Day two of the 2021 ILCA Vilamoura European Continental qualifier for the Olympic single-handed dinghy men was sailed in 12 to 15-knot south-westerlies and proved to be somewhat challenging for the Irish contingent. Leading contender Finn Lynch (NYC) was a premature starter in race 1 but recovered to record a 6th in race 2 to lie 28th overall with the drop race excluded.
Ewan McMahon (HYC) improved slightly to 48th place after race scores of 29 and 12. Liam Glynn of Ballyholme is four places back in 52nd, but it was a tough day for Royal St George teammates Tom Higgins (45, 62) and Hugo Kennedy (47, 65) who now lie in 105th and 124th respectively.
In the all-important battle for country selection for Tokyo 2020 (final two places are available), Ireland remains in 7th place, with a slightly increased deficit on points relative to second place non-qualified country.
If the organisers continue the trend of alternating the start times, the men, who started first today, will likely enjoy stronger breezes later in the afternoon tomorrow.
Wednesday marks the halfway stage of the regatta and Ireland now has little room for error in the remaining eight races to come.
The country qualification position after day two is expressed in the table below where lower points are better.
Country | Points |
ESP | 16 |
BEL | 18 |
NED | 18 |
ITA | 21 |
SUI | 27 |
POR | 38 |
IRL | 39 |
GRE | 40 |
MNE | 43 |
POL | 51 |
TUR | 60 |
LTU | 93 |
DEN | 95 |
UKR | 112 |
CZE | 115 |
ISR | 126 |
Full results are here
After a long period without major regattas due to the pandemic situation, many of the top sailors, even from qualified countries, are competing at this event.
Organised by Vilamoura Sailing, this qualifier event is held for European countries to claim their remaining four slots for the Tokyo Olympic Games: two in the women's ILCA 6 fleet and two in the men's ILCA 7 fleet. There are seven countries competing for the two ILCA 6 Olympic tickets, and 17 countries vying for the two ILCA 7 slots.
150 sailors from 34 countries were able to come together for this event, as Vilamoura continues to be one of the few places in the world right now where sailing competitions are open.