Espey & Lyden Complete Laser Worlds with Gold & Silver Fleet Finishes

10th July 2015

#laserworlds – Ireland's James Espey has completed the 2015 Kingston Laser Standard World Championships in 43rd place from 53. It's a gold fleet performance but not the elusive break through in to the top 20 the London 2012 representative may have wisheds for. In a similar sized silver fleet, West Cork's Fionn Lyden was 20th. Three races were completed yesterday in winds of 6-10 knots from the North East, for a total of six races in the final series. Nick Thompson representing Great Britain, went into the day with a 20 point lead, and was able to stay on top, winning the 2015 Laser Standard World Championship. Nick Thompson had a strong regatta, as he remained one of the top 5 competitors for the entire event.

The next Laser event of Irish interest Laser Radial European Championships in Denmark. Annalise Murphy will be competing for a title she won in 2013. Racing starts there on July 19th.

Final top ten:
1. Nick Thompson, GBR, 67 points
2. Philipp Buhl, GER, 93
3. Tom Burton, AUS, 97
4. Juan Ignacio Maegli, GUA, 105
5. Matthew Wearn, AUS, 106
6. Andy Maloney, NZL, 106
7. Sam Meech, NZL, 107
8. Kacper Zieminski, POL, 110
9. Pavlos Kontides, CYP, 113
10. Lorenzo Brando Chiavarini, GBR, 116

* Of the 46 places available on the Rio 2016 Laser startline, nine were up for grabs at the 2015 Worlds which were held in Kingston, Canada from 2-8 July 2015. The first qualification regatta, the Santander 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships saw 24 nations secure a spot in Rio.

The nine nations to qualify for Rio 2016 from the 2015 Laser Worlds (in nation order) are:
1. Argentina
2. Chile
3. Estonia
4. Hungary
5. Korea
6. Montenegro
7. Peru
8. South Africa
9. Spain

Published in Laser

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The ILCA, formerly known as the Laser, is the most produced boat in the world, with 220,000 units built since 1971.

It's easy to see why the single-handed dinghy has won the title of the most widely distributed boat of all time.

The Laser is a one-design dinghy, the hulls being identical but three rigs that can be used according to the size and weight of the sailor.

The class is international, with sailors from 120 countries. The boat has also been an Olympic class since 1996, being both the men's and women's singlehanded dinghy.

Three rigs are recognised by the International Laser Class Association (ILCA):