Eve McMahon Best of the Irish in Palma de Mallorca
Olympic hopeful, Eve McMahon (Howth Yacht Club) had the best result of the Irish Team at the Princess Sofia Regatta in Palma, finishing 14th overall of 114 boats after a 5th place finish on her final day of racing. This marks significant progress for the 20-year-old Dublin sailor in what is her first full year of senior fleet sailing after qualifying for the Paris Olympics earlier this year at the ILCA 6 World Championships in Brazil.
Following some tricky conditions, Seafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan (Royal Cork Yacht Club) solidified their first Gold Fleet position of the season in the 49er fleet. They went on to finish the event in 23rd in what turned out to be one of the better performances of their campaign so far.
The National Yacht Club’s Finn Lynch completed the regatta in 21st after a testing final day with his highest score of the regatta. Fellow ILCA 7 sailor Ewan McMahon (Howth Yacht Club) concluded his regatta gaining 9 places on his final day of sailing jumping from 38th to 29th overnight.
Best performance of the year for Guilfoyle Durcan in Palma
After tricky conditions, Seafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan from Royal Cork Yacht Club have solidified their first Gold Fleet position of the season in Palma de Mallorca at the Princess Sofia Regatta in the 49er fleet.
Two days of competition remain for all fleets with medal races taking place on Saturday.
The National Yacht Club’s Finn Lynch sits in 14th after qualifying for Gold Fleet Racing on Wednesday. Fellow ILCA 7 sailor Ewan McMahon from Howth Yacht Club sits in 38th heading into the final day of Gold and Silver fleet racing.
Eve McMahon (Howth Yacht Club) sits in 20th in the ILCA 6 fleet.
Strong Irish Team for World Cup Series in Palma de Mallorca
The 53rd edition of the Trofeo Princess Sofia is set to start today, Friday 29 March, with more than 800 boats and 1,100 sailors from 75 countries taking part in the Bay of Palma, Mallorca, Spain. The racing will run from April 1until April 6 and will feature Irish sailors aiming for the Paris,Olympic Games later in the summer
Representing Ireland in the ILCA 7 class will be Carlow’s Finn Lynch and Dublin’s Ewan McMahon ( re selected on the Irish Sailing Senior Squad) will be up against the top sailors in their class battling for a podium place and testing their skills ahead of the summer’s major regattas.
Recently crowned, Irish Sailor of the Year 2023, Eve McMahon, will represent Ireland in the ILCA 6 class. A quick turnaround from her 4th place at the U21 ILCA European Championships in Pollensa, Spain last week. She will be up against her training partner and current world champion Anne Marie Rindom from Denmark.
The Cork duo of Seáfra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan, who are still in the running for the Irish berth in the 49er class for the Paris 2024 games, will be the only Irish 49er attending this event. After spending their whole winter season training in Lanzarote with similar conditions to Palma this will be a good test regatta for the pair. This World Cup will not stand as a test event for the Irish Olympic boat selection.
The men and women’s Dinghy's will have 10 races plus a medal race, while the Men’s Skiff will have 15 races plus a medal race.
Keep an eye on our channels for updates throughout the event!