Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush will take a hard-earned lead into the medal series at the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 European Championships in Eckernförde, Germany, after battling through their toughest day of the regatta.
Racing was once again held in light and unpredictable conditions, with three final gold fleet races deciding the top-10 crews that will contest tonight’s medal series (NZ time).
Despite recording finishes of 15th, 10th and eighth, Menzies and Lee Rush held onto the overall lead. The reigning world champions will begin the medal series eight points clear of Britain’s James Grummett and Rhos Hawes, with fellow New Zealanders Mattias Coutts and Oscar Gunn also remaining firmly in podium contention.
Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush top the leaderboard ahead of the medal series. Photos / Niklas Mattes
Coutts and Gunn started the day in third overall but slipped to fifth after posting scores of 16th, a discarded 17th and 11th. However, they remain just eight points behind Poland’s Mikołaj Staniul and Jakub Sztorch in third, leaving a medal well within reach.
The championship will be decided under the event’s new medal series format, which compresses points before racing begins, allowing the leading crew to hold a maximum advantage of just nine points. With two medal races to come, every podium position remains up for grabs.
“It was a tricky day today,” Lee Rush said.
“We had three more races in light winds again. Lots of people had an up-and-down day, and ours wasn’t our finest performance.
“The first race was tough – we were right near the back of the fleet. The second one was a bit better and the third a little better again.
“We struggled with a couple of things and didn’t quite execute the way we wanted to, but we’re still in an OK position heading into tomorrow.”
Menzies said the pair were looking forward to the challenge despite the tighter margins created by the new format.
“We’re happy to go into medal race day in the lead,” he said.
“It’s all going to be very close again. Anything can happen with the new format, and it’s going to be good fun.”
Micah Wilkinson and Kate Stewart claimed their first race win of the regatta. Photos / Niklas Mattes
In the Nacra 17 fleet, Micah Wilkinson and Kate Stewart produced one of the day’s standout performances to climb into sixth overall.
The New Zealand mixed multihull crew thrived in the light breeze, highlighted by their first race win of the regatta, to put themselves firmly in the hunt heading into the medal series.
In the 49erFX fleet, Nicola and Rebecca Hume concluded their regatta in 46th overall.
No racing was possible in the 49er silver fleet due to the light conditions, leaving Sean and Rowan Kensington to finish an impressive 33rd overall in their first international campaign in the class. Francesco Kayrouz and Hamish McLaren placed 50th in the 93-boat fleet.
Latest results and standings here.
Originally published by Yachting New Zealand.
