Very inconsistent and shifty winds made for a difficult day on Aarhus Bay, with only one race completed in the men’s gold fleet as the 2026 ILCA 6 Youth World Championships entered its final stages.
Long days on the water without wind can be frustrating for the sailors when there is no racing and little to do but watch the conditions shift.
That was the case for Ireland’s Sienna Wright, who remains just one point behind overall leader Hermionie Ghicas, as she endured a long day without a result.
“It was a boring day. I wished they had tried to get a race in, but I guess it was a bit too shifty,” said Wright. “I actually like light and shifty conditions, so for me everything is good. There are still three possible races left, and I just try to focus on myself and my own race, if I do that, there’s nothing more to ask for.”
With no race completed, the women’s standings remain unchanged. Ghicas leads on 13 points, Wright follows on 14, while New Zealand’s Chloe Turner sits third on 30 points, which exceeds her ambition going into the championships.
“I came here wanting a better result than last year. My goal was to stay in the top 10 and battle with the top sailors, so I’m happy to be in this position,” said Turner. “I think keeping it simple in the challenging conditions is important.”
In the men’s race, Brazil’s Erik Scheidt extended his overall lead to 15 points, while Croatia’s Toma Smirčić remains his closest challenger, although he tries to avoid letting the standings influence his racing.
“I think the most important thing is not to think too much about where you are overall. That just puts more pressure on you and makes you sail worse, because you start calculating everything,” said Smirčić.
Turkey’s Ali Özdemir, who sailed in the red bib today, but finished the day in sixth, takes a slightly different approach, using the sailors around him to help judge his decisions on the racecourse.
“First, I look at the course and try to see where the advantage is. If my plan matches my opponents’ plan, it makes me calm, because if my plan is bad, then their plan is also bad,” said Özdemir, whose best advice is to go one race at a time. “I try to think about every race like there are no others. You cannot let the first race affect the second.”
There were also several other interesting developments in the men’s fleet. Greece’s Konstantinos Portosalte jumped four places from eighth to fourth after finishing third in today’s race, while Switzerland’s Leo Gosling now sits fifth overall just over a week after winning the ILCA 4 Youth World Championships in Aarhus. That makes him one of three U17 sailors in the top ten, alongside Toma Smirčić and Nikko Palou, who sit in second and third overall, respectively.
Ghicas’ position at the top of the women’s fleet also means Greece could complete a double in Aarhus after Eleni Triantou won the women’s ILCA 4 Youth World Championships.
Up to three races remain possible on Wednesday, with both world titles still to be decided on the final day.
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Report by Aarhus International Sailing Center.