Eve McMahon Takes Overall Lead in Palma
Irish sailor Eve McMahon leads the ILCA 6 fleet after two days of racing at the 55th Trofeo Princesa Sofía in Palma, Mallorca.
Challenging conditions again defined racing on the Bay of Palma, with a light, unstable offshore breeze creating a difficult start to the day. Eve McMahon (Howth Yacht Club) handled the conditions superbly, delivering a standout performance with a second place and a win in her final two races to move into first place overall in the 143-boat fleet.
McMahon said after racing, “I’m really pleased with how I performed today. It’s an extremely high-quality fleet, with Olympic medallists and very experienced sailors. The focus now is on maintaining that level. With the format tightening into the Elimination Series, I’m in a strong position and now I’m just looking forward to building on what I’ve been doing well.”
Sienna Wright (Howth Yacht Club) continued to perform well in a highly competitive senior fleet, recording a seventh-place finish in her final race to sit 22nd overall heading into the next phase of racing.
The fleet now moves into the Elimination Series, where sailors are split into Gold, Silver and Bronze fleets based on overall standings.
In the ILCA 7 fleet, Ewan McMahon (Howth Yacht Club) delivered a strong day, moving up to 12th overall following two top-10 finishes. He enters the Elimination Series well positioned for Gold Fleet racing.
Carlow sailor Finn Lynch (National Yacht Club) was unable to compete due to illness, while Fiachra McDonnell (Royal Irish Yacht Club) retired from his opening race for the same reason. Both will continue to be monitored, with a decision on their participation to be made ahead of tomorrow’s racing.
In the double-handed classes, the 49erFX pairing of Erin McIlwaine (Royal St George YC / Newcastle Yacht Club) and Ellen Barbour (County Antrim Boat Club) were first ashore. Coach Matt McGovern was encouraged by their progress: “We were looking for clean starts and clear lanes, and they achieved that in two of the three races. A ninth-place finish in their last race of the day was a strong return.”
The pair sit 38th overall and will continue their qualification series tomorrow.
In the 49er fleet, it was a challenging day. Development sailors Ben O’Shaughnessy (Royal Cork Yacht Club) and Ethan Spain (National Yacht Club) recorded the best Irish result with an 11th place finish. Olympians Robert Dickson (Howth Yacht Club) and Sean Waddilove (Skerries Sailing Club) will be looking to reset heading into the final day of qualification, though they remain over 50 points outside the top 30 required for Gold Fleet progression.
Racing continues tomorrow in Palma with the ILCA Classes going into the Elimination Series whilst the 49er and 49erFX Classes will sail one more day of Qualification.
Following the Elimination Series, the top ten boats overall will advance to Saturday’s Final Series, where two races will decide the podium.