Burrows knows what he must do

SAILING: David Burrows is shouldering the responsibility of an uneven Finn dinghy performance in the full knowledge that if only one of those two bad results he is now counting from Saturday could be replaced with a second like he scored in yesterday's race six then he could be as high as fourth overall going in to tomorrow's seventh race of the 25-boat fleet.

Instead, the scoreboard, with the single discard applied, shows the Malahide sailor counting three good races and two bad ones (17, 14, 9, 3, 18, 2) to lie 10th after yesterday morning's 18th in a northerly breeze, known locally as the Meltemi, that blew so hard it led to the abandonment of all racing other than the Finn and Yngling classes.

The 27-year- old accountant who, according to coach Luca Devotti, has been uneasy with the pressures of the regatta, will find little consolation in running a rule over the halfway stage tally because he knows it is only inconsistent sailing - not his fitness or boat speed - that is keeping him out of the top five.

"Being fast is not everything here, David has been first to the windward mark on three occasions and he is the fittest guy - except maybe for Ainslie - on the course," Devotti said after watching Burrow's take second place, with boat speed to burn, to the regatta leader, Britain's Ben Ainslie, yesterday afternoon.

The situation was similar in Sydney when Burrow's posted a snakes and ladders score sheet of 9, 16, 7, 15, 19, 1, 10, 1, 6, 12, 8. That was not good enough for a medal but sufficient to deliver Ireland's best sailing result since 1980. The same, and probably much better, is still possible by next Saturday's medal ceremony.

But Burrows now probably needs a minimum top five in each of the remaining five races - plus others ahead of him to slip up - to be among the medals.

It may sound a tall order, but he came back from worse in Rio de Janeiro earlier this year to win the bronze medal at the world championships.

On another course there was something of a false dawn for 49er pairing Tom Fitzpatrick and Fraser Brown of Howth who had racing abandoned for the day.

The 19-boat 49er fleet are expected to join join the fray today, and with three races scheduled it promises to be a baptism of fire - if strong winds persist - in the twin-trapeze, high-performance asymetric class.

The 49ers do have an upper wind limit, however, which, when reached, means that racing is not started, or races in progress are abandoned.

So if gusts exceed 25 knots for 30 seconds or peak at above 30 knots at all, the 49ers will stop racing.