Ireland’s Eve McMahon climbed six places to 11th overall as Belgium’s Emma Plasschaert took the championship lead on a light-wind third day of the ILCA 6 Women’s World Championship on Dublin Bay.
Only one Gold Fleet race could be completed on Wednesday as the breeze faded, but McMahon made the most of the opportunity with a seventh-place finish that leaves the Howth Yacht Club Olympian just one point outside the top ten.
It was a marked change from the strong winds of the opening two days. Sailors were initially held on the water with just two knots before the breeze strengthened sufficiently for racing to begin shortly after 1pm in around eight knots.
McMahon started the day 17th overall and, despite a difficult start in a fleet where several sailors were over the line, worked her way through the shifting breeze to take seventh.
“I’m happy with my result today. We’re back in the game now, and we’ll keep going tomorrow,” McMahon said.
“It was nice to have some different conditions today, and tomorrow is looking pretty different again. We’ll take it as it comes and see how I do.”
Light Brigade: The ILCA 6 fleet gets under way on Dublin Bay after racing was delayed while the breeze struggled to build on day three of the Women’s World Championship. Photo: ILCA
Murphy 32nd in Gold Fleet
Rio Olympic silver medallist Annalise Murphy of the National Yacht Club was also caught in the congestion at the start and was unable to recover sufficiently through the 54-boat Gold Fleet. She now lies 32nd overall.
There was better Irish news in Silver Fleet, where Lucy Ives of the Royal St George Yacht Club took seventh place and lies 23rd in the fleet.
Sienna Wright of Howth Yacht Club, who narrowly missed Gold Fleet qualification on Tuesday, finished ninth and is now second overall in Silver Fleet.
“I’m disappointed, to be honest. I had really hoped to qualify for Gold Fleet, but it is what it is,” Wright said.
“I’ll now focus on correcting some of the mistakes I made during the qualification series and gaining as much experience as I can from the remaining races.”
Wright said the lighter breeze had provided a welcome contrast to the heavy-weather opening stages but described the conditions as “very shifty”.
“Getting a good start is crucial in lighter conditions because it can be very hard to recover if you are behind early,” she said.
“It is really special to be racing on home waters. All the volunteers have been incredibly supportive, and that has made a huge difference.”
Plasschaert Takes Championship Lead
At the head of the championship, Plasschaert produced another strong result to overhaul overnight leader Charlotte Rose of the USA.
The Belgian finished second in Wednesday’s race and now leads on nine points, four clear of Rose, who finished eighth and is second overall on 13.
Australia’s Mara Stransky is third on 34 points, with Britain’s Matilda Nicholls fourth on 35 after taking third in Wednesday’s race.
The race victory went to Dutch sailor Roos Wind, her first at a senior championship. Having recently stepped up from U21 competition, Wind climbed from 30th to 14th overall with the win.
“It was quite messy after the start, but I got into an okay-ish lane and somehow connected with the pressure,” Wind said.
She rounded the first windward mark around eighth before steadily picking off boats and finding stronger pressure on the right-hand side of the course.
Plasschaert also made major gains during the race after rounding the first mark around 15th.
“I got on a good shift and picked up a bit more breeze than the others, and from there me and Roos just went from wherever we were to one and two,” the Belgian said.
Racing Abandoned as Breeze Fades
Conditions deteriorated rapidly after the opening Gold and Silver Fleet races. The wind dropped to one or two knots and the Race Committee waited for around an hour for an improvement.
With no significant breeze expected before early evening, AP over Alpha was eventually raised and the fleets were sent ashore.
Three races are now planned for Thursday, with the first warning signal brought forward to 11am and stronger winds forecast for the second day of Gold Fleet racing.
Two days of Gold Fleet racing remain before the championship concludes on Saturday, September 12, when the Medal Series will determine the final podium positions.
The ILCA 6 Women’s World Championship is being staged by the National Yacht Club and Royal St George Yacht Club in conjunction with ILCA, completing a major month of Olympic-class championship sailing on Dublin Bay.
