#saildlr – Annalise Murphy will take Ireland's only Laser Radial spot for this summer's Test Event in Rio following a successful trial event at the Eurosaf event in Medemblik this week in which she won silver in the medal race today. Typically strong winds for the week blew in Annalise's favour and she was able to demonstrate her heavy air supremacy with four race wins from nine starts.

Annalise, however, was unable to catch Olympic Silver medal winner Marit Bouwmeester in today's medal race but  finished ahead of Olympic Bronze medal rival Evi Van Acker in the 82–boat fleet.

The Dutch event was an Irish qualifier for the Olympic Test event, which will take place in Rio in August of this year. Having already qualified the nation for the Olympics, Annalise was competing in this event as part of her preparations for Rio in 2016.

The Dun Laoghaire sailor went into the final day's medal event two points behind local favourite Bouwmeester who won the Medal race and event. Murphy was under pressure the whole time from Van Acker and despite capsizing once, managed to keep the gap wide enough to ensure she picked up the silver medal with the Belgian taking bronze.

Annalise now looks forward to the ISAF World Cup series event in Weymouth in the UK from June 8-14 where competition is expected to be even tougher. 

This year's team at Medemblik comprised of Providence Resuorces sponsored Olympic team sailors, Annalise Murphy and James Espey, plus Aisling Keller, Aoife Hopkins, Erica Ruigrok, Nicole Hemeryck, Finn Lynch, Daragh O'Sullivan and Fionn Lyden.

#sailDLR2015 – Ten Irish Laser sailors are fighting for two places at this year's Olympic test event in Rio in August but it is the London 2012 incumbents who are producing the results on a windy day one of an Irish trial, sailed as part of the massive 700–boat Delta Lloyd regatta in Holland.

Dun Laoghaire's Annalise Murphy, sailing in her optimum conditions, opened her Dutch account with a first and a third to be fourth overall, putting down a marker to would be rivals Aisling Keller, Aoife Hopkins, Erica Ruigrok and Nicole Hemeryck.

Belfast mens Laser ace James Espey had a solid first day on the Ijsselmeer with an eighth and an eighth scored to put him 12th overall. Next best to Espey is Schull's Fionn Lyden in 48th. Chris Russell, Finn Lynch and Darragh O'Sullivan are also racing. 

The selection rules say the Irish sailor ranked the highest at the conclusion of this week shall be recommended for Aqueece Rio in August.

Full results here

It was a strong-wind opening day for the 700 boats competing at the Delta Lloyd Regatta in Medemblik, Holland.

Poland's world-class windsurfing squad has always enjoyed the strong breeze, and Pawel Tarnoski leads the RSX men's windsurfer division after a perfect day of three race victories. Zofia Noceti-Klepacka leads the RSX women's division with scores of 2,1,2.
In the women's skiff, the 49er FX, Dutch team Annemieke Bekkering and Annette Duetz blasted around the course with incredible consistency, racking up 3,3,3 to lead the regatta, although the Aussie team in 2nd place, Tess Lloyd and Caitlin Elks, also sit on 9 points with scores of 1,4,4.
It's a similar tie-break story at the top of the men's 49er leaderboard; New Zealand's young team of Marcus Hansen and Josh Porebski hold the lead in the men's skiff fleet, but on equal points in 2nd place is Australia's Joel Turner and Lewis Brake. Near the back of the fleet, but not surprising after their first day ever of competition in the highly challenging 49er, is the team from Oman, Musab Al Hadi and Hashim Al Rashdi. "If we can get round the course, and not crash into anyone, we'll be happy," said Al Hadi, although he was disappointed to finish outside the time limit of the final of their three heats, after multiple capsizes on the last leg of the race.
Part of the challenge of racing on the IJsselmeer is that the shallow 5-6m waters generate a short choppy wave pattern that makes it very easy to stick the nose of a fast boat like the 49er into the back of the wave, resulting in pitchpoles and capsizes. It's a similar problem for the high-speed catamaran, the Nacra 17. However this didn't upset the World No.1s from France, Billy Besson and Marie Riou who dominated the multihull fleet with 1,3,1 scores, sitting 10 points in front of Great Britain's Ben Saxton and Nicola Groves in 2nd place just ahead of Olympic medallists from Australia, Darren Bundock and Nina Curtis.

Annalise in race winning form on Day one of Delta Lloyd regatta in Holland. Photo: Sander van der Borch

Matthew Wearn from Australia did well in his side of the three-way draw in the 162-boat Laser qualifying fleet, with scores of 1,2 leaving him well placed after day one. Rutger van Schaardenburg is the top Dutch sailor in a very competitive home fleet, lying 2nd overall with a 4,1 score. In the women's singlehander, the Laser Radial, Annalise hammered home her traditional big-breeze advantage to win the first race of her qualifying group. On the other side of the draw, Olympic silver medallist Marit Bouwmeester from the Netherlands won her race at a canter, easily justifying her early selection to the Olympic team for Rio 2016.
In the three-person Paralympic keelboat, Colin Harrison's team from Australia tops the 12-boat Sonar fleet. In the SKUD doublehanders, Great Britain's Alex Rickham and Niki Birrell hold a one-point lead over the Netherlands' Rolf Schrama and Sandra Nap. France's Damien Seguin enjoyed a perfect day in the 2.4mR singlehander keelboat, winning both races.
In the 470 divisions, Finland's Niki Blassar and Mikaela Wulff lead the women's fleet, and Korea's Kim Chang-Ju and Kim Ji-Hoon lead the men. Pieter-Jan Postma didn't have it all his own way in the Finn singlehander, although the Dutchman still looked impressive on home waters to lead with scores of 3,1. "When it's windy and shifty like that, and with the waves on the IJsselmeer, it can be tricky for sailors visiting here, but they are learning quickly," he smiled. "I won't be sharing any local secrets with them, they are working it out already!"

 

 

#sailingdeltalloyd – The 2014 Delta Lloyd Regatta came to a conclusion on Saturday 24, May with all classes completing their series, including eight medal races. There was no Irish medals after the highs of Hyeres a fortnight ago but there was an extra dimension with demonstation sailing – and Irish participation – in both the kitesurf and Moth divisions in this Eurosaf event.

A last race win could not give Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern (silver in Hyeres) a top ten finish, the 49er duo were 11th overall. Finn debutante Robert O'Leary finished 13. James Espey was 20th in the mens Laser. The Sonar trio headed by John Twomey was seventh. Dublin Moth sailor Rory Fitzpatrick was sixth and Kitesurfer Jade O'Connor was 14th.

Dylan Fletcher and Alain Sign (GBR) had already taken the gold in the 49er class after three theatre style medal races just off from the harbour mouth on Friday.

On Saturday there were eight more medal races, nine final races for the remaining boats, six races for the Paralympic fleets, four races for the Moth class and the full round robin series for Kites. It was a very busy day in Medemblik with the wind changing from a nice 12-14 knots early on, to cloudy day with light winds and finally a nice breeze and sunshine to finish the day.

Top three below and full results incl Irish interest here 

2.4m
1. Megan Pascoe, GBR, 16 points
2. Barend Kol, NED, 38
3. Guus Bijlard, NED, 44

470 Men
1. Asenathi Jim / Roger Hudson, RSA, 27
2. Luke Patience / Elliot Willis, GBR, 28
3. Hugo Feydit / Charlie Agenau, FRA, 31

470 Women
1. Michell Broekhuizen / Marieke Jongens, NED, 12
2. Linda Fahrni / Maja Siegenthaler, SUI, 19
3. Anna Burnet / Flora Stewart, GBR, 21

49er
1. Dylan Fletcher / Alain Sign, GBR, 62
2. John Pink / Stuart Bithell, GBR, 67
3. Pavle Kostov / Petar Cupac, CRO, 71

Finn
1. Phillip Kasueske, GER, 14
2. Pieter-Jan Postma, NED, 16
3. Jake Lilley, AUS, 24

Laser
1. Sam Meech, NZL, 25
2. Nicholas Heiner, NED, 30
3. Mike Bullot, NZL, 33

Laser Radial
1. Marit Bouwmeester, NED, 13
2. Evi Van Acker, BEL, 23
3. Manami Doi, JPN, 31

Moth
1. Chris Rashley, GBR, 11
2. Ben Paton, GBR, 15
3. Tom Offer, GBR, 25

Nacra
1. Billy Besson / Marie Riou, FRA, 44
2. Franck Cammas / Sophie de Turckheim, FRA, 53
3. Darren Bundock / NNina Curtis, AUS, 64

RS-X Men
1. Pawel Tarnowski, POL, 36
2. Piotr Myszka, POL, 39
3. Przemyslaw Miarczynski, POL, 42

RS-X Women
1. Zofia Klepacka, POL, 19
2. Malgorzata Bialecka, POL, 33
3. Kamila Smektala, POL, 34

Skud 18
1. Alexandra Rickham / Niki Birrell, GBR, 12
2. Marco Gualandris / Paola Bergamaschi, ITA, 15
3. Vera Voorbach / Jan Rein van Essenveld, NED, 25

Sonar
1. Bruno Jourden / Erid Flageul / Nicolas Vimont-Vicary, FRA, 23
2. John Robertson / Hannah Stodel / Steve Thomas, GBR, 27
3. Colin Harrison / Jon Harris / Russell Boaden, AUS, 29

Kite
1. Oliver Bridge, GBR
2. Florian Gruber, GER
3. Riccardo Andrea Leccese, ITA

#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

#kitesurfing – 2014 will see Jade O'Connor continue to campaign in the Formula Kiteboard class after the Dubliner represented Ireland last year at The Kiteboard Racing World Championships in China. She finished 12th overall, her best result to date.

"This is a big year for our class, in light of our exclusion from Rio 2016. The IKA and ISAF are in negotiation for the 2020 Olympics. To that end, kiting will be included in the new next month at the Delta Lloyd EUROSAF in the Netherlands, this will be an invitational event of only 20 sailors, so it's a big honour to be chosen, and have Ireland on the start line." O'Connor told Afloat.ie

Apart from ISAF's own events kiteboarding has a highly successful world tour that will see the Dubliner compete in Turkey, Poland, San Diego, Qatar, and finishing the year in Sydney Australia. "It's amazing to be part of the tour and compete at this level. The last month has been about loosening up and getting back into the groove, when racing with 30knots of board speed you have to rely more on muscle memory, and 'get your head out of the boat' so to speak. Now I'm dialling into new equipment and starting to look for improvements in board handling, chop management, upwind angle and speed. As one of the few amateurs at this level its difficult to compete at my best all season. I've picked the Worlds in August and Sydney in December to be my standout events, I'm really excited to get going, I can feel that coiled spring in my stomach starting to wind."

#annalisemurphy – Two weeks, two Eurosaf events, two golds .A 53 second winning margin in a thrilling medal race final this morning has given Annalise Murphy her second EUROSAF Gold Medal in a fortnight.

The National Yacht Club sailor beat the London 2012 Olympic champion and silver medallist to win the prestigious Dutch Delta Lloyd regatta with amazing composure. It's another significant campaign boost for the 23-year-old Dun Laoghaire girl who won the Italian Olympic week regatta only a fortnight ago.

After attending Delta Lloyd for five years in a row and taking ninth twice before Annalise knew a lot about the venue. She spotted stronger breeze on the right hand side of the course just before the medal race start and decided to go for it even though her original plan was to stay left.

Living up to last week's praise from Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Michael Ring she needed 'nerves of steel' again today in the shifting breeze. Playing the shifts in the ten - 15 knots that prevailed also proved crucial after a nice clean start.

At one point on the beat it appeared her separation from the other five competitors may have proved costly.  She looked to be in last place for a time but strong breeze on the right duly arrived and gave Annalise a 50–metre lead at the first weather mark.

By the end of the race she had opened up a 200–metre lead. 

There was a close finish between local Marit Boumeester, the London Silver medallist and one time regatta leader Alison Young of Britain for third with just 4 seconds between them.

London 2012 Gold medallist Lijia Xu (CHN) had to settle with sixth place.

Annalise has put in an extremely consistent performance in Medemblik all week sharing the lead with Young in the penultimate rounds and never falling out of the top three overall.

Speaking afterwards, a sporting Annalise praised Ali Young who she said 'sailed the best' all week.

“I knew i had to give it all going into the Medal race, Alison and Marit are very strong and like me are good in these conditions'.

In spite of the win Annalise repeated her criticism of the new ISAF format. "Of course I am happy with my victory but I don’t think this format is very fair on the sailors. It is good to experiment but this is not the way to go.”

Annalise's next event is in Weymouth, the venue where she came so close to Ireland's first Olympic sailing medal in 32 years at London 2012.

The new format experienced in the Eurosaf Champions Sailing Cup with the emphasis put on the last medal race created the expected thrill and drama in Medemblik.

Five of the earlier leaders have lost top place during the Medal race which have opened the field for the top six boats.

After winning seven races and dominating the RS:X fleet all week, Dorian van Rijsselberge (NED) suffered from a shift at the start of the Medal Race to fall behind the fleet and off the podium.

Pawel Tarnowski wins the RS:X men event after a second place in the Medal race. "I am very happy with my first victory in a RS:X senior event. This is my first season on the senior circuit and hope I can continue doing well at the European next summer. I won over great sailors here, Worlds champions, Gold medallists, this new system allows for all six sailors in the final to win and for me it worked well."

Second is Byron Kokalanis from Greece and third place goes to Julien Bontemps (FRA).

After consistent sailing all week, Flavia Tartaglini (ITA) wins the RSX women event in the Delta Lloyd Regatta. "I came in the Medal race with a first place. For the Medal race we had a nice breeze, it was also tricky as close to shore with gusts and shifts. I manage to get a good start and lead for most of the race. In the end a third place was enough for me to keep the lead and win the title!"

Annalise celebrates her latest Laser medal win in Medemblick with mens winner Rutger van Schaardenburg . Photo: Courtesy Delta Lloyd Regatta

Mayaan Davidovich (ISR) takes the Silver medal after finishing second in the Medal race. A victory in the Medal race for Blanca Manchon (ESP) brings her from 6th place to 3rd place.

Further in the day, the Laser Medal race continued to provide the drama expected from the new format. Early leader and World number 1 Tom Burton (AUS) lost his lead after a difficult medal race. This is the second time in a row that the Australian loses a regatta with this format, the first time in Garda. Taking the medal race was what needed Ruger van Schaardenburg to keep the title he had won last year in Medemblik. " I am very happy with my results and with the format. The medal race keeps opportunities opened for the top six, and for me it was a great opportunity."
Young Australian Matthew Wearn places second in the Medal race and takes Silver while Andy Maloney (NZL) goes down to third overall.

Mark Andrews wins his first major Finn event after an heart braking medal race where the overall lead changed hands several times. "It was down to the wire! I was able to make up some places using the guts and in the end it turned my way. It was very closed and I am very happy to have won this event!".
Piet-Jan Postma lost top place but is securing Silver. "I was not aggressive enough in this race!" said Postma. "I should have followed my own line without worrying about the other sailors."
Andrew Mills (GBR) won the Medal race with an impressive lead and narrowly takes the last place on the podium.

London Gold Medallists win the 470 in both the women and the men events. Early regatta leaders Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie (NZL) won the Medal race to take their second event in the season after winning the Garda Eurosaf event. "We had a big rest after London and only raced at home for Sail Auckland. We are happy with the way we are going but there are lots of new faces and we will know where we are at when we race at the Worlds in July."
Anne Haeger and Briana Provancha (USA) and Tina Mrak with Veronika Macarol (SLO) take Silver and Bronze.
Mat Belcher and Will Ryan (AUS) have added the 2013 Delta Lloyd Regatta to their undefeated regatta series: "It was tricky today with lots of pressure and three laps. We are really concentrating on our performance and staying focussed and it is working well for us."
The New Zealanders Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Willcox win the Medal Race and take second place in front of Croatian team of Sime Fantela an Igor Marenic.

The Delta Lloyd regatta provided drama until the last moment. Nacra fleet favourites, Mandy Mulder and Thijs Visser (NED) had ended the opening series with an impressive lead. The Medal race seemed to go according to plan until a capsize on the last leg ended the Dutch podium chances!

"We have raced really well all week and know we are the best out there. Our capsize was unfortunate and still a "mystery"! We need to work out on what happened, so we can learn from it." explains Mulder.

The situation suited the French teams who have been fighting for top place with the Dutch since the start of the season. They take the top two places with Moana Vaireaux and Manon Audinet winning Gold and Audrey Augereau and Mathieu Vandame the Silver medal. Renee Groeneveld and Karel Begeman (NED) are in third position.

"We had a great week with lots of wind. We are tired but happy to win. It is a pity for Mandy and Thijs, they have dominated all week and deserve a better place than that! The Nacra is a great boat, very fast and when we will have a carbon mast it will be the fastest boat around." explained Moana Vaireaux.

The paralympic classes sailed two more races today. Megan Pascoe won the 2.4 title after wining the Miami OCR and placing in the top three in Palma and Hyères. "It was a tough regatta with lots of boats and great competition. It is good and more fun to race in a big fleet in the 2.4. I am used to sail in a shifty place so today it really helps. I could position well and take advantage of all the shifts." Helena Lucas (GBR) takes Silver and Barend Kol (NED) the Bronze.

The French team of Bruno Jourdren finishes the week on a high. They have defended their Delta Lloyd regatta title on the last day after scoring top two results. The fleet was small but of high quality with the top 5 in the London Paralympics competing.

The Eurosaf Champions Sailing Cup heads now to Great Britain for the Sail for Gold regatta.

Delta Lloyd Regatta is the second regatta in the Eurosaf series. In total five regattas will be sailed over the summer months with the next regatta, Sail for Gold, Weymouth UK 09 – 13 June followed by Kieler Woche, Germany later in June and finally Semaine Olympique Francaise in La Rochelle in the autumn. 

#dlr2013 – Annalise Murphy shares the lead with Britain's Alison Young after eight races in the Laser Radial class which means today is an action packed last day of finals racing in the Delta Lloyd regatta in Holland before the top six medal race tomorrow.

Murphy told supporters last night: 'Luckily I didn't have to race during the hailstones today! Managed a 3rd and a 2nd followed by a not so hot 16th'

The Dun Laoghaire sailor will be pushing to ensure a top position for the medal race cut in a forecast of medium winds on the Ijsselmeer.  It looks lke a tricky day for the sailors with a shallow low pressure tracking south over the North Sea providing a decreasing and backing wind from South south west to east. And it's raining!

More from David O'Brien in the Irish Times this morning here.

The Dutch teams made the most of the day at the Delta Lloyd Regatta in Medemblik. At the end of the third day of racing, there is a Dutch boat in the top three of all classes at the exception of the 49er were Holland is not represented.

Pieter Jan Postma in the Finn and the Sonar team of Udo Essel took it all in the three races sailed in freezing conditions. They are now in the lead.

PJ Postma who enjoyed the breeze yesterday was pleased with his day: "It finally all came together! The feeling is right as well as the fitness and the tactics. I am pleased with the way I go and it surely gives me confidence for the regattas ahead." Early leader Andrew Mills (GBR) collected a disqualification at the start and drops to the seventh position overall.

Paralympic champions Udo Essel, Mischa Rossens and Marel van de Veen proved today with three victories in the Sonar that they trully deserve their Gold medal. "We took a long break after London, so it is great to see that we are still up to it. It gives confidence for the future."

The Dutch sailors are conserving their lead in the Nacra and the RS:X Men.

Mandy Mulder and Thijs Visser (NED) increase their lead after two bullets in the Nacra. The french and Swedish teams have close results with Moana Vaireaux and Manon Audinet (FRA) in second overall.

Dorian van Rijsselberge (NED) in the RS:X class is flying away with a win and two second places. Przemyslaw Miarczynski (POL) and Julien Bontemps (FRA) remains second and third.

The result is very tight in the RS:X women, with the top five within five points. Hei Man Hayley Victoria Chan (HKG) conserves a narrow lead from Moana Delle (GER). Third place is taken by Dutch windsurfer Lilian de Geus.

The Danish are again proving their domination in the skiff with Jonas Warrer and Peter Lang enjoying a 14 points lead over French Julien D'ortoli and Noe Delpech in the 49er.

Palma SWC winners, Ida Marie Baad Nielsen and Marie Olsen (DEN) take a narrow two points lead in the FX over Germans Tina Lutz and Susan Beucke. Early leaders Annemiek Bekkering and Claire Blom (NED) are now in third position.

The dual at the top continues between Laser World number 1, Australian Tom Burton and Palma winner Andy Maloney (NZL). They place first and second in the first day of the Laser final with the top 25 boats. In the women, Alison Young (GBR) shares the lead on equal points with Irish Annalise Murphy.

World #1 Matt Belcher and Will Ryan (AUS) are back in the lead in the 470 class after two wins and a third place. In the women, Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie (NZL) are increasing their lead after top two places and a win. The other two races were taken by Dutch team of Afrodite Kyranakou and Anneloes van Veen (NED) who climb in third position.

It is a close score in the 2.4 after three more races sailed in freezing conditions. The top three win a race each with Megan Pascoe (GBR) leading from Barend Kol (NED) and Helena Lucas (GBR).

Tomorrow will see the last day of the final stage and the last chances to qualify for the top 8 in the skiffs and the medal races scheduled for Friday night, and the top six in the other Olympic classes who will race their medal race on Saturday.

The forecast on Friday is from medium winds.

#DLR2013–Gusting to 30–knots Ireland's 'Breeze Queen' Annalise Murphy took a third in race four and a runaway win in race five to close the gap to just two points on the overall leader in the Laser Radial fleet before racing was cancelled at the Delta Llyod regatta today.

Annalise powered away downwind in race five to establish a long lead in what turned out to be the final race of the day. Significantly though overall regatta leader GBR's Alison Young was able to match Annalise's heavy air upwind speed in this morning's first race. The Briton now counts three firsts in her four race tally so far. Overall Annalise is on 7 points and stays second to Young on 5 points with local helm Marit Boumeester third on 11.

Lijia Xu, the Olympic champion is down the rankings in the strong conditions encountered so far and placed ninth in the 47–boat fleet.

The second day of racing in the Delta Lloyd Regatta tested sailor's fitnessand the equipment. Wind averaging 25 knots and picking at 30, throughout the day made for physical racing.

Only the Nacra and the 49er FX were cancelled. The Finn and Laser radial were the first to hit the water in the morning, followed by the RS:X men and women. The remaining fleets were kept to shore waiting for the wind to decrease.

Hyères Sailing World Cup winner, Andrew Mills (GBR) has taken the lead from Greg Douglas (CAN) in the Finn class after three races sailed this morning. Mills is discarding a disqualification at the start of race two to count only top five places. The day's races win went to Miami SWC winner Caleb Paine (USA) and PJ Postma (NED) who place second and third overall.

The Laser Radial completed two races on the three scheduled. Alison Young (GBR) keeps the lead with a bullet in the first race. While the second race was taken by Annalise Murphy (IRL) who is renowned to show her best in the heavy winds. The Irish places second overall in front of Marit Bouwmeester (NED) consistent with two second places.

Hei Man Hayley Victoria Chan (HKG) enjoyed the waves and planning conditions to still the lead from Moana Delle in the RS:X with top three placings. However with a victory and two second places, Hélène Noesmoen (FRA) scored the best results on the water and climbs to sixth overall.

Dorian van Rijsselberge (NED) conserves top position in the RS:X men but Przemyslaw Miarczynski (POL), winner of the SWC in Hyères is closing the gap with two first places and a second. 2012 World Champion Julien Bontemps (FRA) wins the third race to remain in third overall.

The race committees had a very long day on the water. After the completion of racing in the Finn, Radial and RS:X, the remaining classes were kept ashore waiting for the wind to calm down. At 5PM the warning signal was finally given for the 470 and Lasers and racing cancelled for the 49ers, 2.4 and Sonar.

Soon after 7pm, the 470 and Lasers came back to shore after two races in 20 knots.

Olympic Champions Joe Aleh and Polly Powrie (NZL) continued on their impressive performance to add another two victories to their score to comfort their lead over the 470 fleets.

Croatians are taking the lead in two classes.

In the Men, Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic (CRO) won the first race and placed second in the last to take a narrow lead over the Australians Matt Belcher and Will Ryan.

The Lasers were last to reach the shore, the windy races were dominated by the Australians and New-Zealanders, however consistent results from Croatian Tonci Stipanovic (3-4) place him in the lead after five races.

Today saw the end of the qualification stages for the Laser, Radial and RS:X. They will be split in Gold and Silver for the next two days with the top 25 in each class qualifying for the Gold fleet.

After a sensational win at the first Eurosaf event in Italy a week ago Dun Laoghaire's Annalise Murphy has been buoyed up by Government congratulatons sent by Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Michael Ring TD.

"Annalise was tipped from the start as favourite and demonstrated nerves of steel in mixed weather conditions to persevere and clinch the gold" Minister Ring said in praise of Afloat's Sailor of the Year. Tomorrow morning Annalise will be hoping to do it all again at the first race of Delta Lloyd regatta in Medemblik, Holland.

Although the fleet size is similar Annalise will be well aware this morning's Dutch series is very different from Lake Garda because she will be up against a higher quality field. Significantly the Dutch fleet includes at least three arch rivals from London 2012 that were not competing in Italy.

Olympic champion Lijia Xu of China is competing in the 47–boat fleet and Olympic Silver medalist Marit Boumeester is on home waters.

Britian is sending on form Alison Young, March's Palma World Cup winner and the bronze medallist from Hyeres, France.

The last time Annalise met this trio was a month ago in Hyeres when the National Yacht Club sailor struggled in the light airs of the qualifying rounds. She finished the last round of the World cup in the silver fleet, a position she will be keen not to repeat.

Forecast for the week is for light to moderate winds on the ijsselmeer which will be a good test of the 23-year-old's return to form. Certainly Annalise will need those 'nerves of steel' which the Minister of Sport has praised her for.

Second stage of the Eurosaf Champions Sailing Cup, the Delta Lloyd Regatta has taken on the challenge to bring the event to a new dimension where media presentation is playing a big part.

For Event Director, Arjen Rahusen, this is the way forward " We are concentrating our efforts to take sailing closer to the public especially through social media. All the boats will be equipped with trackers with the help of Swiss Timing. We have two video teams, who will feed daily news via the social media network and highlights. We want to give the sailors the best exposure they deserve. It is vital for them and for us!"

Racing promises to be fierce with most of the top teams engaged in all classes. Among them six 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Gold medallists will take the start on Tuesday in Medemblik.

In the 470, Matt Belcher and Will Ryan (AUS) will try to continue on their undefeated record since the start of the season. In the women division, 2012 and 2008 Gold medallists, Aleh (NZL) and Rechichi (AUS) will fight it off in a compact and talented fleet.

In the Men, expectations are high on Robert Scheidt's (BRA) return to the Lasers, however the Olympic champion will have to deal with the "down under" sailors. Tom Burton who took the title in Hyères and placed second in Palma, or Andy Maloney (NZL).

The 49ers will showcase great spectacle with strong teams from Denmark and Great Britain in the men and women divisions.

Olympic champion, Dorian van Rijsselberge (NED) and young Dutch talent Kiran Badloe are welcoming to their home event a talented fleet of windsurfers. The Polish team, French and Israeli will provide for tough competition. Moana Delle (GER), Flavia Tartaglini (ITA) or Bianca Manchon are among the favourites in the RS:X women.

In the Finn class, Hyères's winner Andrew Mills (GBR) will fight it off with PJ Postma as well as Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) and Piotr Kula (second and third in Garda).

The new Olympic multihull, the Nacra is continuing to attract teams and countries from around the world. The Australian are now present with four boats while the earlier favourites from Holland, France or Sweden are not missing any chance to keep their lead on the fleet.

The 2.4 is represented with a large and strong fleet including British sailors Helena Lucas and Megan Pascoe (GBR), or Barend Kol (NED). Among the nine countries represented, Malaysia is participating with three sailors.

The team of Bruno Jourdren (FRA) has made a successful come back to the Sonar competition after a victory taken in Hyères. They are back in Medemblik and will face the three Sonar 2012 Paralympic medallists in a small but very strong fleet.

Sailing is scheduled from 11am on Tuesday 21st of May until Saturday 25th.

The weather for the first day of racing will be challenging going from no wind at the start of the day to strong breeze towards the end.

The Eurosaf Champions Sailing Cup is a series of five regattas in the Olympic and Paralympic Classes designed to complement the ISAF Sailing World Cup series. The Delta Lloyd Regatta (Medemblik, NED, 21-25 May) is followed by Sail for Gold Regatta (Weymouth and Portland, GBR, 9-13 June), Kiel Week (Kiel, GER, 22-26 June) and the Semaine Olympique Francaise (La Rochelle, FRA, 9-13 October).

How to follow the Delta Lloyd Regatta:

Tracking available daily for all boats on the event website.

Website; http://www.deltalloydregatta.org