Trofeo Princesca Sofia - Sara Winther closes in on top trio on Day 2

by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World.com NZL on 30 Mar 2016 Top NZ Laser Radial sailor, Sara Winther has moved up the leaderboard to lie in fourth place overall, in the prestigious Trofeo Princesa Sofia regatta in Palma, Spain.

The former Sailing World Cup event is in its second day and is being used as a warm-up event for the 2016 Worlds in Mexico in two weeks time. Winther is competing against several other sailors who have also qualified their countries for the 2016 Olympic in Rio de Janeiro in five months time.

Six countries have nominated competitors sailing in this event. Three of those competitors occupy the top three spots in the regatta while the other three are outside the top ten.

The first start of the day was postponed in the morning because of heavy fog. The 80 boat fleet was sent on the water about noon into a building SW breeze.

“First race I had a great start and was looking really solid from the left, but the wind died and bit line of pressure came in from the right,” Winther told Sail-World.com. “So was about 20th, but let my frustration get to me a bit on the second upwind, and I tried to make big gains and but lost again from left-hand shift this time.”

She placed 35th and close to the back end of the fleet as a result. That result has become her discard for the series.

“In the second race of the day, I got an OK start from the pin and hooked into nice pressure and shift on the left. I was fifth at the top mark for the first time, and picked up one place to be fourth at next top mark, then passed two boats on the downwind to finish second.”

“It was a slightly more unstable breeze today, but nice to have the regatta on schedule.”

“This is great preparation for similar conditions we expect at the Worlds in Mexico.”

Racing starts tomorrow for the Finals, with Winther sailing in the Gold fleet and with a small points buffer on a chasing group.

New Zealand's Susannah Pyatt placed 14th and 9th on Day 2 and has moved up into 28th overall ahead of the French sailor who will represent France in Rio 2016. Pyatt has also made the cut for the Gold Fleet racing. Once that phase has completed, the

Winther is self-funded in her campaign to earn NZ nomination for the event in which she has qualified New Zealand.

Coaching support for this regatta is coming from Ian Clingan, who is part of the Singapore team. Singapore also qualified in the first round of 20 places that were allocated in Santander in September 2014.