Royal Irish Yacht Club's Saskia Tidey has taken bronze for Team GB in the 49erFX class with her sailing partner Charlotte Dobson at the Princess Sofia Trophy in Palma at the weekend.
Brazil’s Olympic gold medalists Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze were in the box seats for the overall win in the FX skiff class, leading into the Medal race by 17 points they needed only a solid final race to be assured of an impressive return to the class after Grael competed in the Volvo Ocean Race with Akzo Nobel. A capsize near to the finish line of a breezy, on-the-edge final race perhaps cost them a chance of winning the women’s class before the medal race.
“We missed out there.” Grimaced Grael, “With the rain coming through it was pretty windy with big shifts on the race course. But it was fun. I guess we have to wait for tomorrow now.”
Grael and Kunze lost no time in getting back to the FX after the Volvo Race finished but helm Grael says they are still getting back to fitness:
“We did the worlds, the test event in Japan and Miami. We are getting back to it, missing a bit in the strong winds and that was maybe a little bit evident today. These last two days we have felt the lack of training in the strong breeze.”