#Santander2014 - Ryan Seaton & Matt McGovern are the third and fourth Irish sailors to clinch their spots for Rio 2016 on Day 8 of the ISAF Worlds in Santander, joining James Espey and Annalise Murphy among those already bound for Brazil.

Despite still having one more race to go tomorrow (20 September) in the 80-boat 49er class, the Northern Irish pair have built enough of a points gap to secure a coveted top 10 nation place in the 49er class.

Only 10 places are up for grabs in Santander by the top nations from a competing pool of 33. But the Northern Irish pair, who previously sailed at London 2012, knew that to qualify for Rio at this early stage would significantly ease the pressure.

Upon hearing the news, Seaton said: “Getting the qualification for Rio is a big boost for us. It’s one box ticked but we still have a job to finish. We’re here to get a medal so we’ve still got to keep pushing hard."

McGovern added: “Now we can focus on events in Rio rather than having to compete in Europe at the other qualifiers. From a preparation point of view it makes things a lot smoother”.

Seaton and McGovern made waves when they began competing in Santander earlier this week, finishing second in their opening race and quickly stationing themselves at the top of the leaderboard.

After the initial two days of the qualifying series, the pair qualified with ease for the Gold Fleet. From there they have remained in sixth place overall and sixth nation.

After two races today it was confirmed that they had enough of a points lead to have earned Ireland yet another Olympic place. They will have one final Gold Fleet race tomorrow before the top 10 boats progress to Sunday’s medal races, where they’ll battle it out for the 49er world title.

Meanwhile, in today's 49erFX Gold Fleet, Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey had a physically and mentally gruelling four races. The pair capsized in the first race and were unable to finish. Things did not improve too much with a 25, 19 and 20.

However, they will have one final shot at Olympic qualification tomorrow where they must be among the top 10 nations. The pair are currently 14th nation.

#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

#49er –  In a certain boost to their debut season Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey will race in tomorrow's medal race at Kiel week regatta after five blustery qualifying races – that included a race win. 

Scoring a 10th today and dropping a 13th (discarded after 5 races) Brewster and Tidey now lie eighth overall in the Eurosaf Cup event, 20–points off the overall lead. (Download results below as a pdf file).

'We are pretty thrilled with our result as we have made it into the medal race tomorrow with the top 10 boats. This will be the first medal race we have ever qualified for' Brewster wrote on Facebook tonight.

The girls medal race starts at 10am on Friday and, according to organisers is to be broadcast live HERE.

A month ago, the Royal Irish pair were forced to withdraw from the Eurosaf regatta on Lake Garda when crew Tidey was injured in a high speed capsize. Thankfully, this injury appears to be completely behind them, with this week's performance in breeze a heartening result for the Dublin Bay campaign.

Admittedly the Kiel womens' 49erfx fleet is missing both the winner and runner up from the last outing of the ISAF world Cup in Hyeres in late April but the 33–boat fleet does contain the Danish pair Ida Marie Baad Nielsen and Marie Thusgaard Olsen who took bronze on the Cote D'Azur. Also in Kiel this week are top placed Italian and Dutch crews to reinforce the point that although Kiel may not be part of ISAF's world cup circuit it can still produce a hotly contested womens skiff event.

In the mens division, Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern, will also contest tomorrow's medal race. The Northern Ireland skiff pair won an ISAF silver medal at Hyeres World Cup Event in April and have proved quick again this week in breezy conditions. (See above vid).

More than 4,500 sailors from more than 50 nations with 1800 boats are racing off Schilksee from 21 to 29 June at the 132nd Kieler Woche, and they are fighting for titles and medals in 42 Olympic, paralympic, international and offshore classes. 

Medal Race: Front Runners From Five Nations
The wind eased for the time being. At the fourth day of Kieler Woche after three days of strong winds, there was only a light breeze on the outer fjord in Kiel. But that did not really make life of the race directors and sailors easier, since the crews proceeded on their courses at a snail's pace - too slow to get a complete race program done.

On Wednesday there will be the finals of the Olympic classes sailed on short legs and three courses. At 10am the 49erFX (TV course), Laser Radial (course India) and the Nacra17 (course Juliett) will start, followed by the 49ers at 11am (TV) and the Lasers (India) and the 470s Men (Juliett) at 11:30am.

Results: Kieler Woche day 4

2.4mR: (5 races)
1. Heiko Kroger, GER, 4 points
2. Barend Kol, NED, 9
3. Helena Lucas, GBR, 15

Sonar: (5)
1. Jens Kroker / Robert Prem, Siggy Mainka, GER, 4
2. Soren Werner / Christian Bauer, Lutz Rewa, GER, 8
3. Thomas Beer / Jorg Meierdiercks, Oliver Utrata, GER, 11

49er: (7)
1. Erik Heil / Thomas Ploessel, GER, 16
2. David Evans / Ed Powys, GBR, 26
3. Jacopo Plazzi / Umberto Molineris, ITA, 26

49er FX: (5)
1. Jena Mai Hansen / Katja Salskov-Iversen, DEN, 11
2. Victoria Jurczok / Anika Lorenz, GER, 15
3. Tamara Echegayen / Berta Betanzos, ESP, 15

Nacra 17: (6)
1. Allan Norregaard / Line Just, DEN, 15
2. Vittorio Bissaro / Silvia Sicouri, ITA, 18
3. Lorenzo Bressani / Micol Giovanna, ITA, 23

Finn: (5)
1. Bjorn Allansson, SWE, 16
2. Giorgio Poggi, ITA, 16
3. Tomas Vika, CZE, 17.3

470 M: (6)
1. Panagiotis Mantis / Pavlos Kagialis, GRE, 13
2. Mathew Belcher / Will Ryan, AUS, 17
3. Ferdinand Gerz / Oliver Szymanski, GER, 18

470 W: (6)
1. Lara Vadian / Jolanta Opar, AUT, 10
2. Annina Wagner / Elisabeth Panuschka, GER, 12
3. Alisa Kirilyuk / Liudmila Dmitrieva, RUS, 18

Laser Standard: (9)
1. Philipp Buhl, GER, 29
2. Karl-Martin Rammo, EST, 33
3. Tobias Schadewaldt, GER, 40

Laser Radial: (4)
1. Lisa Fasselt, GER, 10
2. Tatiana Drozdovskaya, BLR, 10
3. Pauline Liebig, GER, 21

Melges 24: (7)
1. Riccardo Simoneschi / Enrico Fonda, Stefano Orlandi, Federico Buscaglia, Lucia Giorgetti, ITA, 8
2. Kim Christensen / Peter Jakobsen, Mads Holmer, Jamie Lea, DEN, 11
3. John Den Engelsman / Rikst Dijkstra, Willem Jan Van Dort, Rinse Ubbink, Irena Doets, NED, 27

Platu 25: (7)
1. Gordon Nickel / Morten Nickel, Nils-Mathes Fiege, Nils Merten Farber, Sebastian Roske, GER, 9
2. Ingo Lochmann / Christian Maedel, Matthias Kruger, Jens Steinborn, Timo Chorrosch, GER, 21
3. Eiko Powilleit / Robert Heymann, Frank Barownick, Thomas Schuler, Andreas Gluschke, GER, 22

J/70: (7)
1. Claas Lehmann / Marc-Daniel Mohlmann, Bjorn Athmer, Valentin Zeller, GER, 14
2. Wouter Kollmann / Kim Platteeuw, Gilbert Figaroa, Wick Hillege, NED, 20
3. Michael Ilgenstein / Finn Mrugalla, Jan-Ole Burzinski, Terje Klockemann, GER, 21

J/80: (7)
1. Martin Menzner / Frank Lichte, Mika Rolfs, Carsten Hopp, GER, 6
2. Soren Hadeler / Peer Schickedanz, Henning Buchmann, Simon Bodermann, GER, 17
3. Hauke Kruss / Ole Sartori, Rune Schytt-Nielsen, Peer Kolberg, GER, 20

SB20: (7)
1. Alexey Murashkin / Kirill Frolov, Egor Ignatenko, RUS, 9
2. Marco Van Driel / Joost Assmann, Martijn Worseling, NED, 13
3. Leonid Altukhov / Igor Matviienko, Ruslana Taran, RUS, 19

Albin Express: (7)
1. Arne K Larssen / Merle Risy, Steffen Muhlenkamp, Sebastian Hantke, Nils Albrecht, SWE, 7
2. Andreas Pinnow / Jan Heinecke, Frieder Neu, Malte Nathke, Julian Heller, GER, 11
3. Mark Schuerch / Dirk Hornschuh, Soren Hesse, Raoul Kubler, GER, 28

Offshore:

ORC I IDM (6):
1. Platoon, Harm Muller-Speer, GER, 7.5
2. Desna, Sven Wackerhagen, GER, 21.5
3. Oxygen, Morton Ulrikkeholm, NOR, 22

ORC II IDM (6):
1. Rockall IV, Christopher Opielok, HKG, 11
2. X-Day, Niels Gauter, GER, 20
3. Sirena, Peter Buhl, DEN, 23

ORC III/IV IDM (6):
1. Sportsfreund, Axel Seehafer, GER, 10
2. Solconia, Max Gurgel, GER, 11
3. Patent3, Jens Tschentscher, GER, 13

#sailDLR2014 – Dublin Moth sailor Rory Fitzpatrick lies tenth overall after tricky winds dominated the third day of racing at the Delta Lloyd Regatta in Holland.

The day looked perfect for sailing, but the word from the sailors coming shore was of shifty, gusty winds that kept everyone on their toes through the day.

Fitzpatrick's Irish team mates on the Isselmeer at Medemblik include 49er pair Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern in 11th place, Finn Sailor Robert O'Leary in 13th place, Laser man James Espey in 14th, and John Twomey eighth in the Sonar. Dublin's Jade O'Connor lies eighth in the kitesurf event. Full results here.

Forecasts of a significant drop in the wind in the afternoon were luckily wrong, and while the wind did decrease from the 15-18 knots in the morning there was still a healthy breeze late in the afternoon when the Moths were finishing their final race of the day. And the sun shone down on the 350 sailors from 49 nations all day long. It was a great day to be sailing.

Megan Pascoe (GBR) had a perfect day in the 2.4 mR with two race wins. Michelle Broekhuizen and Marieke Jongens (NED) in the women's 470, Nicholas Heiner (NED) in the Laser, Marit Bouwmeester (NED) in the Laser Radial, Phillip Kasueske (GER) in the Finn, Zofia Klepacka (POL) in RS:X women, Alexandra Rickham and Niki Burrell (GBR) in the Skud 18 and Bruno Jourdren, Eric Flageul and Nicolas Vimont-Vicary (FRA) in the Sonar all maintained their leads.

There were new leaders in the men's 470 with Onan Barreiros Rodriguez and Juan Curbelo Cabrera (ESP), in the 49er with Pavle Kostov and Petar Cupac (CRO), in the Nacra with Billy Besson and Marie Riou (FRA), in the RS:X men's with Louis Giard (FRA).

Today was also the first day for the two demonstration events, the Kitesurfers and the Moths. Both fleets enjoyed showing off what they could in waters off Medemblik.

470 Men

A second and a third place today was enough for Onan Barreiros Rodriguez and Juan Curbelo Cabrera (ESP) to take the overall lead in the 470 men. Barreiros commented, "Today was difficult because the wind was nice, but so shifty. Also the first mark was close to the beach. Today we are happy at the end with a second and a third. Our first day here was really bad, when we collected 24 points, but tomorrow we will aim for top five and try and keep first overall."

"We are using new sails here and I need to test them at a regatta before the Europeans. It's different to test in training and a regatta. But I am very happy with the new sails, especially the spinnaker."

Luke Patience and Elliot Willis (GBR) dropped to second after picking up a black flag disqualification (BFD) in the first race, and then placing tenth in the second. Patience said, "It was a tricky start. The flag and the hooter were not timed the same and we had set our watch at clearly the wrong time, so we were just over a metre too early, but it was our misjudgement."

"In the last race we were in good control, and then the race went from pretty big gusts up to 17 knots down to suddenly high wiring at about 7 knots and when it does that, when you have created so much leverage planing, you are really exposed, and we just got it wrong. We were in the wrong place. And then when you're not planing you just can't get back. A small error turned out to be huge in terms of numbers, so a bit frustrating."

Giulio Desiderato and Andrea Trani (ITA) also picked up a BFD to drop to third. The second race of the day was won by Asenathi Jim and Roger Hudson (RSA). Hudson said, "It was nice that we got some breezy conditions. It made a bit of a change and we enjoyed that. In the first race we had a good start and were in a great spot but we broke our vang, and had to fix that in the middle of the race and it cost us a lot, but we managed to get back to eighth. So that wasn't too bad.

"In the second race we had a similar start and strategy and it went very well and we ended up leading at the top mark. Although it was fairly breezy the wind was really up and down, so it was absolutely critical to stay in the big pressure. That made life quite difficult defending, but we did a pretty good job with a lot of experienced, high quality guys on our tail. We were very happy to close out the win."

For Jim and Hudson, the Delta Lloyd Regatta marks three years since they first sailed together. "The Delta Lloyd Regatta marks the anniversary of when we started sailing together here in 2011 and we like to come back here because it reminds us where we started."

470 Women

Michelle Broekhuizen and Marieke Jongens (NED) won the first race and then placed fourth in the second to maintain their lead. Broekhuizen said, "We had an OK day. The first race was pretty windy and the second it decreased a bit. It's like paradise now, windy and sunny. We are still in a process learning a lot. Our expectation was not to win here, we are just expecting to learn a lot, and that's our focus. We're not really focussing on the results, though it would be nice to win."

Afrodite Kyranakou and Anneloes van Veen (NED) are still in second after a 6, 2 today. Kyranakou said, "It was a challenging day because the wind was shifting every two minutes, with many pressure differences. In the first race we had to come back at the start because we were over. And then we needed to catch up a lot. We didn't quite make top five, which is always our goal, but we were close. In the second race we had some speed problems, but we caught up with tactics and a good downwind to second, so that was good. We are happy with the week. Of course we are still making a lot of mistakes, so we want to improve a lot. You are never good enough."

"We are showing, that with our sparring partners Michelle and Marieke, that we have trained well recently and it's good to see that we are closer together and we are beating the rest of the fleet. It's good to see we have both made so much progress and the programme we have together is making us both better and that is very positive."

Linda Fahrni and Maja Siegenthaler (SUI) are still third after a 3, 8 but the points are now very close. The second race was won by Anna Burnet and Flora Stewart (GBR). Burnet said, "It was quite a shifty race but we got a good start at the pin end and had good speed up the first beat. We worked our way up with the shifts and pressure, and rounded in front of everybody and held that for the rest of the rest, which was a bit tricky as it was so shifty, but managed to keep the lead."

"We've had a bit of time off, so it's important for us to get back into it and do some racing. It's the best way to learn really. And we ended the Dutch girls winning streak today."

49er

There is a new leader in the 49er fleet with Pavle Kostov and Petar Cupac (CRO) moving three points clear after another three races were sailed. Former leaders Erik Heil and Thomas Ploessel (GER) had a high score day, but only dropped to second while Dylan Fletcher and Alain Sign (GBR) fared better to move up to third.

John Pink and Stuart Blithell (GBR) dominated the first two races with two bullets, while Frederico Alonso and Arturo Alonso (ESP) won the third race of the day.

RS:X Men

After winning the first race Przemyslaw Mirczynski (POL) slipped up with two mid fleet scores to drop to fifth. Louis Giard (FRA) had the best day with a 3, 5, 1 to move into a narrow lead over Dorian van Rijsselberghe (NED). The second race was won by third overall Piotr Myszka (POL).

RS:X Women

Zofia Klepacka (POL) solidified her overall lead with two race wins and a second place to take a six point lead after eight races. Malgorzata Bialecka (POL) won the third race of the day to move up to second overall while three top four positions keeps Lilian de Geus (NED) firmly still in the race, sandwiched between the four Polish sailors.

Nacra 17

The 35 Nacra sailors produced the expected spectacle with hulls flying, crashes and even a breakage as the mast on the boat of Lucy Macgregor and Andrew Walsh (GBR) came down after a capsize. Up to that point they had been having a great week.

Despite posting a 3, 22, 10, Billy Besson and Marie Riou (FRA) moved into the overall lead, overtaking Franck Cammas and Sophie de Turckheim (FRA). Darren Bundocck and Nina Curtis (AUS) took a race win to stay in third. The other race wins went to Audrey Ogereau and Matthieu Vandame (FRA) and Flora Laugier and Valentin Bedllet (FRA).

Finn

Phillip Kasueske (GER) maintains his overall lead with a 3, 4, though it is now down to a single point from Pieter-Jan Postma (NED). Jake Lilley (AUS) is now up to third, after he and Postma both picked up a first and second today in the stronger winds.

Lilley said, "We had a bit of wind today and it was much nicer to be able to use our speed a bit more. I think the biggest change today was that so far PJ and myself have been sailing too conservatively, and these kids have been getting round us on the corners. We changed it today and were a bit more aggressive. In the second race PJ and I both came off the pin. We were being quite bold, but the wind went right and we were back in the fleet again. But this time we managed to fight through the fleet for a 1, 2 finish."

Despite Oscar flag being displayed for free pumping on the downwinds, Postma picked up a yellow flag for having his boom in the water while pumping in the second race, which he admits probably cost him a second race win.

Lilley continued, "Each day we have been up the front, but what's been happening is that on the second beat these kids have been punching out from us while we are still kind of sailing up the middle because that's what you do in the bigger fleets. Anyway, it's something different and heaps to learn. And this eight race series format is quite interesting. With a small fleet it brings a different aspect to the racing."

"It was pretty nice today again. The last three days have been glamour, and definitely the best weather we have had so far this season out of any of the regattas."

Laser

Nicholas Heiner (NED) started the day by winning his third race of the week and then placed eighth in the second to end the day with a seven point lead. Sam Meech (NZL) is still proving to be the best of the chasing Kiwis, while Andy Malony (NZL) remains in third, though on equal points with the next two boats.

Laser Radial

Marit Bouwmeester (NED) continues to lead the Laser Radial fleet though she didn't have things all her own way. Alicia Cebrian Martinez de Lagos (ESP) remains in second with Evi van Acker (BEL) in third. The race wins went to fourth placed Isabella Bertold (CAN) and van Acker.

Sonar

After six races there is just five points separating the top three boats in the three man keel boat. Bruno Jourdren, Eric Flageul and Nicolas Vimont-Vicary (FRA) still lead from Colin Harrison, Jon Harris and Russell Boaden (AUS) and Aleksander Wang-Hansen, Marie Solberg and Per Eugen Kristiansen (NOR). Race wins went to the Norwegian and Australian teams.

Skud 18

There is just one point in it in the Skud fleet after Marco Gualandris and Marta Zanetti (ITA) produced two bullets in the increased wind today, while regatta leaders Alexandra Rickham and Niki Burrell (GBR) picked up two second places. Vera Voorbach and Jan Rein van Essenveld (NED) remain in third, eight points adrift of the leaders.

2.4 mR

Megan Pascoe (GBR) looks to be running away with the 2.4mR class after two more race wins today, to extend her lead to eight points over Helena Lucas (GBR). Matt Bugg (AUS) is in third, another four points adrift.

Pascoe said on her day, "It was a very good day for me with two wins and it was quite breezy at times. The first race really quite windy with shifts from the right. It was mainly a speed race which I seemed to win. Downwind was quite fun playing on the waves. Otherwise an uneventful race."

"The second race was lighter but choppy as usual. It was more tricky with a lot more shifts and boats coming back from the left and the right. The gusts were also a lot more shifty. Some had gusts and some weren't so that made it much trickier. But there were five or six of us up there. Every time someone tacked it looked like they were winning and then the next person tacked and they looked like they were winning. But I got a nice shift at the bottom of the second beat and that gave me the lead for the rest of the race."

Demonstration events

The Kite and the Moth were both began racing today as demonstration events at the Delta Lloyd Regatta. The 21 kites sailed a series of five or six person round robin heats through the day. After five sets of races, Oliver Bridge (GBR) is tied on points with Florian Gruber (GER), with Alejandro Climent Hernandez (ESP) just two points back in third.

Chris Rashley (GBR) won three of the four races in the Moth fleet, with Ben Paton (GBR) picking up three second places and then a win in the final race. The British sailors made a top three with Tom Offer (GBR) finishing the day with a third place to move into third place overall.

#deltalloydregat – Royal Cork's Robert O'Leary made his international debut in the Finn single hander dinghy at the Delta Lloyd Regatta in Holland yesterday. The Munster man is among a team of three Irish Olympic and Paralympic teams but last year's Gold medal winner Annalise Murphy is not competing this week.O'Leary (younger brother of double Olympian Peter) lies tenth overall in his 14–boat fleet having scored a 13 and 9 in the first two rounds.

Yesterday, 350 sailors from 49 nations enjoyed some close, tactical racing in light to moderate winds and very warm temperatures at the second Eurosaf Cup event.

Recent World Cup Silver medallists Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern lie eighth in the 34–boat 49er class, James Espey is 22 from 43 in the Laser Standard and the Paralympic Sonar team; John Twomey, Ian Costello and Austin O'Carroll are lying nine from ten starters.

Racing started on time at 11.00 in 9-11 knots from the south-west and slightly overcast skies, and later rose to around 15 knots, though there were some significant wind shifts through the day, that mixed up some fleets and delayed others.

In general, the favourites found there way to the front, though there were a few surprise performances through the day. In the Finn Philip Kasueske (GER) posted a perfect day with two bullets, as did Michelle Broekhuizen and Marieke Jongens (NED) in the 470 women.

The Polish sailors dominated the RS:X events with Pawel Tarnowski (POL) winning two races in the RS:X Men with Przemyslaw Miarczynski (POL) winning the third, and Maja Dziarnowska (POL) leading a Polish top three in the women's fleet.

In other fleets there was some very tight racing with the honours split between the sailors. But the message from the returning sailors was always the same: this year is a lot nicer than last year.

The last fleets came ashore just after 16.00, completing the full programme on the first day of the regatta.

Racing continues Wednesday at the slightly earlier time of 10.00. Full results for each class can be found at: results.deltalloydregatta.org

#olympicsailing – Annalise Murphy took another race win to make it three in a row for the Laser Radial European champion on Lake Garda yesterday but a 16th in race six yesterday evening may yet prove costly for the Dubliner who is defending her Eurosaf crown at Vela Garda Trentino, Italian Olympic week. She counts 23 points overall, just three points off overall leader, the Italian Silvia Zennaro.

Conditions were lighter than normal on the lake with the local Ora wind not as strong as had been forecast.

In the mens 49er, Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern dropped to fourth yesterday in their 23–boat fleet having previously held second overall.  

In the women's 49erfx Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey are 17th after nine races in their 28–boat fleet.

Full results here. Racing continues this morning.

#irishsailing – After five years of economic contraction, there are signs of recovery, and the 2014 Irish sailing season has also got off to a flying start. W M Nixon looks at various signs of new energy and initiatives, and sees how they might be affecting stories which have been run on this blog and in the Afloat.ie website during the past year. But he concedes that further cost reductions will be necessary for the good of the sport.

A year ago, any talk of green shoots in Ireland was almost entirely metaphorical. And it was in the economic sphere, though even there they were still few and far between, with many soon stunted. But out in the farmers' fields themselves, out where the grass should have been growing, there was scarcely a sign of life as we were still trapped in the coldest and most miserable Spring in living memory, and all forms of growth and recovery were blighted by it.

Sailing and boating, of all sports, are the most affected by Ireland's climatic conditions. Not only is the mood among participants strongly influenced by weather which sometimes can get anyone down, but without reasonable breezes, sailing events are seriously impaired. "We got a result!" may well be the PRO's final desperate claim after pulling some sort of a points table and leaderboard out of a series bedevilled either by too much or too little wind. But it's so much better to have a series bathed in sunshine and blessed by fine breezes, with enough races sailed for the crews to go home tired but happy without needing recourse to any of those weasel words which show you're only trying to justify a weekend of frustration.

Things could not be more different this year. The Spring of 2014 has been perfection, boats are going afloat on time and in reasonable weather conditions, and the first little crop of events and results are very encouraging indeed - so encouraging, in fact, that "little crop" doesn't do them justice.

That said, two of the nearer events which gave special cause for Irish celebration did not have perfect weather throughout. The Youth Sailing Nationals at Howth may have ended on a high with a great breeze in an early taste of summer sunshine, but one day out of the four was lost to bad weather. But the sting of that was lessened by the decision for "no racing all day" being taken at 1100hrs, which allows other leisure options to kick in.

The IRC Easter Championship in the Solent concluded through Easter Monday literally with "Darkness at Noon" – the heavy clouds and torrential rain on an almost windless day saw the final races being sailed with nav lights on. But there had been excellent racing on earlier days, and a very excellent result with Anthony O'Leary's Ker 39 Antix from Cork the clear supreme champion.

Doing the business. Anthony O'Leary's Ker 39 Antix settling into the groove on the way to the top place in the Easter IRC Championship. Photo: Rick Tomlinson

That in turn augured well for Ireland's Commodore's Cup chances, which then received a further boost last weekend when the crew of another Irish team wannabe, Quokka with Michael Boyd and Niall Dowling, had a winning weekend in the Warsash series with their temporary mount Tarka in anticipation of Quokka's return from the Caribbean at the end of May.

The Colours Match team racing between UCD and Trinity served up top sport in the Liffey, with Trinity winning. Photo: W M Nixon

Meanwhile the universities racing has been brought to life, for although UCD had a convincing win in the racing with the SailFleet J/80s to become the Irish team for the Student Yachting Worlds in France in the Autumn, before April was out the Colours Match in the Liffey under the burgee of the Royal Alfed YC, team-raced in Fireflies, saw Trinity take the honours in convincing style.

But if we're looking for something which really did set things freshly alight, it was out in Hyeres where the ISAF Championship saw the northern duo of Ryan Seaton & Matt McGovern take silver in the 49er, almost immediately moving them up the global rankings from 33 to 11, a quantum leap and no mistake.

The potential for serious success by these two has been fairly obvious for some time, but anyone who sails boats will know only too well how many factors have to come into alignment to get you up among the magic metals at the end of the day.

Stars of the silver sea – the Seaton/McGovern team took a silver medal for Ireland at Hyeres.

That their new global status was almost immediately acknowledged by this rankings improvement will in turn add heft to everything they do and say. Thus when, some time ago, the Ryan/Seaton equipe suggested that the 2016 Olympics sailing waters in Brazil are so off the standard as to be a health hazard, it attracted polite attention. But now that they're Number 11, and still counting down, much more notice is taken. And the fact that the Vice President of the International Olympic Committee has suggested, with something approaching despair, that the facilities in Brazil just aren't going to be ready for 2016 at any standard, all gives added legs to the statement from Ireland's 49er crew.

This in turn makes us wonder where world sailing might go in 2016 if the Brazilian setup is still Work in Progress. With tongue only slightly in cheek, we suggest they need look no further than West Cork, where Baltimore Sailing Club has been expanding its facilities to meet increased demand as a club which last year introduced something like 700 people to sailing. That BSC and current Mitsubishi Motors "Club of the Year" Kinsale YC further east along the West Cork coast have both been putting in premises up-grade during the past year, while other clubs have been having it tough, and just about hanging in there in some cases, surely gives pause for thought.

Olympic venue? The extended and up-graded Baltimore Sailing Club is ready and raring to go.

The economic shakeout of the past five years has caused a massive write-down in the value of almost all property and other assets. And in the case of yacht and sailing clubs, there has been a detailed examination of the continuing validity, or otherwise, of established yacht clubs and their traditional business model of quite high subscriptions under-writing other facilities which in turn combine to provide the complete package of an orthodox yacht club.

Inevitably, most clubs are run by officers and committee members who have been involved with the club for many years. Thus, like people who have been running a quality hotel for decades, they may have an inflated notion of what their organisation and its premises are actually worth. Admittedly there's only limited usefulness in comparing a yacht club with a hotel, but lessons can surely be learned. The fact is that hotels today are worth maybe only a third or even less of what they were reckoned to be worth six years ago. And equally, while yachts clubs certainly have a unique package to offer, is it unusual enough and special enough to charge high subscriptions when there are alternative facilities and services available?

The dilemma arises to some extent in all sailing centres. Last week we were discussing the story of the development of Howth YC. Today it is in the seemingly happy situation of having its own marina, thus it theoretically can offer an attractive all-in-one package to any potential member. But the very fact that Howth YC has done so much to help make Howth a colourful and vibrant sailing/fishing port is partly to its own disadvantage. The place has developed as a remarkable focus for top seafood restaurants. This means that the extensive club catering facilities – expected by traditional members - are constantly battling for business with a whole slew of award-winning eateries and characterful pubs nearby.

The problem is more acute in Dun Laoghaire in that the only club within the marina area is the Royal Irish YC. Thus while people may have been loyal members of the National, the Royal St George and the Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club, they find that after going out in the boat, it's very easy to round out the evening aboard in the marina, chatting among themselves or with other crews on boats nearby, and then head straight for home without making their number in their home clubs at all.

This situation is less in evidence at weekends and during special events. But nevertheless it was causing such a lessening in mid-week club vitality that various steps have been taken, and the Royal St George's move to take over berths in a block booking in the outer marina, and service them by a frequent ferry direct from the clubhouse, is a visionary step.

The Royal St George YC has introduced a direct ferry service from the clubhouse to its group of berths in the outer marina in Dun Laoghaire. Photo: David O'Brien

To overcome a lack of direct access to the Dun Laoghaire Marina, the Royal St George YC is running a ferry service from its clubhouse (to right of Stena Ferry, foreground) to the berths in the Outer Marina (upper left) Photo Kevin Dwyer/courtesy ICC.

Nevertheless, in all club administrations there are those who are of the opinion that, whatever the Honorary Treasurers may believe, there has to be a radical re-think of the primary subscription levels. In essence, they're suggesting that the book value of the club has to be written down such that subscriptions are halved. Personally, I haven't much of a notion of how to read a balance sheet, but the dogs in the street know that in the hospitality industry – which, in the broadest sense, is the area in which yacht and sailing clubs operate – values have been savagely slashed, and while charges may still seem high, at least the places are surviving as going concerns.

With continuing reduction in expenses across the board, one area in which there seems to be much work afoot is in the Irish Sailing Association, which in latter days had begun to seem like some hidden corner of the civil service, existing more for the benefit of staff than for the provision of services for sailors. It's amazing to learn that the ISA has sixteen fulltime staff, and a basic annual wages bill of something like €600,000. When you add in the expected benefits, it musty come in total to a very tidy yearly sum.

What on earth do they all do? While you'll invariably find the ISA logo in prominence at some top events, it has to be said that you're entirely unaware of the organisation's existence in any form at more everyday happenings, and it doesn't seem to be because they believe in doing good work by stealth. But with special study groups resulting from the major changes introduced in the ISA setup at the AGM in March, we can only hope that in time the Association will reflect the cost-cutting which has had to be introduced in the clubs, which provide the main part of the ISA's income.

While the administrative structures are rightfully being pared back in many areas of our sport, the coastal infrastructure, on which all forms of seagoing ultimately depend, continues to need maintenance and development. In this area, one very promising green shoot is the news that there are signs of movement in Dunmore East. A dredging programme is getting under way, and just this Tuesday, Minister for Marine Simon Coveney TD convened a meeting in the port to inaugurate a community approach to harbour development which, it is hoped, will help to invigorate the many places around Waterford Estuary, for which Dunmore East has the potential to be the true gateway harbour.

Dunmore East – can it fulfil its potential as the gateway leisure port for the Waterford Estuary? Photo Kevin Dwyer, courtesy ICC

In a more extreme marine environment, it has been confirmed that €6 million will be spent on improving the pier at Doolin in northwest Clare, the nearest mainland quay to the Aran Islands, which also caters for the tour boats cruising along the Cliffs of Moher. While the locals seem well pleased, I wouldn't get too excited about it. This is one very rugged part of the coast, and when you remember that it took €31 million to extend the pier at Kilronan in Inismor, the main Aran island, and another €14 million to build the little harbour at the north end of Inis Meain, the middle Aran island, then we can only hope that €6 million is going to achieve something more than a few boulders being shifted about in the roaring ocean at Doolin.

The pier at Doolin is decidedly minimalist, but it provides the shortest sea passage to the Aran Islands. Photo: W M Nixon

But then, in the west all things are possible, and along the ocean seaboard we're told that four thousand signs are being erected to guide people along the Wild Atlantic Way, the new tourism initiative using many smaller coastal roads. Quite so. Frankly, with signage at this level, it will be the Tame Atlantic Way by the time half of them are in place. I have to admit to being a complete curmudgeon in this. In many years of transitting Ireland's west coast by sea and land, one of our favourite areas while driving along the west coast has long been the coast south of Kilkee down to Loop Head, where the cliffs comfortably rival anything the vulgar Cliffs of Moher have to offer, and it is magnificently uncrowded. But not any more, if the Wild Atlantic Way movement has its way.

While I appreciate that visitor numbers have to be kept up and increased whenever and however, it has to be done in a way which appreciates that's what brings people to Ireland (rather than just to Dublin, which is a special case) is an unspoilt landscape. So, four thousand signs just for the one Atlantic Way? Ogden Nash had something to say about this:

"I think that I shall never see,
A billboard lovely as a tree.
But then, until the billboards fall,
I'll never see a tree at all".

Be that as it may, the final sign that suggests things are on the move again is a notice I spotted recently posted at a nearby club, though language pedants might wonder how a notice which manages to mangle so utterly the plural of "dinghy", even to adding a completely superfluous greengrocer's apostrophe, could be seen as encouraging in any way whatsoever.

Well, once you've overcome your opinions about the errors, the underlying message must be good news. More youngsters are evidently coming to sailing this year. And as for the spelling mistake, even that's an improvement. A year ago, the same notice board opened by referring to something called "a dingy", but this time round we have to get to the second line before finding that. And it all comes right for dinghies in the end.

Sign of the times? Whatever about the spelling, this current notice at an Irish sailing club has an underlying message of good news. Photo: W M Nixon

#irish49er – Ireland's Ryan Seaton and Matthew McGovern sailed with intent and focus in Hyères and came away with their first ever ISAF Sailing World Cup medal on Saturday. Their silver medal earned them a good point's haul and pushed them up from World #30 to World #11.

Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (NZL) have four straight regatta victories in the 49er fleet and are currently at World #16 as those around them count points from six regattas.

The Kiwis took convincing victories at ISAF Sailing World Cup Mallorca and Hyères and are in a good place in advance of the 2014 49er European and ISAF World Championships.

Jonas Warrer and Peter Lang (DEN) top the pile on 960 points. Over the 12 month period the Danes have posted consistent top placed results. A gold in Miami and silver in Mallorca puts them in a good place.

The latest world rankings from ISAF are here.

#swchyeres – In a significant boost to their campaign for Rio 2016, Irish Olympic skiff sailors Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern from Belfast Lough are medal contenders at the final day of the ISAF World Cup regatta in France tomorrow. The 49er duo finished five days of fleet racing this afternoon in third place overall. Of 80 teams competing, only the top 10 will now sail a further three races on Saturday – each worth double points – to determine the medals. Although 23 points separate the NI pair from Kiwi leaders Peter Burling and Blair Tuke the gold is still within reach.

Laser radial sailor Annalise Murphy will also be competing in a medal race tomorrow. The Laser Radial class will only have one double points race before the gold, silver and bronze are awarded. Murphy is currently lying in eighth place but separated from the top three by 36 points.

Three other Irish teams also competing at the event finished racing today. In the Paralympic Sonar class John Twomey, Ian Costelloe and Austin O'Carroll finished in seventh place overall. Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey finished 16th out of 42.  James Espey was sailing in the men's Laser Standard fleet of 123 and finished 71st.