#ISAF – A couple of top ten individual race results scored at yesterday's ISAF World Youth Sailing Championships has boosted an Irish team in the closing stages of the competition in Cyprus.

The Irish youth sailing team of five boys and three girls are competing in a massive fleet of 351 sailors across three different classes, sailing 2-3 races per day until tomorrow's final races.

In the Laser Radial dinghy, Robbie Gilmore (Strangford Lough Yacht Club) lies 23rd from 56 after eight races sailed and in the Girls division Sarah Eames (Ballyholme Yacht Club) scored the Irish highlight of the week with a third to put her in 22nd place from a fleet of 40.

In the 420 dinghy, Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove (Howth Yacht Club) scored an eighth in race seven yesterday and are 14th from 31 after eight and in the Girls 420 Cliodhna Ni Shuilleabhain (Kinsale Yacht Club) and Jill McGinley (Royal Cork Yacht Club) are 20th from 27.

In the 29er Skiff, Sean and Tadgh Donnelly (National Yacht Club), racing in their second youth worlds event, lie 26th from 28.

#youthworlds – Ireland will be seeking to improve its scores after day one if the eight boat youth sailing team in Cyprus is to match last year's medal success at the ISAF Youth Worlds this week. 

In the Laser Radial, Robbie Gilmore (Strangford Lough Yacht Club) lies 25th from 56 after the first two races and in the Girls division Sarah Eames (Ballyholme Yacht Club) is 26th from 40. 

The Olympics of youth sailing, as world body ISAF likes to coin it, got under way in Limassol yesterday.

The team of five boys and three girls will compete against 351 sailors from 61 nations across three different classes, sailing 2-3 races per day until the final race on Friday.

In the 420 dinghy, Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove (Howth Yacht Club) are 14th from 31  after two and in the Girls 420 
Cliodhna Ni Shuilleabhain (Kinsale Yacht Club) and Jill McGinley (Royal Cork Yacht Club) are16 from 27. 

In the 29er Skiff, Sean and Tadgh Donnelly (National Yacht Club), racing in their second youth worlds event, lie 26th from 28. 

Temperatures of between 33-34 degrees along with high humidity at 70-85% greeted the eight Irish youth sailors as they prepared for racing in a south-easterly breeze of 4-6 knots, picking up to 10 knots in the afternoon with gusts up to 16 knots.

Last year, Ireland's Finn Lynch won silver on Dublin Bay when the Royal St. George and National Yacht Club's hosted the event. It was Ireland's best ever performance and first medal since 1996. 

Results here

ISAF press release: 

Ukraine's Oleksandr Tugaryev earned himself a birthday treat at the Sail First ISAF Youth Worlds by recording two race victories and a eighth in the RS:X Boys.

The Ukrainian revelled in a steady 16 knot afternoon breeze but taking the lead is Great Britain's Kieran Martin who demonstrated great consistency posting a bullet, a second and a third.

Over 350 from 61 nations took to the water on the opening day of the Sail First ISAF Youth Worlds as a full complement of racing across eight events in five classes was completed.

Tugaryev sailed at the ISAF Youth Worlds last year finishing 27th and has come on leaps and bounds to trail Martin by four points.

"It was a good day, today is my birthday," said a happy Tugaryev after racing. "In the beginning of the day it was not good conditions for me so I finished seventh but in the second race it was planing conditions and I finished first and the third race was the same with 16 knots so I finished first again.

"It's a perfect present for my birthday and I hope that the wind for this regatta will be strong as I'm quite light weight, I'm heavy. I hope I will continue the same."

Sitting in third overall on 15 points is Mexico's Ignacio Berenguer.

Defending RS:X Girls Champion Saskia Sills (GBR) faced some stiff competition on the opening day with America's Marion Lepert keeping her at bay after three opening races.

The American sailed well and leads Sills by four points and was understandably happy with her day, "It went well for me today, I struggled a little bit in the first race as the conditions were really light but once it's started getting windy I got into the groove and it really worked for me."

On the competition with Sills, Lepert added, "She definitely has a lot of talent and there's more to see towards the end of the week. There's still a long way from now so I'm just going to stay focused."

Coming into the opening day of racing Sills was not at 100% but recorded a bullet in the third race, highlighting her resiliency,"I'm happy with the racing today considering I haven't been feeling that well over the past few days," said Sills who was nominated for the 2012 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year.

"We had three good races, the first was fairly light, the second was the windiest and third was fairly on and off with the wind. It's a good fleet and there are quite a few of us who are changing places and positions, but probably only two or three who are really consistent.

"I'm looking forward to heading back out tomorrow, I think it will be a case of it's not finished until it's finished here in Cyprus"

Spain's Joel Rodriguez holds the advantage in the Laser Radial Boys with a consistent day of sailing that saw him record a fifth and a sixth. The opening race of the series held early in the afternoon brought light conditions that saw some of the favourites struggle but once the breeze kicked in some of the more experienced sailors came to the forefront.

Belgium's William de Smet took the opening race win but Puerto Rico's Juan Perdomo, who is sailing at his second ISAF Youth Worlds, stepped it up in the bigger breeze to take the second race victory, "We were waiting in the morning for the wind to pick up and in our first race the wind was stabilising and the first race I did okay finishing 11th," said the Puerto Rican. "In the second race the wind picked up a little bit so it was much better as I got a first.

"It's good to start off in front but it's only the first day so there's lots of racing to go and I definitely want to finish at the top."

Commenting on the event Perdomo added, "I think the ISAF Youth Worlds is a really special event because all of the sailors stay together and it's like a mini Olympics and the atmosphere here is very special and fun."

The Laser Radial Girls commenced racing late in the day and eventually hit the shore at 19:45 after two races.

Dominating the day with two race wins was Norway's Line Flem Host and she was thrilled with how the racing went despite the late finish, "My goal was top three but I did not expect to start this well. It's really an advantage and I'm so happy."

Following Host is Agata Barwinska (POL) on four points and Pia Kuhlmann (GER) on ten points.

The 420 Boys fleet finished their day in the early afternoon and showing the most consistency in the day was the Portuguese team of Diogo Pereira and Pedro Cruz and Japan's Ibuki Koizumi and Tsubasa Arioka. Both teams recorded a second and a fourth to hold the advantage whilst the race wins went to Brazil's Tiago Brito and Andrei Knepp and Spain's Pedro Martinez and Luis Bugallo who are third and fourth respectively.

Australia's Carrie Smith and Ella Clark showed the fleet that they are here to win the 420 Girls title having recorded a 2-1-5 scoreline. They lead Kimberly Lim and Savannah Siew (SIN) by two points. Defending champions Ilaria Paternoster and Benedetta Di Salle (ITA) secured two race wins but a black flag in Race 2 subsequently puts them down in 11th. With the discard coming in after five races they will work their way back up with steady results but will now sail cautiously.

There were strong starts for the 2012 ISAF Youth Worlds silver and bronze medallists France and Argentina in the 29er fleet. Lucas Rual and Emile Amoros (FRA) and Argentina's Klaus Lange and Ignacio Varisco sailed consistently with the French taking top spot on seven points. The Argentineans follow on nine points with America's Quinn Wilson and Dane Wilson on 11 points in third.

New Zealand's Isaac McHardie and Micah Wilkinson lead the way on four points in the 15 boat SL16 fleet after posting two bullets and a second place finish. Trailing them by three points is Spain's Jordi Booth and Lucia Brugman with Australia's Paul Darmanin and Lucy Copeland further back in third.

#Laser - The designer of the iconic Laser is putting pressure on the boat's manufacturer for the UK, Europe and North America to halt all production of the vessel, as Marine Business World reports.

Bruce Kirby has previously filed a complaint in the US Federal Court District of Connecticut alleging the unauthorised production of his design and non-payment of royalties by LaserPerformance, the company licensed to build Laser class boats for the western market.

It's now being reported that yesterday (17 May), Kirby's company Kirby Inc has sought a court order to issue a prejudgement remedy against LaserPerformance, which would prevent that or any associated company from building Lasers while the court assesses the case.

The International Laser Class Association (ILCA) and the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) are also named in Kirby's lawsuit for allegedly assisting LaserPerformance by supplying ISAF plaques despite being given formal notice to cease by Kirby.

In April, Kirby took the sailing world by surprise with the news that he had relaunched his classic single-handed one design under a new brand, the Kirby Torch.

The new company's website cited "supply of the Kirby sailboat and parts to sailors worldwide" as the issue for its terminating of previous manufacturing deals at the end of last year.

#youthsailing – Ireland's silver medallist from last year's ISAF Youth Worlds on Dublin Bay has not been selected to sail for Ireland at this year's championships in Cyprus.

An eight-sailor squad will represent Ireland at the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships in Cyprus this summer after an intense battle for places saw selection go down to the last race of the trials at the Youth National Championships on Lough Derg.

The team was announced this afternoon by the Irish Sailing Association.

In the Laser Radial class Robbie Gilmore (Strangford Lough Yacht Club) will sail in the boys division and in the Girls cartegory Sarah Eames of (Ballyholme Yacht Club) will sail.

In the 420 double habded class Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove of Howth Yacht Club have been selected and girls pairing of Cliodhna Ni Shuilleabhain (Kinsale Yacht Club) and Jill McGinley (Royal Cork Yacht Club)are also named.

In the open 29er Skiff last year's representatives Sean and Tadgh Donnelly (National Yacht Club) will race again.

The team of five boys and three girls will compete across three different classes at the most prestigious international youth sailing event which will take place in Limassol, Cyprus from the 13 – 20 July.

Only one male and one female place was offered in each class and the contenders had to meet both international standards as well as win their category at the Youth National Championships in April in order to be selected.

In the Laser Radial class Ireland will have male and female representatives, both hailing from Northern Ireland. Robbie Gilmore from Belfast had met the international standard along with eight other male sailors prior to the Youth Nationals on Lough Derg.

That provided an equally nerve-wracking and exciting four day, 11 race deciding regatta as the top sailors battled it out for the coveted spot. Robbie took the lead in the early stages but was pursued  by last year's ISAF Youth Worlds silver medallist Finn Lynch who was determined to return to the championship for a second year. Ultimately it came down to the final day of racing but Lynch was unable to surpass Gilmore's impressive results.

In the girl's category Sarah Eames from Lisburn was triumphant beating her nearest female rival Sorcha Ni Shuilleabhain by eight points and thus earning her a place on the Youth Worlds team.

Ireland will also have both male and female representatives in the two-person 420 class. Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove from Dublin were among three male teams already at international standard and hoping for a win at the Youth Nationals.

Competition was fierce as the top four teams continuously swapped positions on the leader board. It came down to the final race where the duo took the bullet and deservedly the overall win. In the girl's category a young Cork pairing, Cliodhna Ni Shuilleabhain and Jill McGinley were the somewhat surprise winners.

The girls, although incredibly talented sailors, were much younger than their opponents and had set their sights on 2014. However they dominated throughout the regatta and ultimately beat the Dublin McDowell cousins who had been tipped for the place. With the Youth Nationals win under their belt they travelled to Wales at the end of April for the qualification event and successfully finished 6th overall where only the top eight would meet the international standard.

The final team to earn their place for the second year in a row are brothers Sean and Tadgh Donnelly from Dublin. They will be competing in the 29er class where they will hope to improve on their 10th overall finish at last year's event which was held on Dublin Bay.

Ireland Squad for the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships 2013

Laser Radial
Boy: Robbie Gilmore (Strangford Lough Yacht Club)
Girl: Sarah Eames (Ballyholme Yacht Club)

420
Boys: Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove (Howth Yacht Club)
Girls: Cliodhna Ni Shuilleabhain (Kinsale Yacht Club) and Jill McGinley (Royal Cork Yacht Club)

29er
Open: Sean and Tadgh Donnelly (National Yacht Club)

#isaf – The medals were decided across the ten Olympic events as ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyères brought the 2012-13 World Cup series to a close but there was no place for either of Ireland's London Olympic sailors who did not make the medal race finals.

Annalise Murphy's poor start to the event ultimately cost her the chance of competing in the final medal races. Another casualty was Chinese Olympic gold medallist Xu Lija whose slow start was also her downfall. Neither girl will be too worried as both the World Championships and Europeans are still to come later in the summer.

However,  Irish Sailing Association management admit 'a lot of work needs to be put in between now and then for Murphy to turn her fortunes around'.

In the end Murphy was in impressive form in the Silver fleet, as would be expected, and finished the regatta in 29th overall.

Meanwhile in the 113 boat Laser fleet, Northern Ireland's James Espey got off to an incredible start. Winning the first race, Espey was tied for second place after three races on Day 1. The solid start gave him the platform needed to qualify for the Gold fleet. He showed glimpses of his potential in gold but lacked the consistency to maintain a high overall placing. Nevertheless, he will take confidence from this performance and it sets him up well for a busy summer schedule. Overall he finished a respectable 34th.

An up and down breeze that never truly filled in at any point ensured for close knit racing on the final day in the south of France.

Although Alex Maloney and Molly Meech (NZL) brought an 18 point 49erFX lead into the final day there was no room for complacency as three double point Medal Races could have brought dramatic changes.

Keeping out of trouble they posted a steady 5-4-5 to take their second ISAF Sailing World Cup regatta win of the 2012-13 season. "We're happy that we've won our first World Cup event in Europe," said Maloney, who with Meech won the inaugural 49erFX event at ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne. "It was quite stressful out there with it being so light and shifty and the lead changed all the time."

There is room for optimism with the girls, however they know the road to Rio will take time, "It's just beginning," said Meech. "Most of the girls are quite new to the boat so there's a long way to go and it's going to keep getting harder."

Charlotte Dobson and Mary Rook (GBR) take silver and Dutch team Annemiek Bekkering and Claire Blom had a great day to take the final podium spot.

Great Britain's Dylan Fletcher and Alain Sign got the job done the 49er with a 2-1-3 score line. Having come into the day with a joint lead Fletcher and Sign couldn't have asked for much more in tricky conditions. David Evans and Ed Powys made it a British top two and Carlos and Anton Paz (ESP) rounded off the top three.

Marit Bouwmeester (NED) christened her return back in the Laser Radial after London 2012 with a well-deserved gold medal. Leading the first Medal Race from start to finish Bouwmeester established a seven point advantage over Tuula Tenkanen (FIN) and Alison Young (GBR) who were tied for silver.

"I just had to focus on myself and sail a good race," said the Dutch sailor. "When it is light and tricky it's a bit easier because you can only focus on yourself and I won the first race and made it a bit easy. The other two girls started racing each other in the second race so it was easy for me," she said with a smile.

"I didn't really have it as a goal to win a medal. I had a big break and came out here to see how it goes and it went a lot better than I expected," Bouwmeester added.

At the start of the final Laser Radial Medal Race Tenkanen found herself ahead of Young and made sure she kept her at bay, "I didn't get a very good start on upwind but I climbed a bit on the first downwind and chose the better gate mark," said Tenkanen. "I was before Alison and because Marit was so far in front I decided to ensure Alison stayed behind so the rest of the race I tried to cover her."

Finishing in ninth and tenth place Tenkanen and Young could not be caught so Young, who won gold at ISAF Sailing World Cup Palma took bronze.

Tom Burton (AUS) put his ISAF Sailing World Cup Palma woes behind him in Hyères to claim a hard earned gold medal. Burton lost a commanding lead in Palma but chipped away at Tonci Stipanovic's (CRO) advantage to come from behind and take Laser gold. Stipanovic (CRO) fell to third whilst Robert Scheidt (BRA) tastes silver on his Laser return.

"I was always coming from behind here whereas in Palma I was always in the front," said Burton. "It doesn't make up for it but it's good to learn from my experience and improve on it this."

Burton has been ranked World #1 in the Laser since December 2012 but doesn't see himself as the guy to beat, "Everyone is so good if you don't sail well it doesn't matter what your ranking is you're going to get chopped. It's good to be World #1 and at the front as well."

Daniel Mihelic (CRO) had a superb day on the water taking both race wins but being too far behind to take a medal he ended up fourth overall.

Charline Picon (FRA) lost a substantial Women's RS:X lead after she was OCS in the first Medal Race. This put Bryony Shaw (GBR) and Blanca Manchon (ESP) in the driving seat going into the second Medal Race making it winner takes all.

Ahead of racing on the final day Shaw said, "I'm really happy to be windsurfing. I had a good World Championship finished second and I want to keep the momentum going from that. That's why I'm happy to be here and doing all the World Cups."

Shaw has been prevalent on the World Cup circuit with a fourth in Miami and a second in Palma to move to World #3 and showed she is one of the best at the moment by taking the final race win in Hyères to seal gold.

Manchon finished third to take silver whilst a seventh for Picon meant she won bronze.

Przemyslaw Miarczynski (POL) came back into the Men's RS:X with a bang and notched up double bullets to claim gold. Compatriot Piotr Myszka came through in silver medal position and Julien Bontemps (FRA) concluded the podium.

"It was pretty hard and I've not trained a lot in the light conditions," said Miarczynski, London 2012 bronze medallist, "I didn't expect to be so good in the light winds but preparing a lot in the winter time was helpful here."

Poland boasts a strong RS:X contingent personified by them taking the top two spots in Hyères and Miarczynski is reaping the rewards, "This is very good because we train together and it's really helpful. We also have Pawel Tarnowski and he's also very good and we're three competing against each other so it's very nice."

Andrew Mills (GBR) overcame Giles Scott (GBR) in the Finn to take gold. Going into the last race the pair had secured the top two spots so it was winner takes all. "We both needed to get a result in to secure silver at least in the first race and then the last race was just a match race between the two of us. It was whoever did the best would win," Mills said.

Coming in third Mills was ahead of Scott who finished at the back of the pack and Mills was pleased to overcome his countryman, "Giles is hard to beat at any point so to beat him and put myself up there is great."

New Zealand's Josh Junior had a great week and sailed himself to the bronze knocking Pieter-Jan Postma (NED) out of the medals.

Brazil's Fernanda Oliveira and Ana Barbachan (BRA) turned their overnight Women's 470 lead into another ISAF Sailing World Cup gold medal making it three in a row after Miami and Palma wins.  "It was so difficult today," said Oliveira. "We didn't do good races and our starts were so bad. We are happy with the result and it's good to win again. We're going to have some days of rest, relaxing at home and then we'll start training again."

Camille Lecointre and Mathilde Geron (FRA) took the silver medal and Great Britain's Sophie Weguelin and Eilidh McIntyre took their second consecutive World Cup podium spot in third.

Double bullets on the last day for Mat Belcher and Will Ryan (AUS) secured them their fourth gold medal together since teaming up. For Belcher his unbeaten Men's 470 run, that stems from November 2011, continues, "To come into these events having won them last year and with a new partnership there's high expectations," said Belcher. "To come away with another win with today's condition and finish off by winning both Medal Races was fantastic."

Ryan added, "There's been a full range of conditions and a lot of the top sailors have really come through. Everybody has had a few bad races along the way and I think every fleet saw really close racing so it's been a really great event."

Sofian Bouvet and Jeremie Mion (FRA) maintained their spot in second place and London 2012 Olympic bronze medallists Lucas Calabrese and Juan de la Fuente (ARG) complete the top three.

Anything was possible on the final day in the Nacra 17 as just five points divided the top five.

The fleet were delayed due to fickle breeze and testing conditions that were prevalent on the course. Once racing got underway it was Sweden's Tim Shuwalow and Hanna Klinga (SWE) who prevailed. They ended up tied on 59-points with Billy Besson and Marie Riou (FRA) but based on the combined score of the Medal Races the Swedes took gold to win on count back.

Matias Buhler and Nathalie Brugger complete the podium.

Regattas in Melbourne, Miami, Palma and Hyères have made up the 2012-13 ISAF Sailing World Cup circuit with some great racing seen along the way.

With a busy summer of World Championships for the ten Olympic events attentions will turn back to World Cup duties starting at Qingdao, China in October 2013.

#HyeresSWC – There was no significant improvement for Irish sailing star Annalise Murphy who is uncharacteristically placed in a lowly 43rd place at the ISAF World Cup in Hyeres, France this afternoon.

A black flag disqualification in race four has ruled the Dun Laoghaire sailor out of the running after five races in her 55-boat fleet.

'In silver fleet now so going to use it to work on my racing' Annalise told fans.

Meanwhile Belfast lough sailor James Espey is now in 18th place from a 113 in the mens Laser class after falling back from joint second after the opening rounds on Monday.

Two days of fickle breeze at  Hyères brought the Qualification Series to a close as the world's best sailors positioned themselves at the top ahead of three days of Final Series racing.

In a breeze that stabilised later on in the day, peaking at 10 knots, Ivan Pastor (ESP) and Charline Picon (FRA) were the star performers in the Men's and Women's RS:X on the second day of racing in Hyères to take a clean score through to the Final Series.

Pastor has been a man on fire recently epitomised by back-to-back ISAF Sailing World Cup victories in Miami and Palma which moved him to World #1 in the Men's RS:X World Rankings. He was at his best again in Hyères winning both of the day's Men's RS:X races to take the overall lead and was pleased with the way things went, "I didn't have good starts but I chose the right side of the course," the Spaniard said. "I had good speed and good pumping to win both races. It was great for me. It was a difficult day for the RS:X with a lot of pumping and shifty winds but it was okay for me."

The Spaniard finishes the qualifying series ahead of Julien Bontemps (FRA) and Piotr Myszka (POL) to carry forward a clean slate into the start of Wednesday's Final Series and Pastor isn't getting carried away with his performance on the second day, "I want to compete day per day, it's a long race with this system and you've never won anything until the end."

Finding form in the Women's RS:X was French sailor Picon who, after London 2012, is competing at her second event following a fifth at the RS:X Worlds in Buzios, Brazil. Using her light weight to her advantage Picon attacked the light breeze head on, "I won the first and the second race of the day and I am very happy because my coach wanted me to win in these conditions because they are good for me. It's like the conditions in Rio and I have to be the leader in these winds."

Things didn't go all her way in the third race of the day as she explained, "I wasn't happy for the last race because I made a mistake on the upwind on the first run and went down to between 25-30. It was hard to get to the head of the race and I finished tenth so not too bad. I am first after the qualifying series which is nice but tomorrow is another day and it will be windy."

Spain's Blanca Manchon (ESP) took the final race win of the day to move to third whilst Bryony Shaw carries forward a second place to the Final Series after a steady day of racing.

Two race wins catapulted Luke Patience and Joe Glanfield (GBR) to the top of the Men's 470 fleet to move them nicely into the Final Series. They dislodged overnight leaders Paul Snow-Hansen and Dan Wilcox (NZL) who were still upbeat, "We had the best day we could have had," said Wilcox. "We struggled a little bit off the line and on the first beats but we had some good comebacks."

Like the Brits, the Kiwis are a new partnership and Snow-Hansen is happy with consistent results top five results over the Qualifying Series that sees them advance to the finals second overall, "If we can keep up there then we're really stoked. We're a new combination so we haven't sailed much together so we don't know what our weaknesses are. We've got to keep getting better throughout the week and it'll be hard to stay at the front."

Fernanda Oliveira and Ana Barbachan (BRA) were on form once again in the Women's 470 to pick up their third race win of the week. They advance to the final series on top followed by Lara Vadlau and Jolanta Ogar (AUT) and Tina Mrak and Veronika Macarol (SLO).

Dutch and French sailors remain at the forefront of the Nacra 17 fleet having dominated the proceedings at ISAF Sailing World Cup Palma. Elke Delnooz and Coen de Koning (NED) top the leader board followed by Franck Cammas and Sophie de Turckheim (FRA) who are making their inaugural appearance in the class. ISAF Sailing World Cup Palma runners-up Renee Groeneveld and Karel Begemann (NED) are third.

Tonci Stipanovic (CRO) enjoyed another strong day in the Laser to remain at the top of the 113-boat fleet. Following the Croatian is Bruno Fontes (BRA), Sam Meech (NZL), Jesus Rogel Sanchez (ESP) and Mattis Naud (FRA).

In the Laser Radial Finland's Tuula Tenkanen was a model of consistency and across three races recorded a first, second and third. Her standout performance pushed her to the top of the Radial leader board ahead of Mathilde de Kerangat (FRA) and Marit Bouwmeester (NED).

Taking the victories in the Finn on the second day was Oliver Tweddell (AUS), Vasilij Zbogar (SLO) and Andrew Mills (GBR). The Slovenian was the most consistent sailor in the fleet adding a sixth and a third to his tally to move up to top spot. Mills and Tweddell were less impressive than Zbogar but sit seventh and eighth respectively. Rounding off the top three ahead of the final series is Giles Scott (GBR) and Pieter-Jan Postma (NED).

Germany's Victoria Jurczok and Anika Lorenz maintained their solid start in the 49erFX and solidified top spot after the second day of racing. Following them is Charlotte Dobson and Mary Rook (GBR) and Alex Maloney and Molly Meech (GBR).

The 49er fleet were the last off the water at 20:10. Holding the lead is Federico and Arturo Alonso (ESP) followed by Pavle Kostov and Petar Cupac (CRO) who have finished third in all six races to sit second overall. Overnight leaders Dylan Fletcher and Alain Sign (GBR) slip to third.

In the 2.4mR Heiko Kroger (GER) holds a one point advantage over London 2012 Paralympic gold medallist Helena Lucas (GBR) and Bruno Jourdren, Eric Flageul and Nicolas Vimont-Vicary (FRA) lead the Sonar.

With the Qualification Series over, sailors now carry forward a non discardable race with their points equal to their final rank in the qualification stage. A three day final series now ensues ahead of Saturday's Medal and Stadium Races.

Racing resumes at 11:00 local time on Wednesday.

#Laser - The sailing world has been taken by surprise with the news that the designer of the Laser has launched his iconic design under a whole new brand amid allegations over royalty payments.

Bruce Kirby - whose single-handed one-design has become a staple at the Olympic Games - has apparently signed all new builder agreements to manufacture his rechristened Kirby Torch design, after terminating his previous deals at the end the last year.

"The issue is supply of the Kirby sailboat and parts to sailors worldwide," according to the Kirby Torch website. "After numerous attempts, Bruce Kirby felt he had no choice but to withdraw Laser brand building rights in North America and Europe."

It's alleged that lack of royalty payments for the design by at least one top manufacturer prompted the move by Kirby to strike out on own, but nothing has been confirmed as of this time.

It is also not known exactly what the consequences will be for currently sailed Lasers and for the International Laser Class Association (ILCA), although the Kirby Torch website states that all ISAF-plaqued Lasers are class legal under the renamed fleet.

More on this story as it develops...

#Sailing - Scuttlebutt Sailing News has highlighted some North American voices adding to the chorus that calls for a renewed emphasis on dinghy sailing and encouraging a broader base of participation in the sport.

Former ISAF president Paul Henderson shared his thoughts on the elements that grew the sport of sailing over the past four decades, and what he believes is holding sailing back today.

Aside from the expense of new boats and the emphasis on single-handers and college sailing that prioritises the most elite athletes, the Canadian sailing hand also believes yacht clubs in North America "have forgotten what they are about... [thinking that] regattas should be a profit centre, rather than the hosting the sailors cheaply as the raison d’etre of a yacht club."

Meanwhile, US Sailing president Tom Hubbell has added his own suggestions for introducing young newcomers to the sport through the one-design classes - via mentoring, networking socially and, very importantly, limiting failure so that young sailors will be encouraged to return again and again for more.

Their comments come after former ISA president Roger Bannon's candid assessment of the state of sailing in Ireland today.

According to Bannon, the "importance of supporting elite and Olympic sailing" must become "a subsidiary focus to the main objective of getting people sailing competently and safely in whatever boat they wish".

#isaf – Ireland is punching well above its weight in the administration of world sailing.

After the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) world conference held in Dun Laoghaire last November there have been a number of Irish sailors appointed to key positions in the global body. Dun Laoghaire sailors in particular now hold key positions on at last four committees.

The Royal St. George's John Crebbin occupies a top seat on the ISAF council, a senior position in world sailing. The Irish Sailing Association's CEO Harry Hermon joins the youth development committee. Husband and wife Team Con Murphy and Cathy MacAleavey from the National Yacht Club are on race management and the events committees respectively.

Royal Cork's Mike O'Connor is on the match racing committee and Ballyholme's Bill O'Hara stays on in racing rules.

On ISAF's working parties Ireland is also well represented. O'Hara is on the umpire and special rules group and O'Connor is on the match and team racing rules working party. Bray sailor Gordon Davies is on the 'rapid response' team racing call group.

The ISAF World Sailing Rankings for 12 December 2012 have been released.

Top three by class:

Men's 470

1. Matthew Belcher / Malcolm Page (also crewed with William Ryan), AUS

2. Panagiotis Kampouridis / Panagiotis Kampouridis, GRE

3. Gideon Kliger / Eran Sela, ISR

Women's 470

1. Lisa Westerhof / Lobke Berkhout, (also crewed with Anneloes Van Veen), NED

2. Gil Cohen / Vered Buskila, ISR

3. Ai Kondo / Wakako Tabata, JPN

Laser

1. Tom Burton, AUS

2. Philipp Buhl, GER

3. Bruno Fontes, BRA

Laser Radial

1. Marit Bouwmeester, NED

2. Alison Young, GBR

3. Krystal Weir, AUS

49erFX

1. Alexandra Maloney, NZL

2. Tessa Parkinson, AUS

3. Ella Giudice, AUS

49er

1. Allan Norregaard / Peter Lang (also crewed with Anders Thomsen), DEN

2. Tobias Schadewaldt / Hans Burchard (also crewed with Hendrik Brandis, Hannes Baumann and Oliver Lewin), GER

3. Mathieu Frei / Yann Rocherieux, CAL

Finn

1. Brendan Casey, AUS

2. Jonas Hogh-Christensen, DEN

3. Zach Railey, USA

Men's RS:X

1. Julien Bontemps, FRA

2. Przemyslaw Miarcznski, POL

3. Piotr Myszka, POL

Women's RS:X

1. Moana Delle, GER

2. Flavia Tartaglini, ITA

3. Charline Picon, FRA

The Nacra17 is set to be introduced into the ISAF Sailing World Cup for the first time throughout the 2012-2013 series and will appear on the rankings following each regatta.