#OLYMPIC–Ireland takes its place among the world's sailing nations in Perth, Western Australia this weekend for the start of a two-week long sailing championships that is a do or die regatta for Ireland's Olympic squad intent on competing at the London Olympic regatta next July.

There are high hopes that at least two crews will qualify at the ISAF world championships where over 75% of qualification slots are available. Irish officials say Peter O'Leary and David Burrows in the Star keelboat along with Annalise Murphy in the Laser Radial are not only front runners for qualification next week but also Olympic medal prospects.

There is no question both are consistent top 10 performers at world level. There is no question either of their heavy weather performances and as Perth is famous for its strong winds team insiders say a world class result for Ireland is possible.

Murphy won bronze at the Sail for Gold (a dry run of the Olympic regatta) in August and O'Leary won gold (albeit with a different crew) at the same event in 2010.

In the 49er dinghy Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern are also aiming for the London Games and qualification here is by no means ruled out for the Belfast Lough pair.

Other Irish boats competing in Perth for the London ticket are two times Olympian Ger Owens from Dun Laoghaire now sailing with Howth's Scott Flanigan in the 470 dinghy James Espey will compete in the Laser, while Ross Hamilton will sail in the Finn

First into action on Monday morning will be Hamilton in the Finn. Murphy also has her first race in a 100-strong Laser Radial fleet.

Top international sailors put on a show of strength in Perth's Forrest Place on Friday to help launch the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships.

Several thousand people in the CBD watched as the athletes paraded from Barrack Street jetty to the heart of Perth, where they were warmly welcomed by a team of hosts, including Western Australian Premier Colin Barnett.

The athletes had sailed upriver on Rottnest Island ferries from Fremantle, passing under bridges lined with well-wishers, and paraded through the city past a crowd of cheering locals, all braving the 33C heat.

While the Japanese and Korean teams posed for a combined photograph, the New Zealand men squeezed in some rugby practice in the backdrop.

Onlookers lined the streets as the athletes walked behind their national flags, occasionally cheering and posing for photographs.

They were led by a Royal Australian Navy band — described by the Chief Petty Officer Gabe Kicsak as a "rock band on steroids".

Irish flag bearer Scott Flanagan twisted the flag in his hands as he joked that the Perth heat was nothing compared to Ireland's "tropical climate".

Also in the procession was Hungarian windsurfer Aron Gadorvalvi, who could be seen getting a workout with his toddler daughter's pushchair.

Drifting in and out of the procession during the march were Denmark's athletes stocking up on ice-cream.

Among those in the crowd were Trinity Sale (9) and brother Mitchell (6) cheering on their dad, Australian 49er crewman Marty Sale, who will compete with his skipper Duncan Head.

Trinity, who attends Perth's Rawlinson Primary School, said: "I liked it a lot, especially as my dad was marching."

Forrest Place was awash with colour, flags and cameras small and large as the athletes made their entry.

"The Fremantle Doctor is calling — may you all achieve your dreams," ISAF President Goran Petersson said, referring to the world championships and Olympic selection at stake.

The ceremonial part of the event was opened by three Aboriginal dancers, with Dr Richard Walley on the didgeridoo and performing the traditional Welcome to Country.

The Australian anthem was sung by talented Perth busker, Fiona Mariah, a former contestant on a national television talent show.

Marching for the first time were six nations — Kyrgyzstan, St Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago, Cook Islands, Kazakhstan and Montenegro.

The athletes' oath was taken by three-time world champion Marcelien Bos-de-Koning (NED) and the officials' oath by jury chairman Bernard Bonneau.

Perth 2011 chairman Ian Campbell quoted Ernest Hemmingway in his welcome address — from a 1936 magazine article on why people go to sea. "The sea was the last wild place left."

He also quoted at length from a speech made by former USA President John F Kennedy after Australia's challenger Gretel took one race off the American defender Weatherley in the 1962 America's Cup at Newport, Rhode Island.

"It is an interesting biological fact that all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean and therefore we have salt in our blood, in our sweat and in our tears.

"We are tied to the ocean and when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it, we are going back from whence we came."

Mr Campbell said: "I wish all the athletes lots of sweat, as little blood as possible, and tears of joy as you enjoy the magnificent conditions off Fremantle in the coming weeks."

India's coach Mohit Nautiyal said he was confident in his country's team.

"The Finn is definitely our strongest event," Nautiyal said.

"We are very hopeful for gold but [winning] is not very important. We are here because we enjoy sailing," China's team manager Ye Xiao said.

It was clear that most athletes admired the Perth surroundings.

Michael Hestbaek (DEN), a Star class competitor, said: "I originally came (to the opening ceremony) with the idea to have a sail up the river and see the beautiful and spectacular scenery."

"I'm sure there will be more to come," said the three-time world champion in Laser (2) and 49ers (1).

And on his hopes at Perth 2011: "I expect at least three teams to make the top 10 and hope some will medal. I'm hoping to be one of them."

Athletes then flooded the numerous Perth eateries for lunch before catching a train back to Fremantle.

Annalise Murphy goes in to today's final round of Miami Olympic Classes Regatta in Florida as a medal contender in the Laser Radial class after a string of top results gave her fourth overall last night.

The strong Dun Laoghaire girl relished the prospects of the big winds that blew at times on Biscayne Bay this week. Consistent results of 5, 15, 2, 2, 5, 6 11,9, (21) and 5 never saw her out of the top five.

Tuesday saw her bag two second places in a fleet of 58.  It was a turning point in a regatta that she crashed out of last year only to return wth grit to be Ireland's only medal hope today.

Last night's move up to fourth overall on the scoreboard is another confidence boost, heightening the prospect of a place on this evening's podium. Conditions in Miami today are forcast to be light, probably not the conditions the National Yacht club girl would have hoped for.

In the Star Peter O'Leary and his crew for his London 2012 bid David Burrows finished with a strong fifth place yesterday but it was not enough to make today's final. They finished 13th overall after counting a black flag disqualification on day two of the event. See all results HERE.

Rival to Annalise, Tiffany Brien from Belfast Lough finished 21st overall.

Her club mate Jame Espey was 49th out of 52 after 7 races in the Laser gold fleet.

More from Miami organisers below:

Waking to a brisk northwesterly breeze, sailors at US SAILING’s Rolex Miami OCR yesterday made up for races lost to light air Wednesday. The conditions, though chilly by Florida standards, played out perfectly for medals to be determined in three Paralympic classes, while 10 Olympic classes fought their final battles for the right to compete in tomorrow’s medal races, which are comprised of top-ten “sail-offs” for Finn, 49er, Men’s 470, Women’s 470, Laser, Laser Radial, Men’s RS:X, Women’s RS:X and Star classes, and Finals and Petit Finals for Elliott 6m (women’s match racing).  The regatta, which began Monday for 716 sailors from 53 nations, prepares Olympic and Paralympic sailing aspirants for the 2012 Games and is the second of seven stops on the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Sailing World Cup circuit.

For France’s Damien Seguin, a two-time 2.4mR IFDS World Champion who is currently ranked  #1 in the world, winning gold in the Paralympic 2.4mR class was looking good from day two when he assumed the lead over his 30-boat fleet.  Clinching today, however, was not as straightforward as today’s scores seemed to reflect.  Following seven boat lengths behind leader USA’s John Ruf (Pewaukee, Wis.) at the finish in race one, Seguin was determined the actual winner when Ruf was disqualified for starting the race prematurely and neglecting to exonerate himself.  “After that, for my next two races, my score was such that I needed only to loosely cover Thierry Schmitter (NED),” said Seguin, further explaining that only if he finished worse than sixth would he foil his own plot. Schmitter, another IFDS World Champion, took the Silver Medal, finishing fourth in the first race and winning the next two, each time with Seguin behind in second.  

“There were many different winds here,” said Damien about the practice this provides for his run for a spot on the French national team.  “We started in strong wind, then there was light wind and today medium-strong.  I am very happy for that and for the competition.”

Taking bronze was Canada’s Allan Leibel, who is able-bodied and allowed to compete here, since the class is declared “open” for this event.

The Gold Medal taking in the Paralympic Sonar class by GBR’s John Robertson/Hannah Stodel/Steve Thomas came with an intriguing twist today. With two races completed, the Dutch team of Udo Hessels/Mischa Rossen/Marcel van de Veen were in the lead, and surprisingly, they did not sail the third and final race. 

“There were two points between us and the Dutch, so no one will ever know how it would have played out on the water,” said Robertson, explaining that he understands Hessel’s middle crew Rossen, a single-arm amputee, had been having problems with his opposite shoulder and the team had decided beforehand to race no more than two races today.

Robertson’s team, which took the Silver here last year, posted a final score of 30 to the 36 points posted by silver medalists Bruon Jourdren/Eric Flageul/Nicolas Vimont Vicary (FRA). The Dutch team, with 37 points, is going home with the Bronze.

As for his team’s overall strategy here, Robertson said, “We tried to sail our own race and not get hung up with the other guys. Hanna did a fantastic job calling tactics, especially today, as the wind was up and down and all over the place, with 40-50 degree shifts.”

The Australian Paralympic SKUD 18 team of Daniel Fitzgibbon/Liesl Tesch has led their fleet since day one and boasted six victories in their nine-race score line to take the Gold medal.  Today they finished 1-1-2.

“We didn’t walk away with it, really, but we were comfortably ahead,” said Fitzgibbon, who won a Paralympic Silver Medal (with a different crew) in Qingdao. "We didn’t expect to have done so well with such a new combination,” he added, noting that he and Tesch, who gave up Paralympic basketball (she is a two-time medalist) for her new-found love of sailing, have only been together on the SKUD 18 for a few weeks. “It’s a new challenge for her and a breath of fresh air for everybody.”
Taking Silver was US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics’ Scott Whitman/Julia Dorsett (USA), with Alexandra Rickham/Niki Birrell (GBR) taking the Bronze.

Medal Races Tomorrow
Top-ten finishers from today in each of nine Olympic classes will get only one chance--a 30- to 40-minute race—to make or break their claim to a podium position.  Emulating the Olympic format, the medal race counts double points and cannot be counted as the one allowed discard race when it is added to a sailor’s score line from the rest of the series.

In women’s match racing, US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics members Anna Tunnicliffe(/Molly Vandemoer/Debbie Capozzi (Plantation, Fla., USA/Redwood City, Calif./Bayport, N.Y., USA) will meet Claire Leroy/ Elodie Bertrand/Marie Riou (FRA) in a first-to-three points Finals match tomorrow to determine Gold and Silver medalists.  Lucy Macgregor/Mary Rook/ Kate Macgregor (GBR) and Sally Barkow (Nashotah, WI., USA)/ Alana O’Reilly (Charleston SC, USA)/ Elizabeth Kratzig-Burnham (Miami Beach FL, USA) will be fighting for bronze in the Petit Finals.

Match racing starts on its own course at 9:30 tomorrow, with fleet racing starting at 11:00 am on two additional courses.  Fleet races are planned to be approximately 30 minutes in length and started 40 minutes apart. No racing will start after 1:40 p.m., so it will be an early day. 

US SAILING has partnered with the city of Miami to provide world-class venues for competition. Additional hosts for the event include Coral Reef Yacht Club, Key Biscayne Yacht Club, Coconut Grove Sailing Club, Miami Rowing Club and Shake-a-Leg Miami. These sailing organizations host classes onshore, as well as help run the on-the-water racing. The Coral Reef Yacht Club also hosts the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

In addition to title sponsor Rolex Watch U.S.A., US SAILING’s 2011 Rolex Miami OCR is also sponsored by AlphaGraphics, Gowrie Group, Chubb Insurance, Sperry Top-Sider, Harken McLube, Trinity Yachts, University of Miami Hospital and Kattack.

A complete roster of competitors can be viewed at the event website, RMOCR.ussailing.org, where real-time racecourse blogging, commentary and fan interaction, regatta results, photos and news updates will be integrated into a live coverage platform once racing begins. Video highlights produced by Gary Jobson and presented by Rolex air daily and are available on-demand on the event website. Fans can also follow the event on Facebook/RolexMiamiOCR and Twitter/RolexMiamiOCR.

More in our Olympics 2012 category HERE

The All Ireland Championships at Kinsale today turned out in the end to be an event well worth the long wait and provided thrilling competition from start to finish writes Claire Bateman. It was sailed in a three metre swell between the Bullman Buoy and Sandycove. It was particularly difficult for the Race Committee under PRO David O'Brien in the continuous undulating swell.

Nicholas and his winning crew Adam McCarthy and Alex Barry in Kinsale this afternoon. Photo: Bob Bateman. More photos on the gallery HERE

After four races the Race Committee were calculating the results only to find that they had three Royal Cork crews tied on five points each including the twice previous holder Nicholas O'Leary, his father Anthony and Niall Kenefick who was sailing with his two sons David and George. And so the competition went down to the wire with the result dependant on the final race. Nicholas O'Leary triumphed taking his third consecutive Championship win, the first ever to do so, followed by Anthony O'Leary in second place and Niall Kenefick taking third place.

This exceptional result finally puts to bed any previous suggestions that local knowledge could prevail in the results by the competition taking place in the home club of the winner.

In his acceptance speech Nicholas said it was very difficult in the first race today to have to protest his father who was coming in on port to the mark but with a twinkle in his eye said it had to be done!

After it was all over one wag suggested to Nicholas that he should now seek to keep the trophy as he had won it three times in a row. The reply should be rather interesting!

Speaking at the reception afterwards the ISA said the three year sponsorship had now expired so they will be looking for new sponsors but such was their confidence in the continuance of the fleet they have already ordered new sails.

Results:

1. Nicholas O'Leary

2. Anthony O'Leary

3. Niall Kenefick

4. Garrett May

5. James Espey

6. Nick Walsh

7. Niall Henry

8. Ewen Barry

The re-run of the All Ireland Sailing Championships will take place in Kinsale and not Crosshaven on November 20th according to a press release from the Irish Sailing Association published today.

A minimum of three races must be completed for the competition to conclude and the ISA Helmsman's Trophy awarded.

The final, originally scheduled to take place in Royal Cork Yacht Club on the 26th of September, had to be abandoned due to an absence of wind.

The competition will be sailed in the ISA SailFleet J80's which are currently based in Kinsale Yacht Club. Due to the difficulty in safely sailing the fleet from Kinsale to Crosshaven the venue had to be changed, however the host club remains Royal Cork Yacht Club who are now kindly assisted by Kinsale Yacht Club.

8 teams will be competing for the ISA Helmsmans Trophy. As this competition is recognised as a new event, no previous points shall be carried forward. Each competitor begins with a blank score card.
The finalists are:
Anthony O'Leary
Ewen Barry
Garrett May
James Espey
Neil Kenefick
Niall Henry
Nicholas O'Leary
Nick Walsh

Who'll win? We're starting a readers poll on Monday. Click back to cast your vote!

After an abandonment due to lack of wind in early October and a long wait for news of a new date, the Irish Sailing Association has announced its All Ireland Championship will now take place on November 20th.The competitors have agreed to be available on this weekend to sail but the announcement on the ISA website does not name the venue, presumably the original location, Cork Harbour.  the finalists and drawn boats are:

Final Flight

1. McCann Fitzgerald Anthony O'Leary

2. D/L Marina Neil Kenefick

3. O'Leary Insurance Ewen Barry

4. Smyths Toys Nicholas O'Leary

5. Dyno Rod Garrett May

6. Smart Niall Henry

7. KPMG James Espey

8. Irish Examiner Nick Walsh

 

Following the abandonment of the Irish Sailing Association's All Ireland Sailing Championships in the last weekend of September the national authority is still seeking a suitable resail date.  "Currently we're in touch with the competitors. It's looking like the end of November", Racing manager Ed Alcock told Afloat.ie this week. The event was scrubbed due to lack of wind but a junior event was completed elsewhere in Cork Harbour.

A new Notice of Race (NOR) will be published for the event. Eight helmsmen, including the double winner Nicholas O'Leary will be invited in a new final consisting of five races. The eight finallists are Anthony O'Leary, Neil Kenefick, Nicholas O'Leary, Garrett May, Niall Henry, James Espey, Nick Walsh, Ewen Barry.

Following the abandonment of the All Ireland Sailing Championships at Royal Cork last weekend due to lack of wind the Irish Sailing Association (ISA) has yet to announce dates for the rescheduled event. An autumn date to accomodate all concerned is the objective, the association said yesterday. The eight finalists involved are; Anthony O'Leary, Neil Kenefick, Nicholas O'Leary, Garrett May, Niall Henry, James Espey, Nick Walsh and Ewen Barry.

Following the decision to abandon the final of the All Ireland Sailing Championships yesterday ISA Chief Executive, Harry Hermon has announced a new Notice of Race will be published for a rescheduled event at a date to be agreed writes Claire Bateman.

Eight helmsmen, including the double winner Nicholas O'Leary will be invited to participate in a new final consisting of five races. The eight finallists are

Anthony O'Leary
Neil Kenefick
Nicholas O'Leary
Garrett May
Niall Henry
James Espey
Nick Walsh
Ewen Barry

Forum Discussion HERE

Day 6: Tom Slingsby's two completely dominant victories today bring the Australian's third Laser world title in four years within reach. Ireland's James Espey from Belfast Lough is 34th in the Silver fleet.

In wind and sea conditions on Hayling Bay which were a virtual facsimile of previous perfect days, Slingsby seemed to have speed to burn. He finished a long way clear of his nearest rivals on the water in both races.

Now it would appear he just needs to stay clear of trouble and press the 'repeat play' button to be sure of equalling the three world titles tally of his compatriot Glenn Bourke. If he were to be successful it would be the perfect 26th birthday present to himself tomorrow.

After a Black Flag disqualification Friday Slingsby chose to start conservatively today and to then use his speed advantage upwind in the 13-15kts easterly breeze and a decent sized swell.

Sadly for Skandia Team GBR's defending World Champion Paul Goodison, his challenge to Slingsby evaporated on the first run of the first race of the day. Having worked his way up to fourth from a solid start Goodison was given his second yellow flag, for excessive body kinetics in the rolling swells of the first run. His second disqualification in as many days plunged the Olympic title holder to lie a frustrating 19th overall.

His compatriot Nick Thompson, the 2009 ISAF World Cup winner who finished third overall in Halifax last year, lies second overall but admitted to a real mix of emotions when he landed back at Hayling Island Sailing Club.

When he had needed to really impose himself on the first beat of the first race of the day in order to accelerate his title challenge, instead he found himself having to choose to do penalty turns for an infringement, starting up the first beat from last, 55th, but fighting back to sail his discard, 17th.

Thompson came back to a useful 12th in the second heat, preserving a strong set of scores in his armoury, 14 points clear of the St Tropez based French sailor Jean-Baptiste Bernaz.

Bernaz  has 18th as his Worlds best, was 31st last year, and finished eighth at the 2008 Olympic regatta in Qingdao, but after a 15th and third today now needs to hold off the immediate challenge to his podium finish from Cyprus' Pavlos Kontides who lies fourth.

Punchy starting was the key to back-to-back wins in the Junior World Championships first two finals races by Thorbjoern Schierup. The Dane's double bullet day sees him moving ahead of Italy's longstanding championship leader Francesco Marrai.

The oscillating breeze offered the quick starters an early opportunity to establish an early lead. Schierup was quickest off the line then unleashed his excellent downwind speed to record his to wins, now six points clear.
Britain's Alex Mills-Barton lies third, 13pts ahead of Croatia's Filip Jurisic.

Quotes
Tom Slingsby (AUS): "It was 15-16kts, nice waves, sunny a really good day for me. The first race I got a nice start near the pin end and worked the left side of the course and opened up a nice lead which I held. The second race I was not so good off the start line but got the first big shift on the first beat and I just lead to the top mark. I got overtaken by the German Philip Buhl on the down the run and overtook him on the next beat. I could not have asked for anything more today.
Definitely today the key was keeping clean around the course. I know I have plenty of speed so I just have to keep clear lanes, stay a little back off the start lines, I already have one yellow flag and so I am keeping my body kinetics to a minimum so I was just trying to do the small things well and that definitely worked.
Paul I saw him get that yellow flag and a little relief goes because I know how dangerous he is, he can be 30 points behind and still be a threat, but he is just one of 10 boats which can be threat, so there are plenty of other guys out there.
I need to keep myself clean again tomorrow, to knock in a good first race, and then I can assess after that.
I am really superstitious. I try to do it all the same every time, to stick to the same processes, so that is not necessarily a good thing going into the last day of an event. If some little thing goes wrong it might mess with me a little, but I am not too phased if it does not go well I won't get too bent out of shape.
Tomorrow's my birthday and the last day of the Worlds, so a big day!
But I can easily lose. In 2006 I lead for seven days of an eight day event and lost on the eight day. All I am thinking about it doing the simple things right, and keeping clean.
I am really fighting for every spot, even if I am back in the pack tomorrow I'll be fighting for every point come the end of the regatta.
What we did last week, even when we had a good lead, was no ever spoke about winning the regatta, we were all still on edge, trying to do our jobs as best we can. And that is what I am going through here, don't think about the result, just think about the process."

Paul Goodison (GBR): "The first race looked like it was panning out to plan. I got a good start and was steadily pulling through the fleet and was probably up to fourth place and I got my second yellow flag and that really was it all over after that. So now it is just getting round and finishing it all off. I think Tom has got the title wrapped up from here, so congratulations to him. He just has to hold it together and my regatta is over from here.
I think it's a tricky call. In 15-16knots with big waves downwind the boats are rocking around and everybody is trying to make the boats go fast, and so I think it is a bit harsh, it's a jury decisions so there is nothing I can do about it, I just have to get on with it.
I feel a bit gutted. Here, I wanted to do my best and unfortunately I haven't been able to do that because of the decisions, but in all fairness to Tom he is sailing well and thoroughly deserves it.
I don't think I am too far off. I have not done as much Laser sailing recently as some of the guys out there, so we are there or thereabouts two years out from the Games I am in with a good shot."

Nick Thompson (GBR): "Mixed emotions for me today. First race I got a good start and just infringed somebody slightly and through it best to do some turns. I managed to pull way back from there, really deep at the mark rounding, to a 17th, so that was a really good race. The second one I was just in touch but just not quite there, just outside the top 10. But, really a tough day. Going in to the final day in second is great. I was looking for a top three at this regatta  and that would be good. I think the best thing is my discards are not too bad.
Tomorrow will be like starting a new regatta, trying to get consistent results and see how I lie after the first race. I quite enjoy the breeze, but so does Tom Slingsby which is a little bit frustrating, he is sailing really well."

Jean-Baptiste Bernaz (FRA): "I made good starts and went fast. I am not so surprised to be doing well, but I am maybe a little surprised that I have been able to be so consistent. If you are consistent you do well. We trained here at a Qualifier here in June, but we only came here three days before the regatta. Tomorrow I'll just be trying to sail the same as I have and see how we go. I prepared well for Beijing, but since then we have been working hard to sail well in the stronger breezes so I feel like I'm well prepared for tomorrow no matter what."
"Last year I was in the 30's but here I am stronger, heavier, fitter and sailing better."

Thorbjoern Schierurp (DEN): "The starts were really important so that you could get out to tack on the first windshift, and if you could do that it was just wait for the next one. There were some big shifts, maybe 10 degrees coming in on the whole course, and if you could be the first one to get that, you were gone.
It is not a surprise to be this far up, my aim was top three all the time, and so I am pretty happy so far. Now I just have to go the whole way. Myself and the Italian guy are pretty even. Today I got the better starts and that made the difference."

Francesco Marrai (ITA): "I was not so fast in the first race. In the second race I was better so I discard the first race. Tomorrow I don't know it will be better than today. Today he was really fast on the downwind and he just stayed ahead. For sure today I can say he was the best."

Laser Standard Men's World Championships Hayling Island, UK

Standings after 12 races inc 4 of 6 Finals races
1 Tom Slingsby (AUS) 1,8,(29),3,1,1,5,1,(BFD),8,1,1= 30pts
2 Nick Thompson (GBR) 2,3,(25),6,9,7,9,8,4,2(17),12,=62pts
3 Jean-Baptiste (FRA) (33),2,14,12,5,1,(19),3,15,6,15,3=78pts
4 Pavlos Kontides (CYP) 4,3,21,4,5(27),1,1,10,15,(36),13 = 77pts
5 Andrew Murdoch (NZL) 6,4,11,2,8,(22),9,1,(24),14,8=87pts
6 Tonci Stipanovic (CRO) (19),14,15,4,1,8,2,11,3,13,(32),17=88pts
7 Joshua Junior (NZL) 3,22,1,2,7,5,8,(29),12,21,(25),7=88pts
8 Andrew Maloney (NZL) 2,(22),4,10,2,11,3,4,20,5,(37),35=96pts
9 Julio Alsogaray (ARG) 8,(39),11,17,17,6,23,5,(DNC),7,3,5 = 102pts
10 Andreas Geritzer (AUT),(33),6,2,1,2,(22),9,9,(37),16,16,25 = 108pts

Laser Junior World Championships
1 Thorbjorn Schierup (DEN) 3,3,6,(19),6,2,6,4,1,1 = 26pts
2 Francesco Marral (ITA) 2,3,(7),5,5,3,1,1(17),6 = 26pts
3 Alex Mills-Barton (GBR) 12,(BFD),5,2,1,(21),1,1,15,4 = 41pts
4 Filip Jurisic (CRO) 7,(35),1,27,1,(29),3,5,8,2 = 54pts

Ireland's front runner at the Laser World Championships after six rounds at Hayling Island is James Espey in 47th place from a fleet of 159. Ronan Cull is 148th and Paul McMahon is 154th.

On the strength of two impressive race wins in slightly stronger breezes today off England's Hayling Island Australia's double world champion Tom Slingsby stepped four points clear at the top of the leader-board after six of the eight scheduled Qualifying Races have been sailed.

The gentle, and at times fickle minded sea-breezes of the two opening days of racing gave way to a more consistent, ESE'ly wind which averaged around 11-12 knots and peaked at around 14 to offer both fleets, the Standard Senior Men's championship and the Junior Worlds, a brisker and more physical challenge.

But if the winds proved to be more settled in direction there was still no shortage of challenges and traps, not least managing the changing tidal flow of up to one knot. And the choppy, swell made for some fast, enjoyable downwind sailing.

Slingsby attributed part of his success today to his desire to stay super smooth downwind. After a yellow flag penalty for excessive kinetics on Tuesday he commented later that possibly the jury had done him a favour, the penalty was a key to him sailing very smoothly in the choppy waves, and in both races he was well clear of the pack when he took his second and third winning guns of the regatta.

Chasing hard in third overall Skandia Team GBR's Paul Goodison was forced to press his 'recovery mode' into action again today. Deep in the pack in the second race the Olympic and World Champion pulled back to seventh, keeping his world title defence firmly on target with all six of his scores Top 10 finishes.

Goodison shares the same points tally as New Zealand's second placed Joshua Junior who scored a seventh and a fifth today, retaining a level of consistency which he commented was 'a bit of a surprise.' With Michael Bullot lying fourth, the strong, tightly knit Kiwi squad now have four sailors in the top eight.

Austria's Andreas Geritzer, 2004 Olympic silver medallist had taken the overall championships lead after a second in his Race 5, to go 2,1,2 but he was snared in the thick of a raft of boats at the start of the second race and could not get away off the line.
After jumping from 50th after Day 1, to 5th last night, Geritzer lies ninth.

Giacoma Bottoli of Italy has managed to retain one of the most impressively regular set of scores so far. Lying fifth he is the only sailor other than Goodison to have scored the full half dozen top ten finishes.

In the Junior World Championships Italy's Francesco Marrai retained his overall lead today after a fifth and a third, lying two points ahead of Denmark's Thorbjoern Scheirup.

Quotes
Paul Goodison (GBR): " It was a tricky day all in all. I thought with the breeze in that it was going to be a little easier today but it wasn't. It was still quite shifty and the tide played a big part of it. The second race did not quite go quite to plan and I was in the 20's but I had good speed downwind and played the shifts well up the second beat."
"I think with it being such a long regatta it is all about trying to keep in single figures and I've managed to do that so far. I think for me that has been about not taking too many risks and sailing the fleet, but that is not easy because if you do get caught in the middle and it comes in from one side or the other then you do end up in the teens."

Tom Slingsby (AUS): "It was a really good day. There was a lot of current and everyone was really intimidated to get up on the start line but I had good transits and so I was able to start a boat length or two ahead of the boats around me. So I had really good starts, good speed upwind, but I was really fast downwind which is maybe a little out of the ordinary for me. I am usually an upwind specialist but today I was really quick. I am not too sure why. Yesterday I got a yellow flag and that maybe did me some good, I was trying to stay very still and today was a day about being very smooth and rocking really would not have helped you very much."

Joshua Junior (NZL): "The biggest gains were downwind for sure and so if you got to the top mark quite deep then you could really smoke it downwind and pass heaps of boats which was really fun and awesome. I struggled a little upwind.
It was a bit unexpected to do that well today again and really awesome to be up there and doing so awesome. Every regatta I am improving little by little, getting more consistent. Last year I was able to win races but still score the 30ths. Now I seem to be able to get back up to the top ten which is awesome. Over the winter we had some awesome training with seven of us, a couple of months in Auckland. Everyone is really close in training and works really hard."

Laser Standard Senior Men's Championship 2010
Provisional Results after 6 races including 2 discards.
1 Tom Slingsby (AUS) 1,8,(29), 3,1,1, 14pts
2 Joshua Junior (NZL) 3, (22), 1,2,7,5, 18pts
3 P Goodison (GBR) 3,1,(9),4,3,7,18pts
4 M Bullot (NZL) 1,2,5,(13),9,3, 20pts
5 Giacomo Bottolli (ITA), (9),4,3,6,3,8 24pts
6 N Thompson (GBR) 2,3,(25),6,9,7 27pts
7 A Maloney (NZL) 2, (22),4,10,2,11, 29pts
8 A Murdoch (NZL) 6,4,11,2,8, (22) 31pts
9 A Geritzer (AUT) (33) 6,2,1,2,22 33pts
10 L Radelic (CRO) 2,2,(42),1,18,10,33pts

Junior World Championships
1 Francesco Marrai (ITA) 2,3,(7),5,5,3 18pts
2 Thorbjoern Schierup (DEN) 3,36,(19),6,2 20pts
3 Keerati Bulaong (THA) (19),1,10,6,2,4 23pts
4 A Munos (FRA) (14),2,8,4,8,1, 23pts
5 M Kaeldo (DEN) 2,15,1,2,(16),16, 36pts