George Gautrey has managed to hang on to his overall lead at the ILCA European Championships, while Greta Pilkington stormed up the leaderboard in the women’s competition after the opening day of gold fleet racing in Kaštela, Croatia.
Gautrey remains tied at the top of the ILCA 7 Open standings after a challenging first day of the final series overnight, as the New Zealand sailor continued his standout regatta against a world-class fleet.
The 2023 combined world championship bronze medallist opened gold fleet racing with a second placing before slipping to 27th in the second race — a result he was able to discard — and finishing the day with a 12th. It leaves him locked on 23 points with Cyprus Olympic medallist Pavlos Kontides, while Germany’s Philipp Buhl sits four points back in third overall.
George Gautrey is the overall leader in the ILCA 7 after four days of competition. Photos / EurILCA
Compatriot Caleb Armit sits 35th overall and fifth in the under-23 standings after a mixed day in gold fleet, highlighted by a 15th placing in the second race.
In the women’s ILCA 6, Pilkington (pictured top) produced one of the biggest climbs of the day, surging from 58th to 33rd overall after two top-10 finishes in the opening gold fleet races.
The Aucklander posted a sixth and seventh — her best race results of the regatta so far — to move firmly inside the top 10 among non-European sailors.
The fourth day of the championship marked the start of the final series for the Olympic ILCA 7 and ILCA 6 fleets, with sailors split into gold, silver and bronze fleets for the first time this week.
Racing was delayed by 45 minutes while organisers waited for the sea breeze to build, before competition eventually got underway in around 10 knots of wind. Conditions strengthened steadily through the afternoon, with winds building to around 15 knots and waves reaching up to one metre, creating demanding and physical racing.
With two days remaining in Kaštela, the battle for the European titles is entering its decisive stage, with three more races scheduled overnight (NZ time).
Latest results and standings here.
Originally published by Yachting New Zealand.
