Trofeo Princesa Sofia Iberostar - Day 3: Two bullets and a second put Dobson & Tidey at the top

Charlotte Dobson and Saskia Tidey on day 3 of Trofeo Princesa Sofia Iberostar © Jesus Renedo / Sailing Energy

THE HEADLINES:

• Two bullets and a second put Charlotte Dobson & Saskia Tidey firmly at top of 49er FX fleet; Sophie Weguelin & Sophie Ainsworth in eighth
• Birthday present for Dylan Fletcher as he leads 49er fleet with crew Stuart Bithell going into gold fleet racing
• Gimson / Burnet up to second in Nacra 17 fleet with a 3, 7, 4; Saxton & Boniface in seventh
• Hannah Mills and Eilidh McIntyre close in on women's 470 top spot; one point behind French leaders
• Lorenzo Chiavarini 2nd in Laser fleet; Elliot Hanson rises to seventh, Nick Thompson to tenth
• Luke Patience & Chris Grube excel on day 3, rocketing up men's 470 table into third overall
• Martin Wrigley and James Taylor score regatta best with third in men's 470 race 6; sit thirteenth on leaderboard
• Georgina Povall leads British Laser Radial charge in 13th; second in race 6
• Tough day for Giles Scott and Ed Wright in Finn class: Scott slips to seventh, Wright to twentieth
• Disappointment for James Peters and Fynn Sterrit miss 49er gold fleet cut by just two points

WHAT THEY SAID:

Luke Patience, 32, Rhu, Scotland (470m): "It's been a key day for us actually. We've been in the lighter range of winds for the last nine or 10 months and we've not found our feet very well. Today was a bit of a breakthrough day to win it when the wind is light. Historically we're launched when it's breezy and the lighter wind is our weakness, so we're really happy, it's a big step forward towards Tokyo 2020."

Chris Grube, 34, Bala, Wales (470m): "We had a great day today we won the day. We started off picking off some of the things that let us down yesterday. Our starts were one of those things and we did a great job today executing them. We're starting to sharpen up in the light winds which is great, and bring it on when it gets windy!"

Anna Burnet, 26, Shandon, Scotland (Nacra 17): "We're taking every race and every manoeuvre as they come. It's taken a lot of focus - the races have been really tricky and you never really know which side of the race course is going to come in. We've just been trying to do all the details well. Our goal is to perform our best. We're looking for a good result from this regatta and we can do that if we're at our best."

John Gimson, 36, Congleton, Cheshire (Nacra 17): "It's been a tricky start to the event the wind hasn't been very consistent so we've just been trying to chip away and get some counters. We've just got to keep doing what we've been doing and keep grinding away. You've got to make the best of trying to win your side of the race course. Do it well and you'll get to the top mark in the top three, do it badly and you won't be in the top ten."

Georgina Povall, 24, Epsom, Surrey (Laser Radial): "It was a bit lighter than expected. I didn't have a great first race but got an ok result in the end, but finished second in the next race. I was actually leading round the top mark but panicked a bit and lost a place. It's so important to get off the start line cleanly here if you don't you're stuffed. My plan is to stay consistent everyone's going to be getting big scores so consistent results will lead to a decent result overall."

Luke Patience and Chris Grube on day 3 of Trofeo Princesa Sofia Iberostar - photo © Jesus Renedo / Sailing Energy