The world’s best Olympic sailors have made Hyères on the French Riviera their meeting spot each April for more than 50 years.

And this year the stakes are even higher, as the 55th edition of Semaine Olympique Française de Hyères - TPM from 20-27 April will be the final opportunity for sailing’s elite to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

French Olympic Week 2024 comprises two events hosted concurrently: The ‘Qualified Nations’ in Hyères harbour, with two participants for each nation and class; and the Last Chance Regatta which will bring together the nations that have still to qualify for Paris 2024 to compete for the 39 places still up for grabs.

All 10 Olympic classes will be competing in both events: ILCA (men’s and women’s single-handed dinghy), 49er (men’s and women’s skiff), Nacra 17 (mixed multihull), 470 (mixed double-handed dinghy), Formula Kite (men’s and women’s kitefoil) and iQFOiL (men’s and women’s windsurfing).

This exceptional line-up means that “La SOF” is set to break its record for the number of participating nations in Hyères, with nearly 1,000 athletes and 500 support staff from 90 countries across five continents expected.

And among them will be Irish 49er pairs Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove, and Séafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan who will be looking to make up for a disappointing 49er Worlds to clinch Ireland’s single spot in the men’s skiff event in Marseille this summer.

The schedule for the week looks like the following:

The Semaine Olympique Française:

• Friday 19 April: welcome and registration
• Saturday 20 April: welcome and registration
• Saturday 20 April: opening ceremony
• Sunday 21 April to Wednesday 24 April: iQFOiL and Formula Kite qualifying rounds
• Monday 22 to Friday 26 April: ILCA, 49er, Nacra 17 and 470 qualifying rounds
• Thursday 25 April: iQFOiL and Formula Kite Medal Races
• Saturday 27 April: ILCA, 49er, Nacra 17 and 470 Medal Races
• Saturday 27 April: Prize-giving and closing ceremony

The Last-Chance Regatta:

• Thursday 18 April: welcome and registration
• Friday 19 April: welcome and registration
• Saturday 20 April: opening ceremony
• Sunday 21 April to 24 April: iQFOiL and Formula Kite qualifying rounds
• Sunday 21 to Thursday 25 April: ILCA, 49er, Nacra 17 and 470 qualifying rounds
• Thursday 25 April: iQFOiL and Formula Kite Medal Races
• Friday 26 April: Medal Races: ILCA, 49er, Nacra 17 and 470
• Saturday 27 April: Prize-giving and closing ceremony

For more details, including the Notice of Race, see the SOF website HERE.

From 17 to 23 June, Porquerolles Yacht Club will be the host venue for the 12mR World Championship, one of the most prestigious sailing events and a must for the class.

A real America's Cup atmosphere will reign over this unprecedented international event in the harbour in Hyères, on the Mediterranean coast in the south of France. Around 20 12mR boats are expected to take part, and more than 10 nations will be represented. A world championship title will be awarded at the end of the week’s racing.

The 12mR boats — the historic class of the world’s oldest sporting competition, the America's Cup, which they contested from 1958 to 1987 — have become the kings of the cup over the years, and Irish sailors have made a strong showing in previous world championships.

For their world championship in Porquerolles in 2024, they will be unfurling their superb sails in Hyères Harbour. For this high-level international competition, Porquerolles Yacht Club and its race committee will be setting up specially laid-out courses, which are very simple but highly technical, imposing strategic choices that represent the pinnacle of the art of regatta sailing.

“Porquerolles Yacht Club is very proud to have been chosen to organise this world championship,” said Aurélie Lhuillier, manager of Porquerolles Yacht Club. “Several months ago, an international delegation representing the 12mR boats set out to find a venue that could welcome these exceptional boats for an event that has never been held in Mediterranean waters. After a few visits to Porquerolles, they chose their location for this unprecedented meeting: Hyères and its golden islands!”

For the crew of Nyala, the world championship will be the highlight and the goal of the season.

“We're already training with the whole crew,” said Brazilian Torben Grael, five-time Olympic medallist and tactician aboard the Italian 12mR Nyala owned by Patrizio Bertelli, CEO of Prada. “It's great that it's in Porquerolles, as these waters are really technical and I'm sure we're going to have some great races.”

“In 2024, we're going to have a very good year for 12mR boats,” said Marc Pajot, helmsman aboard French Kiss. “In the Grand Prix category, in which I’m competing with French Kiss, we’re going to have a great battle with boats from 1987 like Kiwi Magic, White Crusader and Kookaburra. All the owners and crews are highly motivated, and the location of the Bay of Hyères and Porquerolles is much appreciated by everyone, so we can't wait to meet up again.”

“We’re lucky enough to have quite a few boats coming over from the United States,” said French America’s Cup legend Bruno Troublé. “In 2024, there are plenty of reasons to be in Europe, particularly with the America’s Cup. We’re going to have the biggest gathering of 12mR boats we've ever had in the wonderful setting of Porquerolles.”

The Notice of Race and registration are now available on the Porquerolles Yacht Club website.

For more than 50 years, the elite of Olympic sailing have been journeying to Hyères, the historic jewel of the French Riviera, at the end of April.

Over the years, the Semaine Olympique Française de Hyères - TPM has become an unmissable event for every national team. In 2023, for its 54th edition, Hyères will have the pleasure of once again welcoming the world’s best Olympic sailors in preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

With almost 1,000 athletes from over 60 countries, the Semaine Olympique Française in Hyères is — along with the Trofeo Princesa Sofía this week — a Mediterranean event not to be missed for the Olympic elite, with under a year-and-a-half until Paris 2024.

Like every year, “La SOF” continues to stage an event exclusively dedicated to the 10 Olympic classes. ILCA (women’s and men’s single-handed dinghy), 49er (women’s and men’s double-handed dinghy), Nacra 17 (mixed double-handed catamaran), 470 (mixed double-handed dinghy), Formula Kite (women’s and men’s kitefoil) and iQFOiL (women’s and men’s windfoil) will compete on the Hyérois waters less than 500 days before the first Olympic events.

Olympic champions from Tokyo 2020 and Rio 2016 competing in Hyères next month will include the likes of Brazil’s Martine Grael (49erFX double gold medallist), Italians Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti (Nacra 17 mixed), Australians Matt Wearn (gold in Tokyo) and Tom Burton (gold in Rio) in the ILCA 7, and China’s Lu Yunxiu (gold in the women’s RS:X in Tokyo) in the iQFOiL.

The event, coming during the school holidays, will be freely open to all and in particular to children, who will be able to get close to the best sailors in the world. There will be a multitude of onshore events to introduce sailing to as many people as possible.

Following reception and registration over the weekend of Friday 21 to Sunday 23 April, the opening ceremony takes place on Monday 24 April which also sees the start of the week-long qualifying phase, before the medal races, prize-giving and closing ceremony on Saturday 29 April.

Also, be sure to save the dates for next year’s Semaine Olympique Française, the 55th edition from 20-27 April 2024 just weeks before the Paris Games.

Registration and the Notice of Race are now available for 2023’s French Olympic Week, the 54th Semaine Olympique Française de Hyères - TPM, which takes place 22-29 April.

The world’s best athletes will be present on the Côte d’Azur just over a year before Paris 2024, with more than 700 competitors expected from over 50 nations.

Organised by the Fédération Française de Voile (French Sailing Federation), with the support of the city of Hyères and the Toulon Provence Méditerranée community, French Olympic Week is a historic sailing regatta on an international scale.

And the 2023 edition promises to be bigger than ever, with organisers setting up a sixth race zone to accommodate the large numbers of racers.

SOF event director Ed Russo said: “World Sailing has decided that in 2024 the SOF will be the ‘last chance regatta’, ie the last opportunity for athletes to qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris 2024. Many athletes will be present this year in preparation for the 2024 event.”

Irish Olympic campaigners have completed day two of the 53rd Semaine Olympique Française de Hyeres on the Cote D'Azur.

Finn Lynch dropped from 18th overall on day one to be 33rd overall yesterday after four races sailed in the big Laser fleet of 128 boats. 

Howth rival for the single Paris 2024 slot is Ewan McMahon in 34th.

Howth's Aoife Hopkins in the ILCA 6 (Laser Radial) lies in 31st place overall in her 64 strong fleet.

The Lasers have a maximum of 10 races, or two per day over five days, ending in a top ten medal race on Saturday.

The massive regatta has some added significance in this quadrennial as Hyères is just 50 miles from Marseille which is the Paris 2024 Olympic regatta venue.

49er

In the 49er class, Tokyo reps Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove, of Howth and Skerries have moved up from 23rd after day one to be 18th overall in their 61 boat fleet.  Royal Cork's Séafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan are 29th. 

The clear leaders in the two 49er men's fleets are both running old rigs in Hyeres, for some different reasons, and one major one that's the same; reliability. Last year the 49er class announced a change from Mylar sails to North Sails 3di, and the accompanying new rig means a shallower spinnaker too. 

Poland's Dominik Buksak and Szymon Wierzbicki, the overall leaders, have gone back to their old mast and sails after broken spreaders on the new mast in the first race in Palma at the beginning of April cost them a place in the gold fleet.

They had another strong day, that included a third race win and a lowest of fourth in six races over two days.

The 49ers have a maximum of 15 races, three on each day over five days, with a medal race on Saturday.

49erFX

In the 49er FX class, Norway's Helene Noess & Marie Ronningen took the overall lead in style after winning the first three of the four races yesterday. The Royal Irish's Saskia Tidey of Dun Laoghaire who is competing for Team GB is lying 17th with new partner Freya Black in a fleet of 38.

Full results here 

The 53rd Semaine Olympique Française de Hyères - TPM opened in classic Côte d’Azur style on Monday (25 April) with the world’s best rising to the strong winds through a field of 751 sailors from over 50 countries. It was like they had never been away.

After missing two years because of COVID, it was the most welcome and vivacious of returns for a venue and event that means so much to so many.

Racing began at 11am local time in glorious sunshine, under cloudless skies and with strong offshore westerly winds of 15-20 knots.

A choppy sea state, more so on the more the easterly courses with less protection from the bay and Îles d’Or, as well as wind gusts between 25-30, kept everyone on their toes.

Both the world and sailing have changed since the last Semaine Olympique Française de Hyères in 2019. The 10 classes that will be contested in Marseille for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games were in Hyères — which is just 50 miles west down the coast — for the first time. And it was flight time for the five foiling classes on show.

Olympic Champion Quality

The quality of competition throughout the fleets was immediately demonstrated at the start of the day in the men’s ILCA 7, where Matthew Wearn, Australia’s Olympic champion, and Philipp Buhl, Germany’s 2020 World Champion, traded wins at the head of a lead group that dominated both races.

“Today was very very nice, I like Hyères and I prefer a windy Hyères to a soft Hyères,” Buhl, who has particular reason to have a soft spot for Hyères, said.

“It’s a special place for me because it was my first junior European title in 2007, my first European Cup cup here in 2008, I did my first World Cup Medal Race here in 2009 and ten years ago, in 2012, I had my first ever World Cup win here.

“It’s quite funny to look at the results seeing Tom Burton, Slingsby — Matthew Wearn was in the fleet. So, I have some very good memories.”

Racing against the backdrop of the stunning Côte d’Azur | Credit: FFVoile/Sailing Energy

Also competing in the ILCA 7 class are Ireland’s Ewan McMahon and Finn Lynch, who place 18th and 34th overall after two races, respectively.

Other Irish contenders to watch out for this week are Aoife Hopkins in the ILCA 6, who currently stands in 17th overall after her first two races, plus two contingents in the 49er.

Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove are in 23rd overall after two races, with Seafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan not far behind in 27th. See the full results table HERE.

Registration is now open for the 53rd Semaine Olympique Française de Hyères which will take place from 23-30 April 2022.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the SOF will bring together for the first time on the waters of Hyères the 10 classes that will be contested in Marseille at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

“It will be a great sporting event, but also a beautiful spectacle,” says SOF event manager Christophe Gaumont. “Of the 10 classes, five have foils. This will be the first time that we will host the iQFOiL for men and women. The new classes mean the SOF will run with perfect parity.

“There is going to be a real sense of occasion, as we are only three years away from the games. The preparation period has been reduced by one year compared to other Olympic cycles.

“Performing at Hyères, a body of water loved by all the competitors, will allow everyone to see where they are in the world hierarchy. There should be a lot of registrations!”

Organised by the Fédération Française de Voile (French Sailing Federation), with the support of the city of Hyères and the Toulon Provence Méditerranée region, the Semaine Olympique Française is an historic Olympic sailing regatta on an international scale and will be the first French milestone for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, when the sailing events will be staged in Marseille.

The Notice of Race is available to download below, and registration is open on the SOF website HERE.

After two years as a virtual event, the Semaine Olympique Française regatta will return to Hyères for its 53rd edition in 2022 and annually in the run-up to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

And for the first time in France, all 10 of the Olympic classes that will be contested at Paris 2024 will be present in Hyères from 23-30 April 2022.

The 10 classes — iQFOiL (men and women), Kite (men and women), ILCA (men), Laser Radial (women), 49erFX (men and women), Nacra 17 (mixed) and 470 (mixed) — will compete on Mediterranean waters which are as technical as they are tactical and renowned for the often strong winds.

“After two complicated years because of COVID-19, the Semaine Olympique Française is back on the calendar for 2022 — and for the next three years,” said Jean-Luc Denéchau, president of the Fédération Française de Voile (French Sailing Federation).

“This is great news for this historic event. It will be the opportunity to see — for the first time in France, in the Toulon Provence Méditerranée area — all the new Olympic classes.

“The preparation time for the 2024 Olympic Games is going to be short and all the big events, such as the Semaine Olympique Française, will be crucial moments not to be missed. It promises to be compelling viewing and a great week of competition.”

Jean-Pierre Giran, Mayor of the City of Hyères and Vice-President of the Toulon Provence Méditerranée region, added: “The renovation of the municipal nauutical base, an ‘Olympic preparation centre’ for sailing, will contribute to the welcome to international delegations and to the success of sailing events in our region.

“It is also an opportunity to deepen our relationship with this world-class sailing event, whose reputation and excellence, are recognised by everyone, and in which we have a close collaboration with the French Sailing Federation and the Toulon Provence Méditerranée region.”

A blustery westerly breeze made for challenging conditions today at Hyères for Finn Lynch in the men's Laser fleet yesterday writes Nathaniel Ogden. A mixed set of results seem to be becoming a theme in this year's Sailing World Cup for the National Yacht Club sailor. Three strong finishes, coming in 7th, 10th and 13th from the 60–strong fleet, were again unfortunately overshadowed by some poorer finishes and a BFD. As racing continues today, and the live medal races begin, an overall mid fleet position will be an important result for Ireland's youngest ever Olympic sailor as he continues his Tokyo 2020 campaign. 

Aisling Keller slipped down the Laser Radial fleet slightly yesterday, coming in 35^th overall as stronger westerly winds in the mid twenties dominated day four at Hyères. Producing another solid set of results during the day, coming in the mid-twenties in 3 races, the young Lough Derg sailors overall result was brought down slightly by two poorer finishes at the start of the day and a BFD in the final race (discarded), ending up 41st.

Howth Yacht Club’s Aoife Hopkins climbed the rankings after racing on day four, ending up in 41^st position. Heavier conditions proved to deliver a mixed set of results for the young sailor, who is currently taking time out of studying for the Leaving Certificate to compete at Hyères. She ended the day with an outstanding 8^th place finish in the final race and is in 39th place.

So overall, FInn lies 35th, Aoife 39th, Aisling 41st. The Lasers and Radials still have two races to sail today. Overall results to date are here

In the 49erfx, Irish interest lies with Royal Irish's Saskia Tidey and Charlotte Dobson who maintained their 3^rd place medal position, as the wind picked up on day four of the Sailing World Cup in Hyères, as a westerly breeze of 22-27 knots, with gusts of 30-35 knots, settled in yesterday morning. The pair will go on to represent Britain in the 49erFX fleet today and Sunday in the live medal races. 

Sailors are always thrilled when they have a return of straight race victories. Then there are times when they are happy to come out in one piece, still within touching distance of the medals.

That was the case today at Sailing's World Cup Series in Hyères, France as chaos reigned in the Laser Radial fleet.

The competition in Hyères reached a critical stage on Friday with Medal Races imminent.

Overnight, the forecast for racing on Friday was not looking good and Hyères was expected to be on the receiving end of 30knots of breeze, gusting 35. The breeze was strong in the morning and sailing postponed as the conditions were not deemed safe enough to sail. As the day progressed the breeze decreased enabling all but one fleet, the 2.4 Norlin OD, to hit the water.

The Laser Radial saw a day of chaos but Evi van Acker (BEL) has been there and done it. Van Acker was beaming with a smile ashore after racing following a sixth and 13th place to take the lead.

Explaining the day van Acker said, "We waited a couple of hours because it was too windy, then we got out there and it wasn't windy at all. Then it was shifty. We were far out today between fighting winds coming from the left, then the right, so today you didn't know where you were.”

It was probably making sense of the chaos that brought the smile to van Acker's face, "When we were racing there were very big variations in wind and strength so you were winning, then in the middle.

"It was crazy, but I did ok.

"I had some pretty good results in some very tough conditions.”

Van Acker is 12 points clear of Tuula Tenkanen (FIN).

Overnight leader, Hungary's Maria Erdi, crept over the start line for her second black flag of the regatta and has fallen to ninth.

If van Acker was confused, then so was the young Hungarian, "I didn't push the line. I mean I didn't know what was happening at the start. Wind was shifting. People at the pin end. Wind turned. I just didn't know what was happening.”

Carrying two maximum scores in a one discard regatta effectively puts you out of the running, so what now for Erdi, "If I make the top ten I am happy. That was my goal before the regatta started and it's still my goal.”

Italy's Francesco Marrai took the shifty conditions in his stride with a bullet and fourth place to move him top above Cypriot Pavlos Kontides.

Great Britain's Nick Thompson is now tied with Kontides with an impressive second and third place. Those scores were impressive as second placed Kontides and fourth placed Matt Wearn (AUS) both had high scores on the day which they had to discard.

With another day of qualification racing before Sunday's live Medal Race, the top order in the fleet could yet again switch around as a competitive Laser fleet continue to battle.

It was a day of contrasts in the Men's and Women's 470. Blows were exchanged between the leaders in the women's and the men's saw some knock outs.

Still on the same points total, Afrodite Zegers and Annaloes van Veen (NED) and Linda Fahrni and Maja Siegenthaler (SUI) both notched up a bullet and second place to ensure that the Hyères title goes right down to the wire. With one more day of racing before the Medal Race, you wouldn't bet against these two going in to a double points decider neck and neck.

With a perfect two bullet day, Rio 2016 silver medallist's Mat Belcher and Will Ryan now have a 19-point buffer over second placed Carl -Fredrik Fock and Marcus Dackhammar (SWE).

Overnight leaders, Panagiotis Mantis and Pavlos Kagialis have dropped after a 21-22 day which they have to carry. They now sit on 54 compared to the Australians 14 and the reason was simple, "We had really bad starts today,” said a despondent Mantis, "We also missed the first shift and when you do both of those you are in trouble. It was such a bad day.”

The Greeks will have to recover their composure quickly and return to winning ways just to stay in contention for medals after an impressive opening three days of racing.

What a day Spain's Diego Botin and Iago Marra had in the 49er. Coming in the day the Spaniards were in medal contention. At the end of the day they had guaranteed themselves a gold medal. With a bullet, sixth and 11th, Botin and Marra have an unassailable 27 point lead ahead of the Medal Race.

Great Britain's Dylan Fletcher-Scott and Stu Bithell and Sweden's Carl Sylvan and Marcus Anjemark are tied on 76 points and will fight it out with Yago and Klaus Lange, on 83 points, for silver and bronze.

Fast becoming a regular sentence in a 49erFX day review, Brazil's Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze are in first place. Looking to add yet another gold to their ever growing collection, the Rio 2016 Olympic champions hold pole position for a Hyères win with an eight point lead over nearest rivals Victoria Jurczok and Anika Lorenz (GER).

There were some big climbers in the RS:X fleets shaking things up before Saturday's live Medal Race.

France's Louis Giard now sits top of the men's fleet after a 1-4-5 scoreline which gives him a one point advantage over the man who has occupied pole position all week, Switzerland's Mateo Sanz Lanz. The Swiss windsurfer could only card a 9-14-8 which are all scores he carries.

Winner of the first World Cup Series event in Miami, USA, Yunxiu Lu (CHN) was head and shoulders above the Women's RS:X fleet, claiming a bullet and two seconds. She leapfrogs several rivals into second. With a 19-point lead, Poland's Zofia Noceti-Klepacka remains top going into the double points Medal Race.

Fernando Echavarri and Tara Pacheco (ESP) hold a seven-point advantage over their nearest rivals, France's Moana Vaireaux and Manon Audinet in the Nacra 17. The Spanish pair finished the qualifying series with a bullet which made up for a discarded tenth place in the previous race. Add to that a second place and it was enough to lift them above the French team who scored 11-2-5.

On day three, Turkey's Alican Kaynar thought the then leader Nicholas Heiner (NED) had sailed conservative to take the lead. Well Kaynar was anything but as he took two bullets to take top spot from the Dutch sailor's grasp.

Damien Seguin (FRA) remains on course to win a seventh Hyères title in the 2.4 Norlin OD. The Frenchman was somewhat lucky however, that the fleet only raced once as he was back onshore fixing a mechanical issue on his boat while his competitors were out racing. Spain's Rafa Andarias claimed the only bullet on offer to lift himself in to fourth position. Two races will bring the 2.4 Norlin OD fleet to a close on Saturday

French friends and rivals, Nicolas Parlier and Axel Mazella continue to lead the way in the Formula Foiling Kiteboarding. Parlier has the upper hand with five wins from six races which gives him a four-point lead over Mazella. It was day of mixed fortunes for Mazella, but still good enough to give him a 22-point cushion over third placed Toni Vodisek (SLO)

Racing continues on Saturday 29 April at 11:00 local time with the first day of Live Medal Races shown on the World Sailing YouTube Channel. Sunday 30 April will be the second day of Live Medal Races and will bring the penultimate event before the Santander Final to a close.

Live Medal Races will be shown on the World Sailing YouTube Channel on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 April, bringing the penultimate event before the Santander Final to a close.

Three Irish Laser sailors are in the middle of the fleet as round two of the 2017 World Cup Series in Hyères, France began today for 541 sailors in ten Olympic classes writes Nathaniel Ogden.

After “one good race and one bad race” for the National Yacht Club's Finn Lynch, he currently holds 31st position, from a total of 60 boats, in the men’s Laser fleet. Another young sailor with Tokyo 2020 in her sights is Howth Yacht Club's Aoife Hopkins, who finished her first day’s racing in 37th place in the women’s Laser Radial class, narrowly beating fellow Irishwoman, Lough Derg Yacht Club's Aisling Keller in 38th position.

The first day of racing began with a light 6-10 knot easterly breeze, allowing the various fleets to get into their stride before the stronger winds, which are forecast for tomorrow, fill in on day two.

In the women’s 49erFX class, Dublin’s Saskia Tidey ended her first day’s racing for Team GBR in an impressive 5th place with helm Charlotte Dobson. Saskia began training with the GBR squad after her Irish helm, Andrea Brewster, announced she was to become an international Olympic coach. Having only made the decision to aim to represent Britain together in Tokyo at the beginning of this year, the duo are wasting no time in getting up to speed in the international fleet.Events cannot be won on the first day in sailing but they can certainly be lost. So, in a stable 8-11 knot south easterly breeze, it was vital that those aiming for the top honours laid down a marker with consistent race results.

In the 38 strong Women's Windsurfer fleet, Israel's Noga Geller came out flying with superb starts and speed. Feeling comfortable in the conditions, she snapped up the first two race wins. "It was between 10-12 knots and good for planing downwind. The conditions were just like home for me so these are my favourite conditions,” Geller explained on her secret to success.

"I was a bit nervous before but winning the first race is always nice and then winning the second was great.”

Having won the first two races in the RS:X fleet, Geller was aiming for a perfect day but a bad start in the third bout of the day meant she was unable to assert herself as she had been doing.

Geller finished in 22nd place, quite the comedown from her flying start. So what happened? "I didn't start well,” said the Israeli, simply. "I was on the wrong side and then I couldn't catch up so it was a really average race for me.

"In these conditions it's that simple. If you don't start well and you don't have a free line then you can't get your speed. It's so important to get a good start.”

She concluded with a smile, "You can't have everything.”

Geller discards her 22nd and leads the way on two points. Zofia Noceti-Klepacka (POL) and Veronica Fanciulli (ITA) follow. The day's other race win went the way of China's Yunxiu Lu, winner at the World Cup Series in Miami, USA.

In the Men's RS:X, Switzerland's Mateo Sanz Lanz had a wonderfully consistent day, winning two races that were sandwiched with a fourth. Like Geller, he put the key to success on the day down to a good start, "As soon as you get clean wind you can get free and choose whichever side you want,” he explained. "It's the one thing that makes a huge difference to where you finish.

"I'm happy as it was a tough day of pumping all the time in gusty conditions. But I managed to start with clean wind and sailed fast.”

South American sailors occupy the top two places in the 49erFX.

Rio 2016 Olympic champions Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze (BRA) lead on three points and Victoria Travascio and Maria Branz (ARG) follow on four.

The Brazilians are the ones to beat in the 49erFX having added Miami gold to their collection after Rio 2016. They got off to the best start in the 20-boat 49erFX fleet, collecting a 1-2-(4) scoreline.

Travascio and Branz were hot on the heels of the Brazilians on day one, finishing third in the opening bout and backing it up with a race win immediately after. They finished the day with a discarded 12th but are pleased to be on the tails of the Olympic champions, "It was really windy and wavy today but it was good,” expressed Travascio.

"I'm happy we got off to a good start. We had two good races but then a bad third race. We went to the right when we really should have gone to the left. Overall we are happy though.”

There were some mixed scorelines in the 49er pack but it's another South American contingent who lead the way. Brothers Yago and Klaus Lange from Argentina top the leaderboard on three points and World Cup Miami winners Dylan Fletcher-Scott and Stu Bithell (GBR) follow one point behind.

Pavlos Kontides (CYP) came out firing in the 60-boat Laser fleet, winning both of the days races. Good boat speed and positioning at the startline enabled Kontides to be within the leading positions at the top mark in both races. From there he was able to use his speed to take a lead at the first gate, in both races, and subsequently he dominated from there.

Nick Thompson (GBR) and Rio 2016 Olympic Champion Tom Burton (AUS) kept Kontides in sight in both races. Thompson picked up a 3-2 and Burton a 4-5.

In the Laser Radial, Evi Van Acker (BEL) posted two strong results as she bids to defend her Hyères crown. A third and a first gives her an eight point advantage over Viktorija Andrulyte (LTU). World Cup Miami winner Vasileia Karachaliou (GRE) had a mixed day with a 35th and fourth. Sailors' worst races will be discarded after the third race so a good performance on Wednesday will propel the Greek racer up the leaderboard.

2.4 Norlin OD Paralympic Champion Damien Seguin (FRA) got off to a flyer in the 12-boat fleet. Seguin posted double bullets and has an early four-point advantage over compatriot Xavier Dagault and Italy's Antonio Squizzato.

Seguin has thrived in Hyères throughout his sailing career, winning gold six times. Winning a record seventh title will set the French racer up nicely for the upcoming Para World Sailing Championships in Kiel, Germany where he will be aiming for a fifth world title.

Moana Vaireaux and Manon Audinet (FRA) controlled the Nacra 17, picking up a (4)-1-2 scorecard to lead on three points. Lin Ea Cenholt and Christian Peter Lubeck (DEN) and defending champions Fernando Echavarri and Tara Pacheco (ESP) follow on six points.

In their first regatta together, Billy Besson, the four time Nacra 17 World Champion, and new crew Amelie Riou got off to a slow start with an 18th and 11th. By the third race, the pair were flying and took the race win.

Great Britain's Ben Cornish and France's Fabian Pic shared the race wins in the 34-boat Finn fleet. Cornish holds an early lead after he backed his race win up with a sixth and Pic sits in fourth after an 11th.

French racers Nicolas Parlier and Axel Mazella dominated their respective blue and yellow fleets in the Foiling Formula Kiteboarding. The pair won every single race, beating World Champion racers Maxime Nocher (MON) and Florian Gruber (GER) respectively.

In the 470 fleets, Rio 2016 bronze medallists Panagiotis Mantis and Pavlos Kagialis (GRE) lead the men's division and Switzerland's Linda Fahrni and Maja Siegenthaler are in control in the women's after two races each.

Racing continues on Wednesday 26 April at 11:00 local time. Live Medal Races will be shown on the World Sailing YouTube Channel on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 April, bringing the penultimate event before the Santander Final to a close.