2026 ILCA 6 Women's World Championship at Dún Laoghaire, Ireland - Day 4
by Agustín Argüelles / ILCA 11 Sep 10:35 BST
5-12 September 2026
2026 ILCA 6 Women's Worlds in Dun Laoghaire Day 4 © Jordan Roberts / Down Under Sail
Three races were completed on Thursday despite tricky, ever-changing conditions. Racing started at 11:00 as scheduled in 16–19 knots of wind and a metre of swell, but the breeze swung up and down between 7 and 19 knots throughout the afternoon.
Late in the day, the tide turned and mixed with the wind and swell to create a washing-machine effect on the water.
Charlotte Rose USA recovered the overall lead with a 4-(23)-1, moving to 20 points, ahead of overnight leader Emma Plasschaert BEL, who scored 9-7-(15) for 33 points. Anna Munch DEN takes third on 34 points after a 1-15-3, climbing back up from eighth.
Charlotte Rose USA on reclaiming the lead in tricky conditions:
“It was definitely a really tough day, one where you just had to reset after every leg. My second race today was all over the place and very tough, but I managed to reset for the third one. The regatta isn’t over until it’s over, so I’m really happy with my performance today. We still have two races tomorrow, and then another two in the Medal Race Series — so the regatta is far from over.”
“After what we dealt with today, it’ll definitely keep me on my toes. There’s no such thing as a comfortable lead, especially at a World Championship, and with the scoreline cut in half for the medal races, it makes it even more stressful. I’m on my toes every single day, I’ll tell you that. I’ll always be the hunter — I never back down. So I’m just going to keep fighting tomorrow, and the next day, and see what happens.”
Maxime Jonker NED put together the most consistent day of anyone in the fleet, a 5-6-2 that moved her from 12th to 4th on 40 points. Greta Pilkington NZL made the biggest jump of the day, climbing from 19th to 5th with a 6-14-4, now on 53 points.
Maxime Jonker NED on adapting through three very different races:
“We had three very different races. The first one had a bit more south in it, and some waves — it looked a bit like home, so I loved those conditions, that was a fun race. Then the wind shifted to the right, coming off the mountains again — it was so tricky, but I managed to survive. I think if you have a good start and you’re at the front, you can still end up at the back, but it definitely helps. Then in the third race the wind settled a bit more, so it felt less nerve-wracking.”
“The first race looked quite normal to me, the wind was more stable, and I think speed-wise you could really make a difference today — we could surf a bit on port tack, so I felt like you could put your technique into it. I’ve trained very hard for this, so if I start at the front, I just work my ass off from there and see where it ends.”
Greta Pilkington NZL, after the biggest climb of the day, on riding out the chaos:
“It was like doing a full cycle with the pots and pans in the dishwasher — here, there, left, right, this person’s high, that person’s high. I had no idea. It was anyone’s game. The second race especially was chaotic, so I’m glad to come out of it a little bit unscathed, but yeah, all to play for.”
“I think you’re just trying to come out of each day unscathed. Today was one of those days where it was better to be lucky than good, and that worked in my favour — a few good ones, and hopefully I can roll that into tomorrow. To be fair, I’ve never actually made it into a final-day top ten before, so this is a first for me. But I think I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing — if I start worrying about the points now, it’s all going to go downhill. So just keep doing the basics, keep it simple, and we’ll see what happens at the end of tomorrow.”
Two races are scheduled for tomorrow to wrap up the Elimination Series, which will decide the top ten sailors going through to the medals in the Final Series, with the first possible warning signal at 11:00.
Every day, you can follow the races live through the Tracking, and via Reels and Stories on our Instagram and Facebook — check the links below.
The 2026 ILCA 6 Women’s Worlds runs 5–12 September off the National Yacht Club and Royal St George Yacht Club, closing out an historic month of Olympic-class sailing on Dublin Bay.
The event is organised by National Yacht Club and Royal St George Yacht Club, in conjunction with ILCA. It is supported by premium sponsors Sport Ireland and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, and associate sponsors Rooster, The Royal Marine Hotel, XOCEAN, and KPMG.
Find out more at 2026ilca6women.ilca-worlds.org