Sophie arrived in New Zealand just before Christmas with her dad Donal and her coach Dennis... Her decision after winning the trials to go to the worlds and put great effort investing time and money towards her dream seems to be paying off. Following her great success in Palma, Sophie entered the invitational Harken regatta in Napier ( the venue of the worlds) finishing at a strong 22nd place within the 214 boat fleet (33 countries). RESULTS. Sophie's serie was consistent and launched her with great confidence just before the final big event.

DAY 1: one race! It was pretty light and Sophie started her challenge with an excellent 4th

DAY2 : 4 races in various conditions with the breeze building to a nice full hiking wind. Sophie had a solid day with a 12th, a 17th, a 5th and a 14th. With smart risk free sailing she climbed to 6th overall. 

DAY3: with once more only one race sailed, Sophie continued her good form with a 16th. She dropped to 16th overall but stays well in contention at the break point discarding her 17th... She presents indeed the lowest discard inside the top 20 and this may prove very useful towards the end of the regatta. The next two days are dedicated to team racing. Sophie being the sole Irish representative, She will take advantage of the two days to relax and prepare the second half of the regatta. 

After a deserved rest, Sophie went back afloat for a further 5 races. The gloves were off and despite scoring her two highest score of the championship she climbed to 13th overall and snatched the silver medal from the Italian girl.

!3th, Sophie Browne, TBSC/RCYC, 4 / 12 / 1 7/ 5 /14 /16 / 31/ 5 / 4 / 14 / 42, 122pts

! Keep an eye on the story of the gutsy little 7 year old going around the cans in Tralee Bay becoming a junior champion. It will be online soon!