#sb20worlds – Shane Murphy, Daragh Sheridan and John Phelan of Howth Yacht Club lead Irish hopes at the SB20 Worlds in Italy. The Dublin trio are 20th in a fleet of 98 after six races sailed and might well have been higher only for a black flag scored in the last race this afternoon. Full results HERE.

Three races completed on Day 2 with the 98-boat fleet now divided into 'gold' and 'silver' fleets, determining who can challenge for the title. But there's nothing to split the leaders, with two teams tied on points after six races.

Torbole provided more classic conditions at Lake Garda for the second day of the 2015 SB20 World Championships, with the famous south to south-westerly afternoon 'Ora' breeze allowing six more races to be held, three each for the two qualifying fleets. The qualifying series is now over and one discard comes into play. Eight more races are scheduled – with just one discard allowed from the final races: there is no room for error over the next three days.

The large international entry is now split into Gold and Silver fleets, with the Gold fleet leaders vying for the title of 2015 World Champion. Competition couldn't be tighter, with the lead two boats each tied on 12 points apiece. Roger Hudson's South African 'Race Ahead – Spirit of Cape Town' had a super-consistent day, scoring a fourth and two seconds, while the French youth team 'Give me 5' from the FFV opened their day with a win, and went on to score another second and fourth.

Robin Follin of 'Give me 5' commented after racing: "So far in the regatta we've wanted to sail 'safe' so as to make it into the Gold fleet. Now we know our boat is fast, so tomorrow we should take more risks!"

Early leaders Ian Ainslie and Italian crew have dropped to third on 17 points after counting a sixth and fifth from today's races. There is little to split the fourth placed Russian team of Alexey Murashkin, who took two seconds today to end on 23 points, and the highly-fancied Ukrainian entry skippered by Rodion Luka, who is lying in fifth on 24 points. Luka scored two race wins today, but also finished in 19th place in the day's opener, which forces his 'Sky Line' team to count an earlier 12th place on their scoreline.

The first British boat is Joe Llewellyn in sixth place with 'Forelle Estates', who picked up his first race win of the championships today. He is tied on points with seventh-placed Russian entry Vladimir Prosikhin on 'Nika'. The first of a strong Australian entry is Glenn Bourke and Robert Jeffreys, currently in ninth place.

SB20 World Council Class President Ed Russo, who is racing on 'Black Magic' in eighth place, said: "It is extremely tough out there. The competition is incredibly tight and it's great to see the youth teams coming to the fore. We are looking forward to the final series – where it's going to get even tougher for sure!"

For some teams the no-hold-barred nature of the championship led to disappointment ashore, with Pieter Heyn and Rob Gullan's 'F5 Synthesis Team Gul' (GBR) picking up two OCS scores on today's competitive startlines. The Black Flag also caught a couple of boats out in the final race of the day. There was more disappointment still for Richard McAdam and team on 'Here Comes Bod' (GBR) scoring three DNFs today, after failing to sail with the correct fleet.

Those teams now in the Silver fleet aren't out of contention for a prize haul, as class builder and supplier Sportsboat World will be sponsoring the Silver fleet with separate bounty up for grabs, and from tomorrow the leaders in that division will be flying the famous bright pink spinnaker (Tour de France yellow jersey-style).

SportsboatWorld are also sponsoring a 'Nations Cup' prize for the best aggregate score for the top three teams from each nation overall. The main contenders expected to compete for this include France, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, UK, Australia and Ireland. Inevitably, with UK and Australia as the two leading teams currently some 'Ashes style' rivalry is developing...

#squib – A three-way tie at the top of the 2015 Squib Nationals leaderboard was settled in favour of David Jones and Mark Hogan from South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club writes Emmet Dalton. Saturday's final race was led from start to finish by the duo. That race saw the second overall going to their clubmates Nigel Harris and John Stephenson. The champagne-splashed podium was completed by Malcolm Hutchings and Andy Ramsey from Royal Corinthian Yacht Club.

On the final day, Principal Race Officer, David Lovegrove, set the fleet off under the U-Flag penalty system after some misbehaving during the first attempt. The 20kt southeasterly breeze in glorious Howth sunshine, with five 1,700m windward legs, made sure that the crews got their bang for buck. Without exception, "Squib Arse" was suffered by hard-hiking sailors! The visiting sailors would later express their gratitude to David for his skill and engagement with a fleet that enjoyed his communicative banter on the VHF all during the week.

The event was made all the more epic by the championship dinner. Even the traditional Howth Seventeen Footer Class would have been impressed by the array of precious metals and rare timbers presented. Top Irish boat was "Aficionado" (RNIYC), hard driven by John Driscoll and David Cagney to 9th place. The leading HYC Squib was the super-slippery "Kerfuffle" in the hands of Emmet Dalton and Neal Merry which ended the week in 22nd place.

Woe betide anyone who thinks that grey (or no) hair indicates an easy crew to pass. Such was the quality of the fleet that one previous champion noted that he would have been happy to end up in the top ten at the end of the week!

Howth looked fabulous in a week of sun and the competitors enjoyed a warm welcome from the members and fabulous food and service. So good was the championship dinner that the Squib Association Chairman announced that it was the best meal at any Squib Championships in 40 years! That opinion was roundly applauded by the 130 guests.

Thanks was also expressed to the Race Office team, Orla Sweeney, Dara and Lara Jameson, Emma Inglis and Alice Kissane and to the ever-watchful Fergus O'Kelly and his group of friendly tape-wielding equipment inspectors for ensuring that each boat complied with the rules.

Launching, berthing and retrieval of the boats was coordinated like a North Korean political rally by Pat McCaughey. Slick!

Finally, the top speed of the week was shared by "Alchemy" from Royal Yorkshire Yacht Club and Howth's "Kerfuffle" both hitting 10.2kts during Monday's screaming reaches. 

Additional reporting Vincent Delany

SQUIB NATIONALS 2015- day 6- Final Day.

The level and depth of talent in the 49 boat National Squib fleet was seen in today's race off Ireland's Eye at Howth. The wind was between 15 and 20 knots from the south-east. The outcome of the Squib Championship 2015 was yet to be decided. The three leading contenders being Malcolm Hutchings and Andy Ramsay from R.C.Y.C. in 'Lady Penelope', on 12 points, Nigel Harris and John Stephenson. S.C.Y.C., in 'Banshee', on 14 points, and David Jones and Mark Hogan, from S.C.Y.C. in 'Ric O'Shea', on 20 points. Which of these talented sailors had the ability to pull the championship out of the bag?
Unusually, the scoring system used allowed for two discards in eight race series. Would the winner be an older boat such as 'Banshee', no.65, or 'Ric O'Shea', no.136, or would it be the newer boat, 'Lady Penelope', no. 819? There was another significant variable in the mix, would the winner use Batt Sails or Hyde Sails? 'Ric O'Shea' is the only one of the three to use a complete wardrobe of Batt Sails the others only use Hyde Sails.
The course selected by race officer Dick Lovegrove was Course Number Two, a windward-leeward race of with five beats of 1.7km. each. The sea conditions were a little 'lumpy', and the tide was due to change mid-race.
On the start line the tide was flowing against the Squibs, which enabled the fleet to start on their first attempt, without recourse to the 'U' flag, which had been used for most of the races earlier in the week. The race officer did not use the dreaded 'black flag' at any race this week.
On the first beat against the tide it was 'Ric O'Shea' which appeared to get the bit between their teeth. The wind was steady in strength and direction, so it was a boatspeed race. At the first windward mark 'Ric-O-Shea' led from Gerard Dyson and Tony Saltonstall in 'Alchemy'. The locally Howth based 'Too Dee' sailed by Dave and Simon Sheahan rounded the mark within the top six boats. 'Banshee' rounded in about eighth place and 'Lady Penelope' about five places behind. These two had a lot of work to do, it was going to be a long nine mile race. On each round 'Ric O'Shea' sailed to her pre-determined tactical plan, and increased her lead until she was more than 100m. ahead of the bunch of Squibs following. 'Crossfire' sailed by Dave Best and Pete Richards worked their way into second place.
At the last leeward gate marks it appeared that 'Lady Penelope' had done enough to take her place on the podium and lift the championship trophy. But there was still one more beat to be completed, and the tide had turned. 'Lady Penelope' and 'Banshee' rounded different leeward gate marks, and by the end of the beat at the finish line, 'Banshee' had overhauled her opponent. As they passed the finish line the order was:
1st. 'Ric O'Shea', 136, David Jones and Mark Hogan, S.C.Y.C.
2nd. 'Crossfire' 797, Dave Best and Pete Richards, S.C.Y.C.
3rd. 'Alchemy', 800, Gerard Dyson and Tony Saltonstall, R.Y.Y.C.
4th.'Helmut Shoing II', Nigel and Jack Grogan, R.C.Y.C.
5th. 'White Magic', David Wines and Keith Davies, W.H.S.C.
6th. 'Moonstone', Malcolm Blackburn and David Shiel, S.C.Y.C.
7th. 'Pani-Munta', Mike Probert and Richard Delves, R.C.Y.C.
8th. 'Banshee', Nigel Harris and John Stephenson. S.C.Y.C.
9th. 'Lady Penelope', Malcolm Hutchings and Andy Ramsay. R.C.Y.C.,

So, who had won the championship?
Remarkably after eight races and two discards, 'Ric O'Shea', 'Banshee', and 'Lady Penelope' were all on equal points. Each had 21 points after discards.
'Ric O'Shea' discarded a 15th. and 21st. place. 'Lady Penelope' discarded 25th. and 26th. places. 'Banshee' discarded an 8th. and 29th. These figures are not relevant under the current scoring system, where a draw is resolved by the highest place boat in the last race which, as noted above, was won by 'Ric O'Shea.

RESULTS OF THE NATIONAL SQUIB CHAMPIONSHIP 2015.

1st. 1st. 'Ric O'Shea', 136, David Jones and Mark Hogan, S.C.Y.C.
2nd. 'Banshee', 65, Nigel Harris and John Stephenson. S.C.Y.C.
3rd. 'Lady Penelope', 819, Malcolm Hutchings and Andy Ramsay. R.C.Y.C.,

The top Irish Squib is 'Aficionado', 78, John Driscoll and David Cagney in 9th place.

Of the top ten places overall, 4 were from South Caernarvonshire Y.C., 4 were from Royal Corinthian Y.C., one from Royal North of Ireland Y.C., and one from Royal Yorkshire Yacht Club, which indicates that strong fleets at the local clubs are significant to developing the boatspeed necessary to win championship races under all conditions.

The top lady helmsman is Megan Pascoe with crew Hannah Stodel in 'Squibble' from Weymouth who finished in 31st. place. Their performance in this fleet is commendable. The also won the trophy for the top 'ParaSquibbers'. They were thrilled by the friendly and welcoming atmosphere which exists in the Squib fleet. They are newcomers in this fleet, and are more accustomed to the 2.4m. class, and Sonar parolympic circuits.

#squib – Yesterday the Squib fleet in Howth, north of Dublin, enjoyed conditions similar to those on Sunday last, with an offshore south-westerly wind blowing from Portmarnock beach at about 4 knots. Race officer David Lovegrove decided to postpone racing until the wind grew in strength and the direction stabilized. When the wind increased to about 6 knots, the race course was laid with windward-leeward Course 4, with a beat length of about 1.5 km. The cumulus clouds hung over the land, while over the sea there was a blue sky. How would the Squibs interpret this information?

The Squib fleet, as usual, rushed the start line, and the were recalled. On the second attempt the fleet started cleanly. Ian Peter Keely in 'Squibbo' from Waveney and Oulton Broad Yacht Club seemed to have great speed in the conditions, and quickly broke clear of the leading line of boats. He is the only boat in the fleet which uses Londen and Gray sails which appear to be tuned to flattish water. Many of the Squib fleet headed left, because the forecast had suggested that the wind would swing towards the south. However the wind flicked back and forth by up to fifteen degrees. Approching the windward mark, David Lloyd and Mark Stones in 'Incendio' appeared to hold the lead, but they were headed, and the lead boat was your race correspondent in 'Femme Fatale' from the Royal St. George Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire. However 'Femme Fatale's' lead was short lived as 'Incendio' led around the leeward mark from Cian and Finbarr O'Regan in 'Fagan'. On the second beat 'Femme Fatale' played the shifts like a boat more used to lake sailing. At the windward mark 'Femme Fatale' had a 2 boatlength lead from 'Incendio'. On the run 'Femme Fatale' stayed low, and benefited from a small windshift fifteen boat-lengths from the leeward mark, at which point the races was shortened, requiring competitors to beam reach to the finish line.
The finishing places were:
1st. 24, 'Femme Fatale' Vincent Delany and Joe O'Byrne, R.St.G.Y.C.
2nd. 160, 'Incendio', David Lloyd and Mark Stones, D. Portsmouth Y.C.
3rd. 65, 'Banshee', Nigel Harris and John Stephenson, S.C.Y.C.

Then the wind did as promised, and swung to the south east. The race course was moved accordingly. Again, it took two attempts for the 49 boats of Squib fleet to achieve a clean start in the 14 knot breeze. The tide flowing from the north was beginning to have an impact on the racing. There was a great battle at the front of the fleet, where David Jones and Mark Hogan in 'Ric-O-Shea' held a short lead from Malcolm Hutchings and Andy Ramsey in 'Lady Penelope'. These two gybed back and forth on the offwind leg at which stage the wind had dropped to about 8 knots. At the first leeward gate there was an interesting choice. Take the port mark and be swept around the mark or take the starboard mark where you were nosing the tide. Behind the first four boats a large numbers of Squibs reached the leeward gate at the same time. Some were lucky to round the leeward mark quickly and to get into clear air. On the second beat there was a sharp chop on starboard tack which slowed the progress of the Squibs. It was a long race with1.7 km. legs. After the first three laps the race seemed to be establishing a pattern, head left, and tack when you were fifteen boat lengths short of the layline for the windward mark. On the final lap the pattern changed, and it paid to go right. Many place changes occurred due to competitors failing to respond to the windshift. At the finish the places were:
1st. 'Ric-O-Shea', 136, David Jones and Mark Hogan, S.C.Y.C.
2nd. 'Lady Penelope', 819, Malcolm Hutchings and Andy Ramsey R.C.Y.C.
3rd. 65, 'Banshee', Nigel Harris and John Stephenson, S.C.Y.C.

The second discard has been applied to the results. The scoreboard has not changed much since yesterday and now looks like this:

1st. 'Lady Penelope', 819, Malcolm Hutchings and Andy Ramsay. R.C.Y.C., 2,3,3,(26),2,(25), 2.
2nd. 'Banshee', 65, Nigel Harris and John Stephenson. S.C.Y.C., 6,1,7, (29),1,3,3.
3rd. Ric-O-Shea', 136, David Jones and Mark Hogan, S.C.Y.C., 1,2,2,(21), (15), 14, 1.

It can be seen from above that despite the consistency of the counting results, each of the competitors has had some lowly placings, which they have been able to discard.

The leading Irish boat is 'Aficionado', 78, John Driscoll and David Cagney have dropped one place to 7th. place, with Cian and Finbarr O'Regan's 'Fagin' in 11th place.

The leading lady helmsman is Megan Pascoe with crew Hannah Stodel in 'Squibble' who lie in 32nd. place in the 49 boat fleet.

 

#squib – Visiting UK father and son crew Nigel and Jack Grogan of the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club at Burnham–on–Crouch in Essex made a clean sweep of the Irish National Squib Championships at Howth Yacht Club today. The pair took three race wins with a final score of eight nett points and did not have to sail the last race of the series.

Local crew Fergus O'Kelly and Jonathan Wormald were second on 22 points in the  26-boat fleet.

Recent Northern Ireland Champions John Driscoll and David Cagney got off to a poor start counting two disqualifications in the six race, one discard series but reocovered well – to also count three race wins – to finish sixth overall.

Third was 2012 Irish champion Aidan O'Conell and Ross Nolan.

Was the three day Squib Championships held in Howth Yacht Club on 19-21 June just like any other regional championships with the usual suspects at the top? The answer is no. Unlike other Irish events, we had two very welcome visitors from the UK.

They were the two class sailmakers, Dick Batt and Pamela Phelan in Squib, and Nigel and Jack Grogan in Helmut Shoing II. Did they take first and second places? No they didn't.

Race one was held on Friday evening on the course north of Howth harbour where the Nationals are due to be sailed in a weeks time. Helmut Shoing showed great speed in a 10 knot breeze and ran away with the race, winning by a few minutes. Second place went to David Eccles and Phil Hutchinson in Innisallagh from the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club, with third place going to Sam Lyness and John Reynolds in The Worm from the same club. The pattern appeared to be set. The UK teams to take the lead followed by the Northern teams. In this windward-leeward race there was a strong ebb tide and important tactical decisions to be taken on which leeward mark to round. In fact it paid to ignore the tide and to head left on the beat, where the wind pressure was greater. Three of the fastest boats in the fleet, Fagin, Aficianado and Arctic Fox which were all previous championship winners, were premature starters. This was to be significant in the overall championship results.

On Sunday there were three races, in the same westerly wind conditions. Race two was on the windward leeward course with Helmut ShoingII taking the gun from SB20 sailor Aidan O'Connell standing in for the injured Gordon Patterson with Ross Nolan in Quickstep III from R.N.I.Y.C. taking second place, and Fergus O'Kelly and Jonathan Wormaid in the mid-numbered boat Selik from the host club. Would it be possible for a mid-numbered Squib to produce consistent championship winning results?

Race three was also held in a shifty wind which flicked back and forth by up to 20 degrees. The early leaders Vincent Delany and Joe O'Byrne in Femme Fatale from the Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club and Royal St. George Yacht Club were unable to resist the pressure from astern and particularly from John Driscoll and David Cagney in Afficianado on the triangular course, so at the finish it was Afficianado, Femme Fatale and Helmut ShoingII.
Race four was a windward leeward race in the shifty wind, and again saw the cool crew in Afficianado, taking the gun from Helmut Schoing and Inishallah.
Overnight it was clear that it was going to be a high scoring championship with Helmut ShoingII holding a good lead from Femme Fatale and Selik. Every competitors required to improve his consistency. Who could achieve it?

On Sunday the forecast was for eighteen knots of wind from the same direction as the previous day which would certainly present a challenge to all the crews. The shorter windward leeward race was selected by OOD Harry Gallagher and his team in their new flagship Starship Wonderprise.
Helmut Schoing showed great boat handling skill by working through the fleet from behind to take a win from Selik and Quickstep III. The eighteen knot wind never arrived, but there were heavy gusts and also some confusing light patches in the shifty offshore wind blowing from Portmarnock which demanded quick gear changing from the crews. The flood tide remained strong.

By the last race it was clear that Helmut Shoing II with three wins, a second and a third place had won the championship. They headed ashore leaving the last race to the Irish to fight out the final race between themselves. It was a longer windward-leeward race in which the wind had shifted about fifteen degrees to the north. In the early stages Afficianado and Fagin were making up for their misdeamour in the first race. They seemed to be wired together in the lead with and invisible thread. Then on the third beat Inisallagh found a windshift by heading south, and she moved to the lead. Until the finish line these three boats and QuickstepIII fought to win the race, and potentially win the championship. At the finish line after five long beats Aficianado won from Fagin and Inisallagh and QuickstepIII.
What had happened to Squib? She showed astounding speed on the first beat of almost every race, frequently rounding in first place, thereafter the problems arouse, with minor breakdowns showing that unless your boat is well prepared and tried and tested, you are putting yourself at a great disadvantage.

Are the Irish happy to have amateurs and professionals racing together on the same event? The answer is a resounding yes!

Which sailmakers products won?
Helmut Schoing II- All Hydes.
Selik- Hyde main and Batt Jib.
Quickstep III- Not Known.
Femme Fatale- Hyde jib and spinnaker and Batt mainsail.

Next big event for the Squibs is the British Isles Championships also to be sailed at Howth from the 26th June – 3rd July. 

Results are downloadable below 

#Laser - Annalise Murphy has a new contender in the Laser Radial class on the Irish scene as Howth Yacht Club's Aoife Hopkins rises in the rankings.

Hopkins' 81st place in the world, according to the latest ISAF rankings, now puts her second nationally behind the Olympic standout, who last week took fifth place at the ISAF World Cup in Weymouth.

Hopkins also qualified for that event, being the youngest competitor at the age of 16 – which means she has years of experience to build ahead of her to show her true potential, and achieve her dream of a medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

That's quite an achievement for a teenager who's only been sailing the Laser Radial for two years!

#isafworldcup – Annalise Murphy is in the top three of the women's Laser Radial fleet at the ISAF World Cup fleet in Weymouth after today's two opening races in an 'uncommon' 15–knot easterly breeze. The Dun Laoghaire star scored a second in the first race and a sixth this afternoon in her 36–boat fleet. 16–year–old Aoife Hopkins of Howth Yacht Club, who earned her place by virtue of her performance (40th overall in an 82–boat fleet) at last month's Delta Lloyd regatta in Holland, lies 35th.

Belfast Lough's Ryan Seaton and Matt Mc Govern are 27th from 39th in the 49er skiff dinghy after counting a 13 and a disappointing 35 this afternoon. 

In the women's skiff, Royal Irish pair Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey are scored as 'did not compete' in the first three races of the 49erFX class. Unfortunately the Dun Laoghaire pair were unable to race as a result of Tidey's 'suspected food poisoning' or 'some sort of vomiting bug'.

Ranging from 10-15 knots, the breeze coupled with glorious sunshine, resulted in some exceptional racing on the 2012 Olympic waters.

The stakes have been described as high by the competitors competing in Great Britain and rightly so with internal Rio qualification battles on-going, ISAF Sailing World Cup honours, a share of the prize fund and Abu Dhabi Final spots up for grab.

Racing commenced at 11:00 local time and wrapped up early evening with the ten Olympic, three Paralympic and Kiteboarding events completing their race schedule.

Laser

New Zealand's Andy Maloney came out with intent in the Laser, taking the day one lead with a strong performance as he explained, "We had good breeze between 10 and 15 knots. It was pretty shifty on the course but I had good pace and played the shifts and managed to come away with a first and second which is pretty solid. It was a good day."

The Road to Rio is a hard one and as well as international threats, Maloney also has to contend with domestic rivals on his journey. With the likes of his compatriots Sam Meech, Mike Bullot and Thomas Saunders all capable of challenging for medals, Maloney feels no internal pressure, "It's good for us and the Australians to have a good squad and we're all pushing each other hard.

"It's exciting more than anything now in the Laser because it's coming down to the final part of the cycle so it's crunch time now."

Yachting New Zealand named six crews for the Olympic Test Event on 18 May – see release here - . And as stated, will consider nominations the Laser following the World Cup Weymouth and Portland. A good performance by Maloney could go a long way for selection with Bullot in 15th, Saunders 20th and Sam Meech 21st after the opening day.

Nick Thompson (GBR) was not far off of Maloney's pace, finishing behind him in both races to sit in second.

London 2012 Olympic silver medallist Pavlos Kontides (CYP) was almost as strong in Weymouth and Portland's conditions as he did so well three years prior. A seventh and a fourth puts him third overall but he's got his eye on the top, "I'm satisfied with my performance and races today but there's still a long way to go and I hope to move up. Having 40 top guys with this new ISAF World Cup, the stakes are high.

"You have to push to the end and every race counts. You can win this event without winning any races. Consistency will prove vital in the end."

The day's remaining race win went the way of Jesper Stalheim (SWE) who is fourth overall.

Laser Radial

The last time Marit Bouwmeester (NED), Evi Van Acker (BEL) and Annalise Murphy (IRL) competed against each other at Weymouth and Portland they were locked in a battle for Olympic medals.

Fast forward three years and they're fighting it out again at the ISAF Sailing World Cup.
Marit Bouwmeester (NED) was assertive on the race course, winning both races by a comfortable margin. The Dutch sailor, who won silver at London 2012, sits atop the pile with Evi Van Acker, London 2012 bronze medallist, trailing on five points following a 3-2 scoreline.

Murphy came through in second in the opening race and followed it up with a sixth in Race 2. She is third on eight points.

Great Britain's Alison Young sits fourth on 13 points.

49er and 49erFX

On the face of the 49er results it would be quick to assume that leaders Lukasz Przybytek and Pawel Kolodzinski (POL) were the stand out performers of the day. However, regattas aren't won on the first they. It takes a consistent performance across five days of racing to come out on top and the most consistent team of the day were the first placed John Pink and Stu Bithell (GBR).

The pair recorded a 8-3-9 scoreline and were the only team to record three single digit scores. "On the first day of the regatta it's always nice to start well and we're thrilled to bits with three top tens. We're fifth overall which is great and tomorrow brings another challenge because it's going to be windy and we'll be pushing on and hopefully get into that top three.

"It's a great fleet, the top boats in the world are here and no one is really missing. It's great that everyone is competing in the ISAF Sailing World Cup."

Bithell won silver in the Men's 470 at London 2012 and on his home waters he knows what the venue is all about, "You could argue that I know Weymouth fairly well," he said with a smile. "I've lived here for some years now, did the Olympic Games here and is there a home advantage," he pondered, "yes there probably is but incidentally we don't always get the wind direction we had today."

The Polish crew lead on seven points with Pink and Bithell four points off the leaders. Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen (AUS) and Dylan Fletcher and Alain Sign (GBR) are tied on 8 points in second and third.

Maiken Foght Schutt and Anne-Julie Schutt (DEN) lead the way in the 49erFX on three points following scores of 6-2-1. Alex Maloney and Molly Meech (NZL) follow in second place on six points.

Sarah Steyaert and Aude Compan (FRA), Tamara Echegoyen and Berta Betanzos (ESP) and Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze (BRA) are tied on seven points from third to fifth.

Men's and Women's RS:X

It's a British 1-2 in the Men's RS:X and Women's RS:X. Nick Dempsey and Tom Squires are locked on three points apiece in the men's whilst Isobel Hamilton leads Bryony Shaw by a single point in the women's.

From three races Dempsey and Squires took a race victory each with the third place Mattia Camboni (ITA) taking the other.

"We had nice racing, very close," exclaimed Dempsey. "Tom and I are quicker than the fleet. Our training's gone really well and we're starting to sail well. It's nice and quite good fun racing."

The pair train together on a daily basis which has helped them in the build-up to the regatta as Dempsey explained, "It's nice having a competitive training partner. When we train we know we're training against one of the fastest people in the world.

"You never have to compensate. If you're beating Tom then you know you're going fast. That is what we've always missed having with our training partners so it's brilliant news."

"It's nice and quite good fun racing Tom."

In the Women's RS:X, Hamilton enjoyed a solid day on the water, staying at the front of the pack notching up a 6-2-2 scoreline. "It was definitely my best first day at a World Cup so far," said the smiling Hamilton, "I would love to be able to hold on to first for the whole week.

"It was really good racing and it's really nice to be racing at home. Weymouth is a fantastic venue and it's really great to be back here."

Shaw is a point off of Hamitlon after her 4-1-4 with London 2012 Olympic silver medallist Tuuli Petaja-Siren third overall. The day's race wins went to Joanna Sterling (AUS), Shaw and Ingrid Puusta (EST).

Finn

Andrew Murdoch (NZL) opened his Weymouth and Portland account with a strong display in the Finn, notching up a 3-2 to lead the 24-boat fleet.

Murdoch, a 2012 OIympian in the Laser, used his experience to full effect at the front of the fleet. He has opened up a four point lead over Jonathan Lobert (FRA).

Giles Scott (GBR) took the opening race victory of the day and followed it up with a 12th. He is third overall. The remaining race victory went the way of Josh Junior (NZL) who is sixth overall but just three points off the third placed Scott.

Men's and Women's 470

It's like London 2012 repeated in the Women's 470 with the gold and silver medallists occupying the spots they claimed three years ago.

Gold medallists Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie (NZL) dominated the day by taking both bullets whilst silver Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark (GBR) were forced to look at the back of the Kiwi boat in both races as they settled for two seconds.

Tina Mrak and Veronika Macarol (SLO) sit in third after the opening two races following a 4-3.

In the Men's 470, Stu McNay and David Hughes (USA) have a tasty six point lead over World #1 Panagiotis Mantis and Pavlos Kagialis (GRE). A fourth and a second gives them the lead at the early stage but with their experience, they won't be getting carried away.

Victories on the day went to the Greeks and Ferdinand Gerz and Oliver Szymanski (GER) who are sixth overall.

Nacra 17

As of 19:20 local time Thomas Zajac and Tanja Frank (AUT) lead the way in the Nacra 17. However, many of the competitors sailed the wrong course in Race 1 with Race Committee protests and vice versa. A handful of protests remain open that may result in further amendments.

As it stands the Austrians top the pile on four points followed by Matias Buhler and Nathalie Brugger (SUI) and Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin (AUS).

Paralympic Events

London 2012 Paralympic gold medallist Helena Lucas (GBR) began her World Cup campaign with intent. Double bullets give her a two point lead over Antonio Squizzato (ITA) who finished directly behind the Briton in both of the days races.

Malaysia's Al Mustakim Matrin sits in third overall.

In the SKUD18, Marco Gualandris and Marta Zanetti (ITA) and Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell (GBR) are level on three points.

The Italian and British teams shared the top two places on the day, taking a bullet and a second apiece.

Will Street and Megan Pascoe (GBR) are third overall.

It is tight at the top in the Sonar with four crews locked on five points.

Norway's Aleksander Wang-Hansen, Marie Solberg and Per Eugen Kristiansen took the opening bullet of the day and followed it up by a fourth.

John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Steve Thomas (GBR) took the second bullet of the day but like the Norwegians also count a fourth.

Colin Harrison, Jonathan Harris and Russell Boaden (AUS) and John Twomey, Austrin O'Carroll and Ian Costelloe (IRL) notched up a second and a third each and are also tied with the Norwegian and Irish crews.

Racing resumes at 11:00 local time on Thursday 11 July with some great race action on the cards.

#optimist – The Optimist class will be team racing in the waters off Howth Yacht Club this weekend competing against each other to get a winner of the VP Trophy with races umpired by national & international race umpires writes Jill Somerville. This event is organised by IODAI & HYC together.

The Vice President's Trophy was inaugurated in 1986 and has been running on and off for the past 29 years. The trophy & event was created by Helen Mary Wilkes who at the time of inception was the Vice President of the world governing body for Optimists, IODA.

Helen-Mary and Robert Wilkes have been the driving force of Under-16 sailing globally. Their contribution to the global development of junior sailing has been immense and was recognized by ISAF a number of years ago when at the ISAF Council meeting in 2008, President of the International Sailing Federation, presented the ISAF President Development Award to Helen-Mary WILKES and Robert WILKES for their services to junior sailing.

Initially specializing in event organisation, Helen-Mary Wilkes became Vice-president of IODA in 1985, President from 1989-1998, Vice-President of Honour from 1998-2005. Helen-Mary & Robert Wilkes have been involved with the Optimist class for over 35 years and here in Ireland the IODAI class benefited considerable from Helen-Mary's vast experience.

She developed the VP Team Racing event which is a club event for Optimist sailors with at least one sailor of each gender on the team. Teams are made up of 4 sailors from the one club and for the 2015 event there are 8 teams entered. A schedule of 28 round robin races have been drawn up with each of the teams due to sail against every other team and then the option of a semifinals & finals weather & time dependent. Key clubs in the Optimist scene such as HYC, RCYC and R.StGYC and the IODAI world's team will all fight it out on Sat 13th in waters off HYC. There will be good viewing from Aqua restaurant or the pier in Howth. The wining club team will head to the Optimist European Team Racing Championships in Aug in Ledro Italy. Race Officers Neil Murphy & Richard Kissane will be hoping for a little more wind than is currently forecasted to get through the heavy race schedule and we hope to have a winner declared late on Saturday afternoon. IODAI wishes good luck & fair sailing to all in the event.

#hyc – Disappointment in Howth Yacht Club this afternoon after the cancellation of its eagerly anticipated Lambay race was scrubbed because of strong westerly winds. The Howth fixture is the second major sailing fixture in the Capital's waters to fall victim to today's weather. Earlier, Dublin Bay Sailing Club scrubbed club racing for an estimated 200 boats off Dun Laoghaire.

#wmrt – The World Match Racing Tour sees a new expanded schedule for the 2015/16 Season. The tour now consists of two levels of competition. Along with the usual 7 World Championship events the tour now includes a number of smaller competitions which are scored at half points but count towards the overall World Match Racing Tour Standings. Howth sailors Shane Diviney and Scott Flanigan have been competing in the first three regattas of the 2015/16 World Match Racing Tour season. It's another Irish dimension the tour that already sees Cork Match Racer Philip Bendon contest World Match Racing Tour on the Hamble.
Having narrowly missed out on selection for a tour card Diviney and the 36 Below Racing Team, with skipper Chris Steele of New Zealand headed to Long Beach California to compete in the Ficker Cup in early May. The event was a qualifier for the prestigious Congressional Cup to be held the following week. With the top two teams from the Ficker Cup qualifying for the Congressional Cup the objective was clear. The eight teams completed a double round robin in the fleet of evenly matched Catalina 37's. After two days of racing 36 Below Racing came out on top of the qualifying series only losing 2 of their 14 matches. They went on to win their semi-final 2-0. With a berth in the Final awaiting the team were relieved to be assured at least a top two finish and an entry to the Congressional Cup. The final saw the team come up against the local favourite Dustin Durant and his Long Beach Match Racing Team. Their experience in the Catalina 37's was not enough to overcome Steele and his 36 Below Racing team and they went on the win the finals 2-0 and take the Ficker Cup.
The Congressional Cup saw a big step up in the level of competition with most of the World's Top Match racers in attendance, including current World champion Ian Williams and defending Congressional Cup champion, Taylor Canfield. Racing was held just off the end of Long Beach Pier which attracted a big crowd of spectators each day. 36 Below Racing had a strong start to the regatta winning 4 from 5 on the first day of racing. They went on the finish the round robin in 6th position with a record of 6-5 which guaranteed them a spot in the quarter finals. The team came up against fellow Kiwi Phil Robertson in the quarterfinal. Phil sailed three perfect races to take the series 3-0. Although disappointed not to make the semi-finals the team were pleased with their performance in a competitive field. The event was eventually won by Taylor Canfield who beat Robertson 2-1 in a close final.
The World Match Racing Tour then moved to Langenargen, Germany with Scott Flanigan and Shane Diviney joining Mark Lees and his team from the U.K who received a wild card entry to the event. The regatta is known for its light and shifty race course making it extremely challenging to get the heavy Bavaria 40's around the course. The team made an impressive start to their first World Match Racing Tour event with a strong showing in the round robin with a score of 6-5. This left them in 6th place and gave them a spot in the quarter finals. They came up against the very experienced team of Eric Monin and his crew from Switzerland. Monin's experience prevailed as he did a better job of keeping the boat moving around the very light race track to take the series 3-0 in front of a spectator packed lake front. He went on to take second place at the regatta. The team were satisfied with their showing and finished a very credible 6th place.
It is only the beginning of a very busy season for both teams as they prepare to compete in a number of international regattas over the coming months.

#hyc – Howth YC Cruiser Classes are invited to race in Howth to Drogheda Yacht Challenge in conjunction with the Irish Maritime Festival and Drogheda Port. Howth Yacht Club has announced the revival of a once traditional race for all IRC cruiser-racers (and others) to the Boyne on Saturday June 20th. The race forms part of a fun-filled weekend festival that includes Tall Ships, boat races, swimming races, pirate battles, music, fairgrounds and a celebration of local foods.

'The Howth to Drogheda Yacht Challenge' is a race for cruiser-racing and non-spinnaker classes and also invites boats that might prefer a more leisurely cruise to the Boyne with an overnight in the colourful company of the multitude of visiting yachts and tall ships. The race commences in Howth Sound at 10:00, finishing in the mouth of the Boyne in the early afternoon. Entry is only €5 per boat.

Race prizes include the 'Howth to Drogheda Yacht Challenge' perpetual trophy as well as class prizes. It being an excellent distance for day-sailing, this 25 mile-long race will attract a diversity of entries from across all cruiser-racing classes, allowing keelboats ranging in length from about 25-60 foot to compete under handicap for the overall prizes. 'Parade of Sail' special prizes will also be awarded to best-dressed boats and to best 'pirate' crew.

Drogheda Port will host a lively afternoon and evening for all participating sailors including live music, food stalls, fairground, maritime art exhibition and lots more at their 2015 Irish Maritime Festival.

The post-race schedule includes:

Saturday 20th

· 15:30 Parade of Sail in Drogheda - including prizes for best dressed boats and best dressed 'pirate' crews.

· 16:30 Berthing by direction at the city quays.

· 20:00 Prizegiving BBQ at Scholarstown House, including complimentary burger and glass of wine for all competitors.

Sunday 21st

· Following a special ecumenical service in St Peter's Church, boats depart the city quays in parade from 12:00.