Genevieve Lau remains on course for a top ten showing going into today’s final day of the 2019 O’pen Bic World Championships in Auckland, New Zealand.

The Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club youth sailor is competing in the under-17 age group where she sits in tenth among an international fleet of 69, with a best showing to date of second.

Two races were held in strong winds on Manly Bay during yesterday’s penultimate day of the championships which saw Lau place ninth and 24th, the latter result which she promptly discarded after the second and final drop came into effect after the tenth race was completed.

Davide Mulas, of Italy, who has led from the start, holds a ten-point advantage at the top of the pecking order going into today’s final two races of the championships being hosted by the Manly Sailing Club.

The 15-year old Lau, who attends BHS, is making her second appearance at the O’pen Bic World Championships having competed at last year’s event in Spain, where she exceeded her expectations on her international debut by placing fourth among the girls and eighteenth in an overall fleet of 137 in the under-17 age group.

“This regatta was challenging in a lot of different ways and the conditions were very light,” she said following that impressive display. “It was a really good experience.

“It was my first international O’pen Bic regatta, so I wasn’t sure how I would do.

“I was going in with an open mind and just try my best and see how it goes. I wasn’t sure how I was going to end up. I’m really happy with it.

“I know what I am capable of, so it has raised my expectations for future regattas. I feel more comfortable because I know I can do it now.”

Developed by Vitali Design and launched in 2006, the O’pen Bic is a single-handed one-design sailboat designed for younger sailors and is an international class recognised by the International Sailing Federation.

Elsewhere, eight of Lau’s club-mates competed at the Orange Bowl International Youth Regatta that concluded in Miami, Florida on Sunday.

Among them, Jack Adderley, Ciarra Wells and Ethan Thompson finished as the top locals finishers in their respective fleets.