two days of Gold fleet racing remaining.
"The first day of Gold fleet was really challenging, the guys were really pushing and with the offshore breeze it was hard to know what to do at times," said McMahon. "I've used my discard now so I can't afford any mistakes for the rest of the series but I'm still in the game."
"My boat speed and boat-handling are becoming real strengths of mine now and I'm definitely pulling more and more up through the fleet so it's a weapon now and I just need to work on the strategy more."
McMahon's sister Eve came ashore after her first two races in the Gold fleet of the women's one-person dinghy with the discovery that she had been disqualified from the first race for early starting.
"I had a really solid race, did everything right (but) to come back in a find out that I was black flagged in the first race was a bit heart-breaking," said McMahon after racing ended for the day. "There are still four more races and it’s a high-scoring regatta so I am off to go see my coach and we will make a plan for the next two days."
On the Men’s Skiff course, four races were sailed in the Gold fleet opening day but Robert Dickson (Howth Yacht Club) and Seán Waddilove (Skerries Sailing Club) were only able to repeat one top ten result, a fifth for the day before counting top 20 places and they lie 14th overall.
However, with eight races remaining to decide the medal race final line-up in their event and a narrow points spread for the leading boats, their position is still recoverable over the next two days.
The new Irish Sailing men's ILCA coach Australian Ben Walkemeyer commented on the vagaries of Gold fleet racing. "Today was a reminder that what is simple isn't always easy - getting a good start is fine in theory but being able to execute that in the density of the Gold fleet isn't always easy."
Racing continues on Thursday and Friday to conclude the Gold fleet series. The top ten boats from each of the ten events will then sail a medal race on Saturday to decide the podium for this regatta.