It's the red-hot gold fleet for Finn Lynch in the ILCA 7 class of the Allianz Sailing World Championships, but not without drama in The Hague today as the Rio 2016 rep was disqualified for a premature start under the black flag rule after winning the day's second race.

The National Yacht Club ace must improve his overall score in the strong tidal waters off Scheveningen to be in the top 16 nations by Friday to win a place at Paris 2024.

"Lynch must be in the top 16 nations by Friday to win a place at Paris 2024"

The Men's ILCA 7 fleet departed the slipway before 9 am for a scheduled earlier start to complete the qualification round with a minimum of four and preferably a fifth race.

However, while races three and four were completed, attempts to get the fifth race away failed into the building flood tide.  The sailors headed ashore after seven hours on the water, so the stakes are high, with lots of points still to be won - or lost - by Friday.

The Sailing World Championships race schedule has been rearranged to use Wednesday's rest day for racing, so the ILCA 7 will - subject to weather - have two races daily for the coming three days to decide Sunday's medal race final and the top 16 nations to win a place at Paris 2024.

On a day where the conditions made it tricky for the ILCA 7 sailors to race, Micky Bennett (GBR) took the limited opportunities that came his way and now sits on top of the leaderboard after four races.

Finishing third and then second in the blue fleet, Bennett has a one-point lead over Pavlos Kontides (CYP) at this early stage, while Philipp Buhl (GER) is third after winning the second race of the day in the yellow fleet.

Results here

Rio 2016 Olympian Finn Lynch (National Yacht Club) in the Men's ILCA7 event had a 12th and a fourth place on the opening day to end a solid eighth overall at the Sailing World Championships at The Hague. 

The championships are the first opportunity to qualify for the Paris Olympics, a step Lynch failed to make for Tokyo four years ago. 

Lynch's solid start today is typical of some recent form, including a well-earned sixth at last month's Olympic Test event, so hopes are high a nation place will be secured this week. 

A second Irish ILCA 7 sailor, Ewan McMahon (Howth Yacht Club), recovered from a 40th in the opening race to place 17th.

Ewan McMahon of Howth Yacht Club is competing at the Sailing World Championships in The Hague Photo: Sailing Energy

Champion Australian Wearn was far from his fluent best on the ICLA 7 class's opening day as two-time Olympic silver medallist Stipanovic stole the show.

The experienced Croatian grabbed two blue fleet victories as Beckett, who had gold snatched away from him by Wearn at last month’s Test Event in Marseille, finished third and first in the yellow fleet.

Wearn could only muster two 11th-place finishes in the blue fleet as Cypriot Pavlos Kontides finished fourth and second in those races to lie third in the overall standings ahead of Hermann Tomasgaard (NOR).

Wearn, 27, recovered from a similarly slow start to grab Olympic gold in Tokyo two summers ago and says channelling memories of that fightback can fuel a rousing Dutch turnaround.

He said: “[Tokyo] definitely does cross the mind – even though things might not be great now, there’s still a lot of racing ahead.

“I always knew it was going to be a long and tough week – I definitely think about it every now and then, and I’ve just got to keep pushing.”

Beckett trails Stipanovic by two points heading into the second day of racing, adding: “You can’t win anything on day one, but you can lose a lot, and I haven’t lost it.”

Results are here

An ultra-consistent Finn Lynch (IRL) is lurking in the hunt for a podium finish at the Paris 2024 Test Event in Marseilles on Saturday after a string of top-ten results in a 42-boat ILCA 7 fleet.

The National Yacht Club's Lynch was as high as third on Wednesday evening, the second time in the series he's been in a podium position, but dropped back to fifth overall on Thursday after scoring an 11th in race nine.

Michael Beckett (GBR) has moved into a commanding position for the title. He suffered his first off day of the competition on Thursday, but the Irish sea sailor bounced back in style to put himself into a strong position ahead of the medal race.

Finishing second and then third, Beckett moved back ahead of Olympic champion Matt Wearn (AUS) in the standings.

Beckett currently sits on 30 points, nine clear of Wearn, meaning that even with double points in the medal race on Saturday, he has a comfortable buffer.

New Zealander George Gautrey won the second race of the day to move up to third on 45 points with Pavlos Kontides (CYP) and Finn Lynch (IRL) lurking in the hunt for a podium finish on 48 and 49 respectively.

Results here

Marseille's mistral breeze swept Ireland's Finn Lynch into third overall after eight races sailed today in the  ILCA 7 at the Paris 2024 Test Event

Lynch has had a consistent regatta with seven top eight results and bounced back from his 15th in race six with a 6,1 in today's breezy races to be six points off the lead.

The Olympic champion Matt Wearn (AUS) jumped ahead of Michael Beckett (GBR) at the top of the ILCA 7 standings after a fine showing, finishing third and then first in the day’s two races.

That was enough to take the top spot from Beckett, who could only finish 14th in the first race and now sits on 26 points, two behind Wearn and within four points of Lynch on 30.

And as in the ILCA 6, Ireland had another success as the National Yacht Club's Lynch won the first race of the day, enough to move into third overall, one point clear of Pavlos Kontides (CYP).

Results here

French sailors continued to shine in Marseille on an action-packed Tuesday at the Paris 2024 Test Event, which saw all ten classes in action and Ireland's Finn Lynch in fifth place overall in the ILCA 7 men's dinghy class.

Michael Beckett claimed his first victory of an ultra-consistent week to remain top of the ILCA 7 standings.

The Brit sits five points clear of Jean-Baptiste Bernaz (FRA), with Matt Wearn (AUS) and Pavlos Kontides (CYP) each a point further back.

After six races sailed from ten, the National Yacht Club's Lynch counts  3, 4, 4, 8, 4 and (15) and New Zealand’s George Gautrey, who won the opener on day three, round off the top six – who have a comfortable cushion over the chasing pack.

The test event continues to be one of the most critical events in the Olympic buildup. Only one team from each nation can compete in each Event, and the organisers test their Olympic plans.

The sailing conditions vary from amazing to frustrating to on the edge of destruction. The mountain ranges to the North and coastal geography can factor into what the wind does, as can sea breezes and summer highs.

Results are here

Just one point separates the top four in the star-studded ILCA 7 field after two hotly-contested opening races as the Paris 2024 Olympic Test Event got underway in Marseille, and Ireland is lying second overall thanks to an explosive start by the National Yacht Club's Finn Lynch. 

Reigning Olympic champion Matt Wearn (AUS) made a perfect start to the Test Event by winning the first of those, ahead of Michael Beckett (GBR) and Lynch.

Lynch then finished fourth in the second, with Beckett in fifth, to take both to seven points – one clear of Wearn and Portugal’s Eduardo Marques, who recorded finishes of fifth and third.

Beckett said: “It was pretty interesting. There was a big range of breeze, from two or three knots up to 15, so it was a high-stakes game. You were almost gambling your way around the course like a poker game.

“I’m happy with my results and looking forward to tomorrow. It’s interesting doing this format, one person per country, which I’ve not done before. I’m just trying to learn as much as I can.”

An eight-point gap follows to Norway’s Hermann Tomasgaard, with world champion Jean-Baptiste Bernaz (FRA) a further three back.

The second race of the day was won by Emil Bengtson, the Swede bouncing back from a 34th-place finish the first time around to move back into contention.

He led home Pavlos Kontides (CYP), last year’s World Championship silver medallist, sitting eighth overall after the first day of action.

Results are here

Finn Lynch will not be racing at the Allianz Regatta at The Hague this week, despite his silver medal performance at the North Sea Regatta at the same venue, because the Rio Olympian is focussing on preparations for the Olympic test event in Marseilles from July 9 to 16.

After wrist injury setbacks after Hyeres in April but a 10th at the Europeans in March, the Irish number one finished an encouraging second overall counting seven top-five finishes from ten races at the largest regatta on the Dutch North Sea.

The windy 2023 edition was won by in-form Cypriot Pavlos Kontides, a 2102 Olympic silver medalist. Overall, Lynch beat noted international performer Tonci Stiponavic, the 2016 silver medalist, who finished fourth in the 53-boat fleet.

Howth Yacht Club brothers Ewan and Jamie McMahon are both competing in the men's single-handed ILCA7 fleet at Allianz Regatta at The Hague this week.

The results of the 2023 North Sea Regatta are here 

Having been passed fit and 'cleared to sail' at French Olympic Sailing Week only a week ago, Ireland's top two hopes for Paris 2024 retired from the competition in Hyeres, nursing those pre-existing injuries.

On the cusp of the busiest pre-Olympic season for the Paris 2024, the Irish sailors' will be frustrated to find that their immediate priorities are now focused instead on recovery and rehab.

ILCA 7 single-hander Finn Lynch (National Yacht Club) secured a place in the Gold fleet despite carrying his ongoing wrist injury in some very windy weather. 

Lynch, a 2016 Rio Olympian, competed but could not complete the gold fleet series after suffering 'further inflammation'. 

As regular Afloat readers will recall, the world number three complained of the problem as far back as last year at Hyeres 2022.

Earlier this month in Palma, Lynch's coach Vasilij Zbogar said, "Recovery from the Europeans two weeks ago wasn't managed well enough, so we need to adapt for the next time." 

Eagle-eyed observers noted his bandaged arm at the Andoran prizegiving in March, but unfortunately for Lynch, the issue continues into May.

The 49er crew of Robert Dickson (Howth Yacht Club) and Sean Waddilove (Skerries Sailing Club), opted to withdraw from the regatta's Silver fleet due to Dickson's 'virus'. Dickson also carries a wrist injury after a heavy air capsize in Hyeres.

Both teams had been seeking medal race finishes on the Cote d'Azur after mixed performances in Palma earlier this month.

Royal Cork Yacht Club's Seafra Guilfoyle with Johnny Durcan placed 35th overall in Hyeres 49er silver fleet.

Howth brother and sister ILCA sailors Ewan and Eve McMahon were not competing. 

While the main focus is Olympic qualification at the World Championships in August, the Irish sailors will need to be fit for the ultra-busy season ahead, which includes the Paris 2024 Test Event on the Olympic regatta waters of Marseille from 7 July.

Irish Team manager James O'Callaghan said, "It is important not to throw the baby out with the bathwater; for sure, there are work-ons, but there are positives too".

After biding his time, ILCA 7 sailor Pavlos Kontides, the first Cypriot to ever win an Olympic medal (silver at London 2012) and the winner of a thrilling medal race in Hyères last year, made the perfect start to gold fleet racing at French Olympic Week, winning both races to swoop past the previously dominant British contingent to the top of the leaderboard. But only three points separate the top four.

Britain’s Michael Beckett, the winner in Palma, moved into second despite 11, 3 finishes in the 52-boat gold fleet (because of earlier consistency), and Eliott Hanson (6, 4), second in Hyères last year, slipped from leader to third. Australia’s Olympic champion, Matt Wearn, stayed on all their shoulders after finishing second in the last race after seventh in the first.

Ireland's Finn Lynch Moves up to 36th

The National Yacht Club's Finn Lynch moved up in the Gold fleet to improve from 44th to 36th overall in the ILCA 7 class.

He scored 28th in the day's opening race but took eleventh place this afternoon.

Two more races are scheduled for Friday to conclude fleet racing, but Lynch cannot win a place in Saturday's medal race final.

Results are here

The National Yacht Club's Finn Lynch made the gold fleet in French Olympic Sailing Week on Wednesday, but a U-flag disqualification for a premature start means he is now unlikely to compete in Saturday's medal race final.

The ILCA 7 fleet completed their minimum five race races to make the qualification cut.

A black flag disqualification for early-starting in Wednesday's delayed opening race had seemed set to scupper Lynch's Gold fleet chances, but the World Number 3 has made the top third of his 155-boat fleet, even nursing his long-term wrist injury.

"He's made Gold fleet, and there are still four races, so everything is open, but the Black Flag makes it very difficult as there's only one discard," Lynch's coach Vasilij Zbogar said.

"We are going to treat this regatta as a training event and focus on the areas we need to improve on", he said. 

One of the areas identified was a lack of upwind speed in strong winds, but forecasts say it is unlikely these conditions will be replicated in the Bay of Hyeres again this week.

Lynch will know that improvements will need to come fast as the all-important Paris 2024 Olympic Qualifier in The Hague – with 40% of Olympic places up for grabs – is now four months away.

Strong day for British ILCA 7 sailors

It was another strong day for Britain in the ILCA 7, who was last out of the water at 20:00.

Eliott Hanson, second in Hyères last year, retained the overall lead despite 18, 8 finishes in yellow fleet. Daniel Whiteley was 2, 12 in red fleet, but Michael Beckett fared better in the light, winning his first race and finishing 4th in the second in blue fleet to move into third place. He has been the most consistent sailor this week so far and has not been out of the top five.

It was a tougher day for the Australians, but Olympic champion, Matt Wearn, was 10, 4 in the yellow fleet and is still very much in the hunt. Just two points separate the top five, and only 12 across the top 10.

Results are here