Ireland’s Finn Lynch and Eve McMahon remain firmly in contention at the ILCA European Championships in Croatia after another consistent day of Gold Fleet racing in Kaštela.
Stable conditions and 9–12 knot breezes allowed three races to be completed across all fleets on the opening day of the Final Series.
National Yacht Club sailor Finn Lynch produced a sixth-place finish in the opening race of the day before ending racing 14th in the 58-boat Gold Fleet.
The result leaves Lynch fifth overall in the European standings heading into the final two days.
Lynch said consistency would be crucial as the regatta enters its decisive phase. “It was a mixed day for me, but I’m still in contention, and that’s what matters at these big regattas,” he said. “There were some big shifts out there today, but I think good speed can make you look like a genius here.” The Tokyo Olympian said offshore winds forecast for tomorrow would present a new challenge.
In the same fleet, Howth Yacht Club’s Ewan McMahon opened with a ninth-place finish before recording two mid-fleet results. He now sits 13th overall among the European competitors.
In the women’s fleet, Eve McMahon continued her consistent championship with a best finish of 10th place. The Howth sailor moves up to sixth overall and remains third in the Under-23 standings.
Irish Sailing ILCA 6 coach Vasilij Žbogar said the Irish squad had avoided major setbacks despite tricky conditions. “We’re continuing to produce strong average results but we haven’t quite managed to break into the leading 10 at the top mark consistently,” he said. “The positive is that we have avoided any bad results, so there are no high scores in the discard.”
Development sailor Fiachra McDonnell narrowly missed Gold Fleet qualification but recorded a sixth-place finish in Silver Fleet racing. The Royal Irish Yacht Club sailor is now 11th overall in Silver Fleet. Two more days of racing remain in Croatia.
