#laser – Tomorrow sees the start of the 2014 Zhik sponsored Irish Laser National Championships at Ballyholme Yacht Club (BYC) on Belfast Lough writes BYC's Mark Mackey.

The top Northern Ireland dinghy club is now expecting 130 boats with competition across all three fleets, especially at the top of the Laser Standard and Laser Radial fleets.

In the Standards, Olympian and multiple Irish National Laser Champion James Espey will fend off Finn Lynch who was crowned Under 19 World Champion last week with fellow squad sailors Fionn Lyden and Darragh O'Sullivan hot on their heels.

In the Radials, Olympian Annalise Murphy will have ISAF World Youth Silver medallist Seafra Guilfoyle to contend with as well as a host of Ballyholme YC's best Radials including Ryan Glynn (4th in UK Nationals), his brother Liam who was last year's Topper World Champion and Tim Brow, son of Event Organiser Paddy Brow and 7th in the UK Nationals.

Also look out for Ballyholme's Sarah Eames who has spent the summer competing across Europe at the ISAF Worlds, European Youth and World Under 19 Championships.

A mixture of conditions is forecast over the next 4 days with plenty of wind tomorrow afternoon and Friday. Expect to see Annalise excel in the breeze as always against the best of the boys, and catch most of those in the Standard fleet who start five minutes before her.

Aquece Rio – International Sailing Regatta 2014 has drawn to a close with the Laser, Laser Radial and 470 honours being picked up on the final day of action. Ireland's Annalise Murphy, a one time regatta leader in the Radial, finished tenth overall after a tough medal race finish yesterday where she picked up maximum points. The Dubliner is heading home having concluded that she knows what she needs to do to crack Rio.

Racing on the Pão de Açucar race track, a south easterly breeze in between 5-10 knots allowed all the fleets to conclude their racing. The breeze died towards the latter part of the afternoon.

'I finished up 10th overall in Rio today. I have learnt a huge amount about this place over the last two weeks and know what I need to work on to crack this place,' she said after racing yesterday.

Denmark's Anne Marie Rindom claimed a hard fought Laser Radial gold medal following a fourth in the Medal Race.

Rindom trailed overnight leaders Tuula Tenkanen (FIN) and Evi Van Acker (BEL) by two points heading into the final race and was able to advance up to the top of the podium as she explained, "I was in third position and I could become first. I was really nervous, obviously. I was trying not to be but you can't always do that when you have all the adrenaline going on. I tried to stay out of trouble and avoid contact with all other boats and just sail my own race by focusing on my sailing and speed and it turned out really great.

"I saw that the other girls in front of me got a really bad start so from there it was just follow them and make sure they didn't get ahead of me."

Midway through the race Alison Young (GBR) had moved into gold medal position as she took the lead. Rindom had work to do and with Tenkanen and Van Acker struggling behind her she pushed forward. She moved up from seventh to fourth by the conclusion of the race as Young dropped back a spot.

"It's a huge step for me," smiled Rindom. "It's pretty good and a good signal you can sail in the Olympic venue. I think Rio is definitely a hard place to sail. It's so much different to what we're used to in Europe so we're definitely going to have to train here a lot."

Young managed to take silver whilst Van Acker came through in eighth position to hand her bronze. With a ninth place finish Tenkanen dropped from first to fourth overall. Annalise tenth and tenth overall.

After a month of foreign competition – including a stint in the Moth dinghy – Murphy returns to Dublin for a one week break.

#AqueceRio_en – There were ideal conditions of up to 20–knots for Aquece Rio in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil yesterday as Ireland's Annalise Murphy confirmed her medal race participation in the Laser Radial with the title to be decided later today.

There will be some disappointment though that after leading the Olympic test event at the halfway stage on Wednesday, the National Yacht Club sailing star, who had a stunning 1,4,4 in the opening three races, has now dropped to tenth overall after a lowly 20.0, 12.0 and 19.0 in yesterday's final three rounds of the opening series. 

Regardless, the overall result is a credible peformance in a very strong fleet in some tricky conditions and the Dubliner progresses to the medal race stage because the ten boats ranked highest in the 25–boat fleet are assigned to compete.

Annalise said afterwards on facebook: 'A very difficult day yesterday inside Guanabara bay. I had some good moments but made quite a few mistakes including not checking my foils properly which caused me to sail an entire upwind with a plastic bag on my rudder!'

At the top of the fleet, two points split Tuula Tenkanen (FIN), Evi Van Acker (BEL) and Anne Marie Rindom (DEN) following a topsy turvy day on the Escola Naval race course. Tenkanen picked up an 11-2, Van Acker a 13-1 and Rindom a 10-3. All three sailors count their double digit scores to tighten the points up. Tenkanen and Van Acker have 30 points whilst Rindom has 32, Alison Young (GBR) is fourth on 40 points heading into the Medal Race that starts at 12:40 

Results here

#aquecerio – A light south easterly wind caused problems for Ireland's overnight Laser Radial leader Annalise Murphy at Aquece Rio, the first Olympic test event, yesterday in Brazil. The National Yacht Club (NYC) sailor admits to making 'a mess' of the race due to a seond lap error. She struggled in the typical Guanabara Bay airs and posted a 20th place finish. As a result, the Irish Olympic star drops to seventh. Race victor Erika Reineke (USA) moves up to sixth.

One of Annalise's arch rivals Evi Van Acker (BEL) moves to the top after a second place in Race six, the only race of the day for the Radial fleet. Van Acker leads Tuula Tenkanen (FIN) by one point whilst Anne Marie Rindom (DEN) is third, two points off Tenkanen.

Leader up the halfway stage of the competition, a practice for the Olympic regatta itself in two year's time, Annalise made the following comment (via facebook) about yesterday's single race: '...I was going well for most of the first lap but made a complete mess of the second lap so ended up not so hot by the finish. 3 races tomorrow on another race course inside the bay which should be fun!'

Rio was plagued with light winds across the five race areas making life difficult for the race committees and the sailors. A light south easterly breeze was present with all fleets.

Racing resumes at 12:00 today. The Finn Medal Race will commence first on the Pão de Açucar race area and will be followed by the Nacra 17 at 12:50, the 49er at 13:45 and the 49erFX at 15:00

The remaining fleets will start at 12:00 inside Guanabara Bay. 

Full results here

#annalisemurphy – Despite picking up a 21st place finish Irish sailing super star Annalise Murphy moved into pole position in the Laser Radial yesterday at the Olympic test event in Rio, Brazil. Racing on the big Copacabana race course waves, the National Yacht Club sailor from Dun Laoghaire had a poor opening race but hit back in the second of the day, picking up a third. 

Tuesday's rain was replaced with sunshine and a cool 15 knot breeze across the five race areas. The waves remained on the outside courses whilst shifty conditions on the inside courses was present, ensuring firm tests of tactical nous.

On her day Murphy said, "I messed up the first race. I wasn't feeling so good in that big swell. I hit a mark and went for a swim as well so that was pretty frustrating but I came back good in the second race. I fought back to second by last reach but then I got a bit high and Anne Marie [Rindom (DEN)] got by me but it was really fun out there. The waves were really big, sun was shining and the wind was in so it was good."

Like Burton in the mens Laser class, Murphy was quick to echo his point on Rio's conditions, "I think the last two days the waves are probably the biggest I've ever raced in. It's not what you'd be expecting when coming to Rio as people have been saying it's a light wind venue. We've had quite a good breeze over the last two days and huge waves and it's difficult but it's something we're all going to have to learn and get used to."

Marit Bouwmeester was the standout performer in the 25-boat Laser Radial fleet and notched up double bullets. Her opening three races were not quite up to the high standard she sets herself but she bounced back and is fifth overall.

Rindom is three points behind Murphy on 13 points with Tuula Tenkanen (FIN) in third.

The leaderboards across the ten events on show at the Aquece Rio - International Sailing Regatta 2014 are starting to take shape following four days of competition in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Medal Race places have been decided in the Men's and Women's RS:X fleets whilst the top batch of Olympic sailors have cemented their spots in the top places of the remaining fleets.

Racing continues today.

#aquecerio – Racing in big waves and a consistent breeze, the third day of racing at the Olympic test event at  Aquece Rio saw a range of conditions with wind and waves on the outside courses which were ideal conditions for Ireland's Annalise Murphy to make an early mark on Olympic waters.

The National Yacht Club sailor took an opening race win and followed it with two fourth places. Tuula Tenkanen (FIN) took a pair of bullets in the Laser Radial and with the discard being applied after three races she loses her DNC from the opening race. Tenkanen tops the pack on two points with Anne Marie Rindon (DEN) second on four points and Annalise Murphy is third on five. Full results are here.

The third day of racing saw a range of conditions with wind and waves on the outside courses and tricky breeze inside Guanabara Bay. 

A 15 knot south westerly breeze worked its way across the five race areas with outside courses Copacabana and Niteroi experiencing a stable breeze and wild waves. Inside Guanabara Bay was a different story with an up and down breeze that tested the sailors across Pão de Açucar, Ponte and Escola Naval.

Racing is scheduled to commence at 12:00 local time on 6 August. The 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 have four races scheduled whilst the remaining fleets will sail three.

#rio – For Rio de Janeiro's thousands of tourists Monday 4 August was the perfect day with a beating Brazilian sun, clear South American skies and the occasional gust of light breeze to cool down bathers on Copacabana Beach.

Unfortunately, for the 324 sailors from 34 countries – and Ireland's Annalise Murphy – it was not perfect conditions for sailboat racing at the Aquece Rio - International Sailing Regatta 2014 as light winds forced the Race Committee to cancel all the day's racing by 16:00.

Light winds were predicted for the second day of racing with a maximum of 10 knots on the cards if the breeze played ball. The wind failed to materialise and the decision to cancel the Laser, Laser Radial and 470 fleets, who were scheduled to race on outside courses Copacabana and Niteroi, was made at 14:50.

Fleets racing on the inside courses - Ponte, Escola Naval and Pão de Açucar - were cancelled shortly afterwards to bring an early close to race day two.

The third day of racing will see a cold front pass through Rio de Janeiro that will bring showers, stronger breeze and an increase in wave size. Having lost a day of racing all of the fleets will sail three races on Tuesday with seven set to commence racing at the earlier time of 11:00.

www.aquecerio.com/en/competicoes.php
www.sailing.org/2014-test-event.php

#ISAF – Annalise Murphy is down two places to 18th in the latest ISAF World Sailing Rankings published on July 28th. The Dubliner is in Rio for the first sailing test event of the Rio Olympics this weekend. This month she notched up another international win, this time in the Moth class when she became Womens world champion at the Hayling Island based event. London 2012 team–mates Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern have dropped outside the top ten in the 49er world ranking and now lie 11th. Fellow Belfast sailor James Espey has moved up from 62 to 58 in the Laser class. 

49erFX
1. Martine Soffiatti Grael / Kahena Kunze, BRA
2. Ida Marie Baad Nielsenn / Marie Thusgaard Olsen, DEN
3. Sarah Steyaert / Julie Bossard, FRA

49er
1. Jonas Warner / Peter Lang, DEN
2. John Pink / Simon Wheeler / Stuart Bithell, GBR
3. Julien D'ortoli / Noe Delpech, FRA

Men's 470
1. Mathew Belcher / William Ryann, AUS
2. Pangiotis Mantis / Pavlos Kagialis, GRE
3. Sime Fantela / Igor Marenic, CRO

Women's 470
1. Camille Lecointre / Mathide Geron / Helene Defrance, FRA
2. Jo Aleh / Polly Powrie, NZL
3. TIna Mrak / Veronika Macarol, SLO

Men's RS:X
1. Ricardo Santos, BRA
2. Mattia Camboni, ITA
3. Marcantonio Baglione, ITA

Women's RS:X
1. Flavia Tartaglini, ITA
2. Bryony Shaw, GBR
3. Laura Linares, ITA

Laser
1. Tonci Stipanovic, CRO
2. Nick Thompson, GBR
3. Pavlos Kontides, CYP

Laser Radial
1. Marie Bouwmeester, NED
2. Evi Van Acker, BEL
3. Tatiana Drozdovskaya, BLR

Finn
1. Michele Polette, ITA
2. Bjorn Allansson, SWE
3. Thomas Le Breton, FRA

Nacra 17
1. Vittorio Bissaro / SIlvia Sicouri, ITA
2. Ben Saxton / Hannah Diamond, GBR
3. Thomas Zajac / Tanja Chiara Frank, AUT

Full rankings here

#moth – Five Irish sailors – including three Olympians – got a lesson in the complexities of International Moth sailing at the Hayling Island class world championships last week. In an event won convincingly by Australian Nathan Outteridge, the National Yacht Club's Rory Fitzpatrick was one of two Irish skippers to make the 70–boat gold fleet. Fitzpatrick finished mid fleet in 36th with London 2012 49er helmsman Ryan Seaton of Belfast lough in 45th.

Annalise Murphy was next best finisher taking 17th in the 63–boat silver fleett but significantly it was a result that also gave the Dubliner the woman's Moth world championship title. Alistair Kissane was 18th and the John Chambers steered new Irish built prototype 27th.

The forecast for the final day of racing was for no wind, but it turned out to be a sparkling day with the best breeze of the week. Four races were held in glorious Summer racing conditions, with 10-14 knot winds, leading to very tactical racing.

Gold fleet racing started at 9.30am.

There were a few white-caps on the waves at the start of the final race - fantastic conditions.

The final leg became really unstable with all the leaders dropping off their foils at times. In the end Outteridge knocked in 15 gybes in a band of breeze to win the race by a country mile.

Nathan said about the final race, "It had got a bit soft in that very last race and I actually fell off the foils at the top mark. Josh Mcknight and Chris Rashley gybed in a really good puff, and I managed to gybe, get foiling again and did about 15 gybes down in this one little puff, turned around half-way to see how I was going and no-one was foiling so it was a pretty nice way to finish, to have a really big lead."

On Australia retaining the #MothAshes Josh Mcknight said, "Well I mean that's really all we come to these events for - the Moth Ashes. It's a great trophy to have as it puts emphasis on a bit of team spirit among Australia and England... A-Mac's got a knack for pulling something out of the bag, whether it be new kit or just a stellar result.

Top five, Gold Fleet:
1. Nathan Outteridge, AUS, 23 points
2. Chris Rashley, GBR, 33
3. Josh Mcknight, AUS, 34
4. Scott Babbage, AUS, 51
5. Ben Paton, GBR, 60

Full results here

#nyc – National Yacht Club (NYC) Commodore Larry Power says last week's Sports Capital Grant award of €77,000 from the Government will 'enhance the status of the National Yacht Club as a community based sailing club in Dun Laoghaire'. 

The Dublin Bay based club, the home of Olympic sailing star Annalise Murphy, will spend the grant on upgrading the NYC's boats and Ribs which will allow the NYC to provide top class facilities for its Junior Section, and an expanded Adult Sail training programme.

According to Power, the adult sailing programme has been singularly successful this year thanks to the vision and commitment of Sailing Secretary, Alan Dooley.

'The adult sailing course is a local based community facility, as it offers the opportunity for adults to both learn and enjoy the sport of sailing', says Power.

The club encourages participants from the local area and the wider community to enrol for this course and have received a very positive and enthusiastic response for all its courses.

The NYC also runs a school transition programme in attracting young adults from the local schools to experience the fun and excitement of sailing.

The most recent NYC sailing initiative is to encourage women on the water to participate in the DBSC Tuesday Club racing series using Club 1720 boats.