Reigning world champions Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush have climbed into third place at the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 European Championships in Eckernförde, Germany, putting themselves firmly back in contention for back-to-back European titles.
The 21-year-old pair have broken into the top three at the regatta for the first time. They sit just eight points behind British leaders James Grummett and Rhos Hawes, with only four points separating them from second-placed French duo Erwan Fischer and Clément Péquin.
Menzies and Lee Rush, who claimed their maiden 49er world title in Quiberon, France, in May, arrived in Germany as defending European champions following their victory in Greece last year. They had not raced competitively since that world championship triumph, however, and opened the regatta with a 16th.
Since then, the pair have steadily built momentum, producing five top-five results from eight races. Day three brought lighter, shifty conditions after the strong breeze of the opening days, demanding patience, tactical awareness and precise boat handling.
Fellow Kiwis Mattias Coutts and Oscar Gunn are also in the gold fleet, sitting sixth overall after a qualifying series that included two race victories, the only race wins by a New Zealand crew across the three fleets so far. The pair started day three second overall before recording a seventh and a 10th. Fresh from finishing fourth at Kiel Week a fortnight ago, they look like genuine contenders heading into the finals.
Sean and Rowan Kensington finished qualifying 38th and will contest the silver fleet, with Francesco Kayrouz and Hamish McLaren in 52nd.
In the 49erFX, Auckland siblings Nicola and Rebecca Hume had a mixed opening day of silver fleet racing, starting with a 16th before posting two 26ths to sit 17th in the silver fleet.
Micah Wilkinson and Kate Stewart turned in their most consistent day of the regatta in the Nacra 17, posting scores of ninth, eighth and 13th to climb into the top 10 overall for the first time. Dutch duo Willemijn Offerman and Scipio Houtman continue to lead comfortably, having extended their advantage to 16 points. Reigning European champions John Gimson and Anna Burnet of Great Britain were the standout performers of the day, claiming two race wins to move into fourth and reignite their title challenge.
