#oppiewordsnz – A 14th and a 42nd scored in the penultimate rounds of the Optimist worlds today drop Ireland's Sophie Browne from ninth to 13th overall. Browne needs to move up ten points with a single day's racing left to sail in Napier, New Zealand tomorrow to secure a much sought after top ten result overall. Ireland's only contender at the world's top junior championships is the second placed girl overall in the 208–boat fleet, a magnificant performance for the Tralee 14year–old.
The Optimist World Championships saw wind, rain, fog and therefore poor visibility yesterday. It wasn't until 1350 that the decision was made for the competitors to go out on the water. The wind was 18 knots, it was still raining, and the swells were 2 metres high, but the event organisers were determined to complete three races.
Sophie started out with a solid performance and a fourth place. She continued to sail well and finished 14th in her second race but then slipped back in the third race ultimately finishing 42nd which resulted in her dropping to 13th overall on the leader board.
