Greta Pilkington remains within striking distance of the top 10 at the ILCA 6 Women's World Championship, despite losing ground to the leaders on a challenging third day of gold-fleet racing in Dublin Bay.
The Kiwi sailor slipped from eighth to 19th overall after finishing 44th in the only race completed on the day, her first result outside the top 10 all regatta.
Pilkington had arrived in the gold fleet in good form. Scores of 10, 4, 3, 3 and 9 through qualifying had her sailing as consistently as anyone in the fleet, and comfortably inside the leading half heading into the elimination series.
Light and unpredictable conditions on Dublin Bay put an end to that run, making for a difficult opening race of the series. Pilkington couldn't repeat the consistency that had carried her into the top 10.
She's not out of touch, though. She sits just 19 points behind Italy's Emma Mattivi in 10th.
Getting any racing in at all was an achievement. Sailors sat on the water in as little as two knots of breeze before conditions improved enough for the first gold-fleet race to start, shortly after 1pm.
Even then it was hardly ideal. The wind varied between seven and nine knots during the race before fading further, eventually dropping to just one or two knots. Race officials waited in hope of more racing but eventually sent the fleet ashore, leaving just the one race completed for the day.
Belgium's Emma Plasschaert took second in the race to move into the overall lead on nine points. American Charlotte Rose is second on 13 points after finishing eighth.
Australia's Mara Stransky sits third on 34 points, with Britain's Matilda Nicholls fourth on 35.
The standout performance of the day belonged to Dutch sailor Roos Wind, who won the race for her first victory at a senior world championship. It lifted her from 30th to 14th overall, the biggest move up the leaderboard.
Three races are scheduled tonight, New Zealand time, as the elimination series continues, with Pilkington needing a return to her earlier form to keep her top-10 hopes alive.
