A win in the second race of the Youth Sailing Worlds in Poland for Ireland's Rian Geraghty McDonnell and Nathan van Steenberge has given the National Yacht Club duo an early boost and leaves them fourth overall after three races sailed.
The Dun Laoghaire duo also scored a 12th and a 16 in their 28-boat fleet at Gydnia yesterday.
In the Girls 29er fleet, Ireland's Leah Rickard (also from NYC) and Eimer McMorrow Moriarty (from Kerry’s Tralee Bay Sailing Club) have yet to race.
Thomas Chaix is coaching the Irish 29ers. Results are here.
The Boy’s and Girl’s 29er, provided by Ovington Boats, are sharing boats in Gdynia. The 28-boat Boy’s 29er were able to complete three races but the Girl’s 29er fleet were unable to race due to dying winds.
Close racing at the 29er Youth Worlds in Poland where Ireland won race two
Finland’s Ville Korhonen and Edvard Bremer got off to a great start, posting a 1-(3)-3 scoreline. "We started well and had good speed," said Bremer, "this put us in the top three all day. It was really shifty and there were a lot of holes in the wind. It built up but it was still challenging."
Korhonen added, "The communication was good today so that helped us most. It’s been a great ever so far, really fun. We’re with the best in the world here."
Spain’s Enrique Urios Salinas and Filippo Binetti Pozzi had a tough start to the competition, sailing their way to a 22nd and a 13th but a bullet in the final race propelled them up the leaderboard.
"We didn’t start as good as we thought we would," commented the Spanish duo. "The conditions were not easy. The wind was really unstable and we couldn’t place where we wanted to place.
"We concentrated a bit more, spoke to our coach and after that we were more focused and did what we were supposed to do. We won the last leg. I think we did really well."
The Spaniards are sixth overall. Defending champions Mathias Berthet and Alexander Franks-Penty (NOR) occupy second and Sweden’s Marius Westerlind and Olle Aronsson are third.
