Two Italian crews are setting the pace at the 420 and 470 Junior Europeans in Nida, Lithuania, with two fleet races to go on Sunday before Monday's Medal Series.
Lisa Vucetti and Vittorio Bonifacio held the lead after finishing 3rd and 9th in today's two races, sailed in 13 to 16 knots of shifty breeze. Livia Ciampinelli and Nicola Brunotti sit second after a consistent day, taking 4th and 5th.
Germany's Amelie Wehrle and Riccardo Honold won the first race and moved up to third overall, pushing France's Lomane Valade and Julien Bunel to fourth. "Today was a very tough day and it was very gusty, very windy, from 10 to about 15 knots. It was really about getting the right shifts and going to the right side. It was two very fun races," the German pair said.
On Sunday they know what's needed. "We have two more races with the discard, so we don't want any more big points. Still no UFDs, no BFDs. We just want to keep all the points small, try to beat the teams around us and then have a safe spot for the final race."
The fight for the top 10 and a place in the Medal Series is just as tense lower down the leaderboard. Greece's pairing sailed well but collected a UFD in the first race, one they had won on the water, dropping them to 13th overall. Poland's Agnieszka Pawłowska and Tomasz Lewandowski are holding 8th despite mixed results, while Brazil's Said Royo and Gabriela Vassel climbed to 9th.
Tomasz was candid about their day. "Today's conditions were a little bit shifty and the wind was coming from left to right, from around 20 to 30 degrees, so it was very useful if you used the shifts correctly. The first race for us was very good. I think our upwind sailing was really, really good. Downwind, we still have to improve, and the second race was one we can probably keep quiet about."
Agnieszka pointed to starts and consistency as the things to sort. "Sometimes we get a little surprised by people's actions on the starting line. We have races where we start well and others where we are a bit unhappy with our start. Overall, I feel like we are improving from race to race and trying to become a bit more consistent. We still have a little work to do." She added: "I think we can do well in the final part of the regatta. The strategy is just to do our best, stay in the top 10 and see what we can achieve in these conditions."
With the top 10 still unsettled, Sunday's two races will matter for a good number of crews.
