Sam Ledoux and Sienna Wright of the National Yacht Club and Howth Yacht Club, respectively, were the leading Irish boats at the Laser/ILCA 4 World Championships in Villamoura, Portugal.
Two races were completed yesterday in each fleet.
All 426 boats launched efficiently in under 45 minutes for a smooth start to the day.
The venue produced champagne sailing conditions, with 14–20 knots of wind building throughout the afternoon.
Sam picked up a 14th and an 11th place in the first two races, while Sienna did even better with two 11th places. Christian Ennis sailing under the burgee of the Royal St George Yacht Club in currently lying in the top 100 and Daniel Palmer from Ballyholme Yacht Club is not much further back.
In the girls, Lucy Ives of Carlingford Sailing Club also had a good day, and she also lies in the top 100 but again, compatriot Ava Ennis from the Royal St George Yacht Club isn’t far behind.
The most notable performance today came from the Italian sailing team, which has sailors leading both divisions after the first day of the world championship.
In the boys' division, Italian Massimiliano Antoniazzi leads the way after sailing two bullets in the green fleet. Israel’s Omer Vered Vilenchik and Greece’s Panagiotis Spanos, each sailed a first- and second-place finish in the red fleet to sit in second and third overall.
In the girls' division, team Italy continues to lead. Maria Vittoria Arseni and Ginevra Caracciolo hold first and second after today’s races. Arseni, like Antoniazzi, scored two bullets to start the championship at the top. Caracciolo had two top-three finishes today. In third overall is Annemijn Algra from the Netherlands, tied with Slovenia’s Alenka Valencic with six points.
There are two more qualifying races today and tomorrow and with a good breeze forecast, it’s going to be a challenge.