Ireland’s sailors made a promising start to the ILCA European Championships in Kaštela, Croatia, after racing finally got underway on Monday following a weather delay. Sunday’s scheduled opening was abandoned due to unsuitable wind conditions. Competitors returned to the water on Monday in a steady 10–16 knot breeze for the first three races of the regatta.
In the ILCA 6 Women’s fleet, Howth Yacht Club sailor Eve McMahon opened strongly against a 120-boat fleet. McMahon recorded results including a fourth and eighth place to sit seventh overall after the opening day.
ILCA 6 coach Vasilij Žbogar said consistency remained the priority early in the championship. “Eve may have sailed a little too defensively today, but with only one discard available across the regatta, consistency is very important,” he said. “It’s a very strong fleet, and there are a lot of good sailors here, but Eve is one of them.”
Žbogar said the focus would now shift towards improving average results during the qualifying series before the finals.
In the ILCA 7 Men’s fleet, Ewan McMahon also produced a strong opening performance. The Howth Yacht Club sailor posted a fourth-place finish in the opening race before ending the day with another top-five result. He sits 12th overall in the 173-boat fleet and leads the Irish challenge.
Olympian Finn Lynch of the National Yacht Club recovered from a difficult opening race to finish sixth and fourth in the final two races of the day. He lies 18th overall overnight.
Irish Sailing ILCA 7 coach Ben Walkemeyer said starts and boat speed proved decisive. “The key gains on the racecourse were coming from strong starts close to the line combined with good boat speed,” he said. “Finn and Ewan each put together two solid races alongside one more disappointing result.”
Development squad sailor Fiachra McDonnell of the Royal Irish Yacht Club also made an encouraging start in his first Senior European Championship. McDonnell finished eighth in the opening race before slipping back in the standings after a difficult second race and a DNC in race three.
Racing continues on Tuesday with two more races scheduled before the fleet moves into the final series later in the week.
