Irish sailors at the Trofeo Princesa Sofia IBEROSTAR - Day 4
by Rachel Solon, Irish Sailing Association 31 Mar 2016 17:34 UTC
25 March - 2 April 2016
Brisk winds delivered close and unforgiving racing to the Princess Sofia Olympic classes regatta on the Bay of Palma, Mallorca today. Providence Team IRL's Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern moved back up the standings in the 49er skiff class to hold joint first place overall.
Although the pair had a shaky start to the four-race day with a 15th place, they went on to deliver a 5-3-8 score into the afternoon that was filled with capsizes and broken gear elsewhere in the fleet. Seaton and McGovern have another day of finals racing to maintain their standing for a podium result on Saturday afternoon.
The moderate to fresh winds that were initially accompanied by a thick fog bank that delayed racing and saw another move in the snakes and ladders game for the Irish selection trials in the Laser class.
In the latest twist, London 2012 veteran James Espey had an eighth and a tenth for the day and he is again best of the Irish boats. His main rival for the Olympic berth is Finn Lynch who suffered a 37th place in the morning race after a difficult first leg. He went on to place 14th in the afternoon but not before Espey had edged ahead once more, this time with an 18-point lead.
And for the second day running, Fionn Lyden turned heads with impressive boatspeed that was noticed by the coaches afloat. Although the West Cork sailor's starting technique still needs development, at one stage in the day he was leading the other two Irish boats proving he is still a threat to their selection goals.
"A four-race day made it an exceptional challenge physically for the 49ers, especially in the big breeze," commented James O'Callaghan, ISA Performance Director. "Ryan and Matt have performed well in the full range of conditions we've had this week. However, it's still too early to talk about a podium result on Saturday, especially with potentially four final races to sail tomorrow."
Meanwhile, in the 49erFX skiff event, Providence Team IRL's Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey rounded off a difficult day with a solid fifth place, their best of a week that marks their return to competition after an injury enforced break. "They're clearly still rusty after a three-month gap but getting a fifth today in the conditions clearly shows they haven't lost their edge even after a three-month gap," said O'Callaghan.
Tomorrow (Friday) is the last day of racing in the finals round and the top ten boats in each of the 10 Olympic classes racing will qualify for the medal races on Saturday. As 49er class front-runners for most of the week, Seaton and McGovern are likely to be the only Irish crew racing on Saturday.
www.trofeoprincesasofia.org