A stunning performance from Finn Lynch on Banderas Bay has put the National Yacht Club solo ace into fourth overall – and crucially – tied on points for third place after the first day of Gold Fleet racing at the ILCA 7/Laser World Championships in Mexico.

Lynch rebounded from gear failure that dropped him to 11th overall on Wednesday to leapfrog a massive seven places by scoring 7 and 2 in the first two of six gold fleet races in the 63-boat fleet on Thursday.

Now on 48 points, the performance keeps Lynch's World silver medal defence alive. The 26-year-old Rio Olympian is just five points away from Hungary's Jonatan Vadnai, who sits in second overall.

Conditions were lighter for the first time in the championship on Wednesday, with strong current affecting the fleet. Three Black flag starts were needed to get the first race of the day off with nine sailors disqualified for early starting.

"Finn feels quite good, he's been in this position before so he knows how to deal with it," said Lynch's coach Vasilij Zbogar. "There are good sailors in front, good sailors behind - anything can happen - but a good opening to the finals.

"Slightly less wind than previously so that suits Finn for sure. There's still everything to play for but it's nice to be in the game."

The championship is led by France's Jean-Baptiste Bernaz, who has seven top four scores to have a 26-point margin over second place.  Just six points separate second to fifth overall.

After eight races sailed, with seven to count, four more will be sailed to complete a full schedule by Saturday.

The top 5 after eight races sailed: 

1. Jean-Baptiste Bernaz (FRA) - 17 points
2. Jonatan Vadnai (HUN) - 43
3. Thomas Saunders (NZL) - 48
4. Finn Lynch, (IRL) - 48
5. Tonci Stipanovic (CRO) - 49

Full results here

Finn Lynch's defence of his ILCA 7/Laser World Championships silver medal suffered a gear failure setback yesterday at Vallarta, Mexico when the National Yacht Club ace posted a 'Did not Compete' (DNC) in his final qualification race.

Until yesterday, the consistent performance of the 26-year-old Carlow sailor kept him inside the top ten with an impressive scoresheet of 10, 2, 4, 13 and 10 in the 126-boat fleet.

With such scores, Lynch eased into the Gold fleet finals after three days of competition but will, however, rue the missed final qualification race.

It was a day of drama for Lynch who was lying eighth in the first race of the day but 'made contact' with another boat and ended tenth. In the second race, in ideal 12-18 knots winds, his downhaul rope broke ruling him out of the race.

Coach Vasilij Zbogar said "his downhaul rope broke but fortunately it was the last race and it is discarded so it's acceptable - the points are close and there's a lot in play in the finals."

Downhaul ropes have huge loads in Laser rigs and are fitted as a double block 8:1 purchase requiring replacement every four-to-five events, according to top campaigners.

Now at the halfway stage of the regatta and in 11th place going into the final six races, Lynch will be aiming to make up the 27 point gap between leader Jean-Baptiste Bernaz of France on 12 points and his own 39-point tally.

One race discard applies after the qualification round while a second discard will be available in the final round.

Bernaz with (19, 3, 2, 3, 2, 2 places) has maintained his overall lead in the regatta, with former World Champion Kontides moving up several places to fifth with a strong performance on Wednesday.

The championships continue with the final series where a maximum of six races will be sailed over the next three days. The top half of the fleet will sail in the Gold fleet while the balance, including injury-hit Ewan McMahon of Howth, are in the Silver fleet.

Howth's Ewan McMahon completed the qualification races of the Laser World Championships with painful ankle injuries Photo: John Pounder/ILCA

McMahon, who has battled his ankle problems since last week's pre-worlds training, has decided not to continue.  Zbogar said "Ewan isn't able to perform because of his injury, it doesn't make any sense to continue to sail and make things worse," said Zbogar.  "There's too much pain and too many anti-inflammatories and painkillers needed."

The top 5 starting their Final series:

1. Jean-Baptiste Bernaz (FRA) - 12 points
2. Elliot Hanson (GBR) - 15
3. Jonatan Vadnai (HUN) - 18
4. Daniel Whiteley (GBR) - 19
5. Pavlos Kontides (CYP) - 20

11. Finn Lynch, (IRL) - 39

Full results here Gold fleet finalists here

The National Yacht Club's Finn Lynch kept the defence of his 2021 silver medal very much alive when he added a fourth place on Tuesday to be in the top ten overall of the ILCA7/Laser World Championships in Mexico.

Lying eighth overall with one day of the qualification round remaining, consistent Lynch had a 13th place in the second race of the day, his worst of the series so far at Puerto Vallarta. 

Unfortunately, Howth Yacht Club's Ewan McMahon's 'problem with his ankles' continues to limit his ability to hike his dinghy. He finished 45th and 41st places leaving him outside of contention for Gold fleet.

Howth Yacht Club's Ewan McMahon is continuing to race while battling an ankle problem. Photo: John Pounder/Vallarta Yacht Club

French sailor Jean-Baptiste Bernaz currently leads the championship overall while Tokyo 2020 Gold medallist Matt Wearn from Australia sailed ashore prior to Monday's race and is out of the competition due to illness.

Results are here

The Laser or ILCA7 is the Men's single-handed event for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Qualification for the Marseille regatta in just over two years' time will be at next year's combined Sailing World Championships in The Netherlands with another opportunity at the 2024 worlds.

The National Yacht Club's Finn Lynch is off to a great start to his silver medal defence at the ILCA7/Laser World Championships in Puerto Vallarta.

Lynch posted is lying sixth overall on the Banderas Bay after the first two qualification races in typical sea breeze conditions. 

The 26-year-old scored a tenth then second place in his flight in the 126-boat regatta and was placed sixth overall. They are scores the Carlow native will be keen to maintain as a good average, which is the key to gold fleet qualification on Wednesday in the week-long 12-race event.

The massive fleet is split into two “flights” for the first three days of the series which will then determine the Gold fleet cut, building towards Saturday's final day.

Ewan McMahon 'unwell'

Unfortunately, as Afloat previously reported, Ireland's second team member Ewan McMahon of Howth Yacht YC is reported as 'unwell'. Although he did sail, critically he is unable to hike in the 12-17 knot conditions, according to the team camp.

After a 32nd and 40th places for the day, McMahon lies in the bottom half of the fleet in 72nd place overall.

Overall, the rankings show Hungary's Jonatan Vadnai leading from Croatia's Tonci Stipanovic with Nik Aaron Willim of Germany in third. 

Results are here

The ILCA7 is the Men's single-handed event for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Qualification for the Marseille regatta in just over two years' time will be at next year's combined Sailing World Championships in The Netherlands with another opportunity at the 2024 worlds.

Finn Lynch will seek to repeat or better his 2021 World Championships silver medal in Monday's first races of the ILCA7/Laser World Championships at Riviera Nayarit, Mexico, in a fleet of 125 sailors from 45 nations.

Lynch (26) and second Irish Paris 2024 campaigner Ewan McMahon (21), along with Irish coach Vasilij Žbogar arrived in Mexico a week ago.

As regular Afloat readers will know, last November's silver medal was a career-high for Lynch and Ireland's best-ever men's Laser result. The result also provided the Carlow man with much-needed funding. On Monday, he embarks on his silver medal defence with Sport Ireland podium funding of €40k per annum in his hip pocket.

The National Yacht Club ace is also boosted by some promising early season results that saw him take fourth in Palma in April (while nursing an arm injury). Admittedly Lynch did not make the medal race in Hyeres later in April but still managed a top 15 finish, both high-quality results setting him up well for this week's successful world championship defence. 

Two Irish ILCA 7 campaigners, one Olympic place

Overall, It's an optimistic scenario at this stage in the Paris 2024 triennial. What's more, Ireland has the added spice of up and coming talent in Howth's McMahon.

McMahon has rapidly become Ireland's second most successful men's Laser sailor after Mark Lyttle, the Dun Laoghaire solo ace who sailed first for Ireland in the Laser in the 1996 Olympics.

Howth Yacht Club campaigner Ewan McMahon

Lynch v McMahon

As with all venues, each race track has its own characteristics. In Riviera Nayarit, the intriguing question – in an Irish context – is, with solid and steady breezes the norm, will these conditions suit Lynch or McMahon best over a 12-race series?

Lynch tends to put together an incredibly consistent series, and recently he has been coming through as the week progresses, ticking off one rival after another as they knock up a big score.

It's a winning formula, and the trickier the conditions, the more the talented Carlow man seems to thrive.

This week's challenge for Ireland's number one might be that steady sea breezes could be a leveller.

Could the regatta be more of a speed test than regattas in European or venues with more unstable conditions?

Indeed, the younger MacMahon is a tall athlete with excellent boat speed (especially downwind). In this regatta, any tactical or experience deficits (expected at his age) might not be such an issue.

From various reports (including comments from his coach), McMahon still has to improve his upwind tactics and position on first beats, convert good speed, and get into top-10 windward mark rounding.

After Palma's April regatta, Zbogar said, "The results don't show it, but it's only some small mistakes keeping him out of the top 20". "He isn't losing any places on the downwind, but we need to work on executing the upwind legs better."

The Hague 2023 and Paris 2024

It sets up an increasingly competitive scenario where the two Irish sailors will attempt to qualify Ireland for the single place in Paris 2024 at the first opportunity in The Hague in August 2023. It's still not popular in some circles to mention that it is a qualification standard Ireland failed to make for Tokyo.

From this tiny Irish squad of just two, what happens if we have two sailors right on top of their game in the World's top 20?

Does the dynamic change? Does Lynch have to start considering his Irish competition in earnest, possibly negatively impacting his own programme?

Early answers to these questions probably lie on the Vallarta race track and the defence of Ireland's best-ever men's Laser result starting this Monday.

Monday and Tuesday will form the qualifying round of the regatta with two races daily scheduled that will decide the Gold fleet finalists before the final result is decided on Saturday.

Update: Sunday, May 22 8 pm:  Ewan McMahon is reported as 'unwell'. The Irish camp says he is under the care of the squad physio but the 21- year-old has already missed two days of training. 

This week's confirmatory announcement of Sport Ireland High-Performance funding allocation is good news for sailors who have benefited from improved performances and an increase in the amounts awarded to International and World Class level athletes.

Finn Lynch's silver medal at last year's ILCA 7 World Championships has promoted him to the Podium level which awards him €40,000 per annum through to Paris 2024. The 49er pairing of Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove is considered world-class, which brings €25,000 each.

49er duo Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove will receive €25,000 each per annum to Paris 2024 Photo: Sailing Energy

Seafra Guilfoyle, Johnny Durcan, Aoife Hopkins, Ewan McMahon and Eve McMahon will receive International level funding of €18,000 each.

Sport Ireland High-Performance funding for Irish sailors

€3.2m for Irish Sailing

Irish Sailing's high-performance programme funding has increased by €130,000 from €3,070,000 to €3,200,000 which seems positive, but analysis of the funding increases in other sports relegates Sailing to 17th of the 21 sports awarded this funding.

Five sports (Canoeing, Judo, Taekwondo, Gymnastics and Badminton) enjoyed increases of over 100%, while eight further sports received increases of between 20% and 70%.

Irish Sailing's increase of 4%, will actually be a decrease in real terms as increased levels of inflation bite into associated costs.

Sailing, which was the second best-funded Olympic Sport for Tokyo 2020, has now fallen to fifth place in the funding rankings.

John Menton

Sydney Olympic discus thrower John Menton leads the Irish Sailing Olympic Steering Group following the retirement of Patrick Coveney.

In a statement, Irish Sailing said it will 'continue to work closely with Sport Ireland to help meet the challenges of implementing the recommendations from the Tokyo Olympic Report'.

Full Sport Ireland report here and Irish Sailing's commissioned Tokyo Independent External Review review is here

No Irish representation in the medal races at the Semaine Olympique Francaise (French Olympic Classes Week) in Hyères is a disappointment for Irish Olympic sailing efforts but there is consolation in the two top 15 finishes achieved in what is the second biggest regatta since Tokyo.

Laser/ILCA7

Carlow sailor Finn Lynch finished 13th overall in the ILCA 7 (Laser) after coming fifth in both races yesterday demonstrating he has the speed even if nursing an arm injury, missing the medal race by just 12 points.

His 21-year-old rival for Paris 2024 Ewan McMahon (Howth YC) moved up again in the fleet to finish 23rd overall, a result that confirms he is an exciting prospect and Ireland's second most successful full rig sailor since Mark Lyttle, Ireland's inaugural Laser helmsman at Atlanta 1996. 

The pair are now in preparation for the World Championships, a highlight of the year where Lynch will defend his 2021 silver medal in Mexico in May.

49er

With less wind than on previous days, Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove (Howth YC and Skerries SC) finished in 15th place in the 49er class after the day’s three races. Rivals Séafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan (Royal Cork YC) finished in 30th place overall.

Full results here

The regatta concludes today Saturday 30 April.

An arm injury that proved no obstacle for Ireland's Finn Lynch when he recorded fourth overall at the first World Cup of the season earlier this month may be the reason behind the National Yacht Club's comparatively lower scores so far at France's massive 53rd Semaine Olympique Française de Hyeres. 

Lynch and Paris 2024 rival Ewan McMahon both made the Gold Fleet yesterday but have a fight for top ten medal race contention to be decided today and tomorrow (Friday) over the next four races on the Cote D'Azur.

Coach Vasilij Zbogar said, "Finn still has some issues with his arm from Palma so let’s see how it goes in the next two days".

Lynch lies in 25th overall in a fleet of 128 after finishing 13 and 2 on Wednesday. Howth Yacht Club's McMahon is in 35 overall after a 6 and 22 placing.

Germany's 2020 World Champion, Philipp Buhl took the lead and a discard advantage after Australia's Olympic champion, Matt Wearn, was UFD in the starting sequence of the second and final race of the day. They will now face each other for the first time in gold fleet, and Wearn cannot afford a slip up with Buhl's consistency in finishing 1, 3, 1, 1, 2, 1 in the six races so far.

Just behind them lies Pavlos Kontides, the first Cypriot to ever win an Olympic medal (silver at London 2012). But his 10th place in the last race also leaves him more vulnerable.

Radial 

Aoife Hopkins in the ILCA 6 (Laser Radial) ended yesterday in 40th place overall and misses out on the Gold Fleet final series of racing.

In contrast to the men's leaderboard, the women's looks wide open after Poland's Agata Barwinska finished 19th in light winds in the second race at the end of the day. Such is the state of the other huge discards in the top 10, that she still leads, just. Belgium's Emma Plaaschaert, 4th at the Tokyo Olympics, lies in second despite being 38th in the final race and Canada's Sarah Douglas, who won in Palma, is 10th after finishing 48th.

49er 

Both Irish 49er teams made the Gold Fleet in their 61-boat fleet.

Tokyo reps Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove (Howth YC and Skerries SC) are in 19th place after an 11 and 3 in the first two races, but were disqualified for being over the starting line in the third race of the day.

New pairing Séafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan (Royal Cork YC) are in 30th place overall (18, 8, 23 in today’s races).

49erfx

In the 49er FX class, Norway's Helene Noess & Marie Ronningen continue in the overall lead. The Royal Irish's Saskia Tidey of Dun Laoghaire who is competing for Team GB is lying 26th with new partner Freya Black in a fleet of 38.

Full results here

ILCA7/Laser sailor Finn Lynch is hoping to build on recent top performances such as his silver medal win at last November's World Championships and this month's fourth at the Princesa Sofia Trophy when he races at Hyères in the French Olympic Week regatta starting next Monday (23 April).

As Afloat reported previously, the National Yacht Club solo ace along with other Irish Olympic campaigners have been training close to the Marseille Olympic venue this week and have now moved along the Cote D’Azur to Hyères.

Lynch is building towards the defence of his 2021 World Championships silver medal next month at Riviera Nayarit in Mexico.

Competing against Lynch is Ewan McMahon who, in just his third season as a senior (and in 20th place for most of the week in Palma last month), is already demonstrating why he is arguably Ireland's second most successful full rig sailor since Mark Lyttle, Ireland's inaugural Laser helmsman at Atlanta 1996.  Royal St. George's Tom Higgins is also competing. 

ILCA 6/Laser Radial

In the ILCA 6 (Laser Radial) Howth's Aoife Hopkins returns from a bout of COVID for her first major regatta of the Paris quadrennial. Her clubmate and rival for the single Paris place, Eve McMahon, is currently competing at the Youth Nationals in Ballyholme and does not return to the Olympic circuit until after her Leaving Certificate examination in June. 

Irish 49ers

Tokyo Olympians Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove along with Paris rivals Séafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan from Royal Cork are competing in the 49er class. 

The 53rd Semaine Olympique Francaise de Hyères - Toulon Provence Mediterranee, is back from April 23 to 30, 2022 and Irish Olympic campaigners are among the 50 nations competing on the Mediteranean.

Fresh from his fourth overall at Palma earlier this month, the National Yacht Club's Finn Lynch is entered for the French event in the ILCA 7/Laser as is Howth Yacht Club's Aoife Hopkins who has recovered from COVID and competes in the ILCA 6/Radial.

Competing against Lynch is Hopkins' clubmate Ewan McMahon who, in his third season as a senior (and in 20th place for most of the week in Palma), is already demonstrating why he is arguably Ireland's second most successful full rig sailor since Mark Lyttle, Ireland's inaugural Laser helmsman at Atlanta 1996. 

Howth Yacht Club's Aoife Hopkins

Royal St. George's Tom Higgins is also competing in the ILCA 7. 

Also heading for Hyères are Howth and Skerries duo Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove in the 49er who will be keen to make the medal race after a capsize cost them so dearly in Palma. 

Hoping to close the gap on their rivals for Paris are Royal Cork Yacht Club and Baltimore Sailing Club's new skiff combination Seafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan who raced in the silver fleet in Palma. 

Royal Irish's Saskia Tidey will be sailing with Freya Black for Team GB in the 49erFX.

Once again, the Olympic sailing elite will be in Hyères for one of the most anticipated events of the season. For the first time in France, the SOF will bring together on the Hyères field of play the 10 classes that will be present in Marseille for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Coming from more than 50 countries, the 650 registered competitors, including the world's best Olympic sailors, will make the Hyères event an exceptional edition. After the Trofeo Princess Sofia, at the beginning of April, Hyères will be the second major event on the Olympic calendar.

The 10 Olympic classes: iQFOiL (foil windsurfing, men and women), Kitefoil (foil kiteboarding, men and women), ILCA (solo dinghy, women and men), 49er (double dinghy, men and women), Nacra 17 (double foil catamaran, mixed), 470 (double dinghy, mixed) will compete on the Hyerois field of play, which is as technical as it is tactical and renowned for its often strong easterly winds.

The gold medallists at the Tokyo Olympic Games last summer, who will be competing in Hyères: Australia's Matt Wearn (men's ILCA), Italy's Ruggero Tita & Caterina Banti (Nacra 17, mixed), Brazil's Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze (women's 49er), Britain's Eilidh McIntyre, with new partner Martin Wringley (470 double dinghy, mixed).

For France, the world champions of iQFOiL, Helène Noesmoen and Nicolas Goyard will be competing in women's and men's in Hyères. Goyard will be up against Thomas Goyard, silver medallist in RS:X in Tokyo, and Pierre Le Coq, bronze medallist in RS: X in Rio. In KiteFoil, the field includes the world champion, Theo de Ramecourt; the European champion, Axel Mazella; and Lauriane Nolot (3rd in the World Championship). Gold medallist in Rio and silver medallist in Tokyo, Charline Picon, returns - and for the first time in competition in France in the 49er - partnering with Sarah Steyaert. Bronze medallist in Tokyo in the 470, Aloïse Retornaz will form a new mixed duet with Kevin Peponnet.

More here