Ireland's Laser Radial 2014 World Silver Medalist Seafra Guilfoyle had to pull out of the first Irish Olympic Trial for Rio due to a back injury last season. Three months later and thanks to a steroid injection, the Crosshaven sailor flew out to the Canaries this week to compete at the Laser European Championships. Unfortunately, the slipped disc injury has flared up again and the Irish youth champion has been kept ashore in Las Palmas. Here Guilfoyle outlines the setbacks to his campaign

The injury all started back at the end of June, I had started to feel pain in my left leg while walking around but was confused as I didn't feel any pain while sailing. I went to Germany at the start of July for a Europa Cup. We had to drive from Amsterdam to Warnemunde which is a 10 hour drive. That didn't help my leg and I could feel more pain coming on.

We did two days of training before the event and I was feeling quite a lot of pain while walking so I texted my trainer Mark McCabe and he said not to do the event. We had to do the same journey back to Amsterdam and once I got to the airport I could barely stand.

Back in Cork, Mark organised for me to come to his gym in Sportsmed in Dublin to be accessed. He got an x-ray for me where the results showed that I had a slipped disc in my back and it was rubbing off the nerve which gave the pain in my leg. I spent the whole summer each week in sports med where I would do half sessions a day and I would go back to Cork on the weekend.

I had to skip both the under–21 Worlds and Europeans. My first time sailing was in September during a camp. I did some half days but couldn't go out in heavy winds. I was slowly getting back to sailing and was happy to be allowed attend a camp in Croatia during the end of October. Unfortunately, I wasn't careful enough and sailed six out of nine days there which was too much for my back to handle.

Once I got back to Ireland I felt a lot of pain in my leg again which meant I set myself back a good bit. I was back in the gym quite a lot and spent two weeks in Sportsmed before Christmas doing rehab. I wasn't allowed back in the boat at this time. It was looking better until I got a chest infection just after Christmas. This happens each year because of dampness and asthma.

After Christmas, I consulted with Mark, the ISA doctor James O'Donovan and the team at UCC and we all decided it was time to get the steroid injection. Since getting the injection I have felt that it has helped a lot and I was feeling barely any pain in the leg just before coming to the Canaries for the European Championships. I was hoping to be able to compete in this event but the bus journey from Cork to Dublin and the four and a half hour flight was too much for my back to handle and it brought back a lot of leg pain.

I have been in contact with Mark everyday and the leg pain has started to ease off a lot.

I have always considered Laser sailors to be tough, particularly when I have seen them battling the elements of Winter weather during Frostbite series. So, standing on the Sand Quay at Monkstown in Cork Harbour, base of my home village club on a windswept Saturday morning, rain carried in the wind as I watched a few of them trying to right their boats after capsizing into the cold, choppy waters of the River Lee I shivered, huddled into my warm jacket and was pretty glad I wasn’t out there…..!!
You need to be fit to sail a Laser, I concluded and not afraid of a dousing in cold water. As the sailors came ashore from the Winter series run by Monkstown Bay Sailing Club, they were all happy with themselves. There was a great bit of craic going on amongst them.

 This league series was run by the club to get Lasers out sailing. It succeeded, with sailors from Youghal and Inniscarra clubs in the county joining harbour sailors.

“There are many Lasers around the harbour that aren’t sailed, maybe because there isn’t a centre where they can gather.”
“Get out racing…
“It’s easier to sit inside the window looking out and deciding not to go…”
“None of us are aspiring to be internationalists or Olympians, we just enjoy our sailing, but there has been perhaps too much emphasis on the top level of sailing rather than the clubs. It’s in the clubs that the future is…”
Those were amongst comments to me amongst a spirited group of sailors enthused after battling pretty demanding conditions. They also expressed an attitude that the event was a commitment to club sailing, underlining the importance of boosting the clubs.
Monkstown Bay SC faces a challenge ahead, because of the expansion of Cork Port at Ringasiddy, just across Monkstown Bay from the club house. There is concern about the impact which this will have on the available sailing water in the Bay, which could be restricted in the future.
Listen above to my interview with Charles Dwyer, one of the MBSC organisers of the League, who first described to me the sailing weather conditions that morning.

With big winds up to 20–knots and large waves Annalise Murphy from the National Yacht Club was very much at home and off to a flying start at the in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria  at the European Laser Senior Championship 2016 yesterday where she is ranked seventh after the first day's racing. 14 out of the World's top 20 female Laser Radial sailors are competing. The Irish sailing star recently offered a prediction that she is one of eight girls who can medal in Rio in August. Results for all three divisions are downloadable below.

11 male and female Laser sailors from around the Irish coast are competing in the important regatta. In the women's division Annalise is well ahead of Irish rivals so far. Aoife Hopkins from Howth Yacht Club is 57th, Nicole Hemeryck from the National Yacht Club is 61st and Aisling Keller 68th in a fleet of 88.

The Laser Radial female competition is very tight, the two leaders in their own groups are tied, as well as the girls in third position (with a 2nd and two 4ths), Finish Tuula Tenkanen and Chinese Xu Lijia -Gold medalist in London 2012. The female leader board is headed by Dutch girl Marit Bouwmeester and Swedish Josefin Olsson, both with three wins in their resepctive groups.

With winds gusting to over 30 knots, the fleet was kept ashore for the opening day, but racing has got underway yesterday.

267 sailors from 47 countries participate in this Championship, organised by the Real Club Nautico de Gran Canaria, the European Laser Association (Eurilca) and the Real Federacion Española de Vela (RFEV).

Although sailors with Rio Sailing Olympic ambitions are competing in Gran Canaria Ireland is also represented in the mens radial where Ewan McMahon from Howth Yacht Club posted fifth yesterday. Conor O'Beirne from the Royal St. George YC is eighth and former Topper World Champion Liam Glynn from Ballyholme Yacht Club is 19th.

Nick Thompson leads the Laser Standard class in the European Senior Championship. Three wins in the first three races gives the current World Champion the leading position in a demanding day. Finn Lynch of the National Yacht Club in 54th leads Fionn Lyden of Baltimore Sailing Club in 73rd. Ballyholme's James Espey (leader of the Irish Olympic trial) is 77th and Darragh O’ Sullivan from Kinsale Yacht Club is 100th. Seafra Guilfolye of Royal Cork is listed as entered by not competing.

With winds gusting to over 30 knots, the fleet was kept ashore for the opening day of the Laser Europeans (126 entries) and Laser Radial Women’s Europeans (99 entries). Ireland is well represented at the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria championships with Annalise Murphy and Aoife Hopkins racing in the womens event. Darragh O’ Sullivan, Fionn Lyden, Finn Lynch and James Espey will be competing in the mens event, an important regatta on the road to next month's Irish Trial at the Princesa Soifa Regatta in Palma.

All set for European Champs which start tomorrow out here in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria! #eurolsgrancanaria16 #racetime

— Annalise Murphy (@Annalise_Murphy) 27 February 2016

The weather forecast for today looks better to complete the three races planned. Canada and USA are also using the event as part of their Olympic selection process.

Racing is scheduled from February 28 to March 4.

The third week of the Frostbites in Kinsale Yacht Club was run under testing conditions today. When the Committee Boat, got to the racing area there was barely 5 knots of breeze, compounded by the fact that it was out of the NE and there was a very strong tide ebbing, the windward leg was definitely challenging for the competitors.
9 Squibs were on the start line. 1st race saw Viking Gold, Jeff Condell and Jeff Cochrane, trying hard to hold his position at the Committee Boat end of the line but he got pushed OCS and had to go around. Allegro, Colm Dunne and Rob Gill and Fagin, Cliodhna and Finbarr O’Regan, were neck and neck for the first two legs. Colm came down on starboard on a higher line, Cliodhna ran a more direct line to the mark. However Colm jibed onto port and reached in at speed to take the mark and this was to prove a decisive move in the race. Viking Gold put in a great race and despite the recall managed to overhaul the fleet to take 3rd.
The wind picked up to 8 – 10 knots for the next 2 races which made the challenging beat a little easier. Allegro took command from the start by finding clean air on the line. Fagin and Viking Gold were tick tacking for 2nd place. John Stanley and Alastair Christie on Bateleur and Denis and Brid Cudmore on Sensation were not far behind. Fagin rounded the leeward mark ahead and secured 2nd. Viking Gold decided to come up to the finish line on the left side of the course and this paid off by securing him 3rd place ahead of Sensation and Bateleur.
The final race again saw an OCS, this time Fagin got squeezed over the line and had to come around. Allegro and Viking Gold both got clear starts, Allegro rounded the windward mark first and managed to hold the lead for the rest of the race. Bateleur rounded the windward mark in 3rd and had a very strong race. Despite the recall Fagin picked off the fleet one by one and with some serious hiking by Finbarr and great helming by Cliodhna just managed to get ahead of Bateleur on the last tack to the line to take 3rd. Next week Allegro is away so Viking Gold and Fagin have it all to play for.
The Laser Fleet saw only 3 competitors today as 1st & 2nd in the series are away training. Mathias Hellstern took command of each of the races to take 3 bullets, Chris Baker put in a steady performance to come 2nd each race with Nic Bendon taking 3rd. Hopefully next week will see a larger turnout of Lasers.

The National Yacht Club has renewed its appeal for club sailor Finn Lynch who is part of a three way mens Laser dinghy trial for Irish Olympic qualification in Palma in March and Mexico in May.

The Dun Laoghaire club says it is looking to raise €25,000 to cover the final qualification trips and the purchase of a new boat for the solo star, a silver medal winner at the 2012 Youth World Championships.

The Monkstown Bay Sailing Club Laser Frostbite League in Cork Harbour continued last Saturday.

The series is structured around a reliable race programme with FG at 10:15 and a commitment to have boats ashore again by Midday. The approach has been embraced by up to 15 laser sailors to date, with others due to appear over the coming weeks.

Saturday was eagerly anticipated on the series whatsapp group, with a lively NW forecast – even though it never really materialised on the day.

11 boats lined up for the 10:15 (sharp) first gun, sounded by Race Officer John Moynihan, over a course set in Monkstown Creek

Early running was (as usual) by former oppie champion, Brendan Dwyer, but he was passed mid way by Rob Howe and Ronan Kenneally. Paul O’Sullivan worked his way back into 2nd place, but on the last beat , a large windshift foiled his chances of a low score.

The second race followed a similar pattern with many position changes, the biggest happening at the final leeward mark rounding, when the promised NW arrived causing a disagreeable pile up and perhaps a 720 or two resulted (it was hard to tell). Kenneally carded antoher 1st in the light conditions, but this order was to change in race 3.

The third race was sailed in 12 knots and was led early by 2 time Laser World Championship participant, Paul Swanton. He was overhauled by Charles Dwyer and Paul O Sullivan who tussled for the lead over the downwind. A few technical arguments followed, and Dwyer eventually managed to take a clear lead, with Eddie Rice showing the skills picked up from the 2015 Laser Masters Worlds in Hyeres taking 2nd.

Leaderboard as follows after 8 races.

1) Ronan Kenneally 8 points
2) Charles Dwyer 15 points
3) Rob Howe 21 points
4) Eddie Rice 31 points
5) Nick Walsh 36 points

The recently-published ISA Survey of Club Racing commissioned and supervised by Board Member Jack Roy has started the process of putting together a realistic picture of how we sail and go afloat for recreation, and it was analysed on publication here in Afloat.ie.

It’s logical to have made the beginning with club racing, as racing provides its own narrative and a straightforward set of entry numbers and results. But it will become more complex as the national authority tries to provide realistic figures for day sailing’s less competitive aspects. And of course, once we enter the world of cruising as defined by sailing and boating projects which include passage making, both coastal and offshore, together with overnight on-board stops, then it can become much more difficult to get meaningful data.

Yet with the ISA’s Cruising Conference for February 20th already booked out within a few days of being announced on Afloat.ie, clearly that is an area in search of services and support, a section of sailing which is difficult to quantify yet obviously of strong interest to a significant number of boat enthusiasts. W M Nixon takes a look at how the complexity of our sport’s many specialities makes it difficult to provide a clearcut picture for possible recruits to sailing.

Where would we be without the International Optimist Dinghy? The little solo-sailing boxes and their attendant support teams of mum and dad and the dog and the old 4X4 or station wagon or people carrier or whatever may seem to take up an awful lot of space and time, and all just so that one little person can go sailing.

But at least that one little person does go sailing. The ISA figures are brutally straightforward. In terms of genuine turnouts afloat at clubs throughout Ireland, in boat numbers the active Optimists are exceeded only by the Lasers, and this is arguably because Lasers aren’t age-limited, whereas the Optimists most definitely are.

Optimist airborne. This is Ireland's second most popular class

Ireland’s most popular dinghy class, the Laser is seen here at the Zhik Irish Nationals at Ballyholme

So we give a qualified cheer for the success of these two little boats. But it’s qualified because they’re single-handers which fail to provide any crew-relating sailing skills. Leading sailing figures as diverse as Des McWilliam of Crosshaven and Norman Lee of Greystones have been eloquent in promoting the notion that we should be doing more – much more – to encourage two-handed boats, and if we can persuade people into three-handed boats, well, so much the better.

Certainly that’s one of the reasons why our header photo says so much. A lone sailor in an Optimist or Laser promotes too much of a solitary, even an isolated image. And a two-handed boat like the GP 14, whose strong fleet figures in the ISA survey show the class’s vigour, is arguably just an act for a dynamic duo – it’s Strictly Come Dancing goes sailing…..

But getting three together to race a characterful boat like the National 18 with style – now that’s something special, that really is a superb combination of people skills interacting with sailing talent. And it’s a joy to behold. Yet anyone can see that for a complete beginner to sailing, this extraordinary silhouette of Tommy Dwyer’s National 18 against the November sky above the Hill of Howth will have an otherworldly air about it – “That’s not for me” is as likely a response as “Let’s have a go at that”.

Even those of us who have been in sailing for longer than we care to remember find the image decidedly thought-provoking, for we have some idea of what has been involved in creating the circumstances for this seemingly effortless balancing act, this lighter-than-air effect in the unlikely setting of a November afternoon.

Over the past year or so we have been recounting in Afloat,ie how the Cork Harbour National 18 Class, with very tangible backing from the Royal Cork Yacht Club, have been in the forefront of the development of the new ground-breaking Phil Morrison take on the long-established National 18, which is a developmental class which from time to time takes a leap in hull design, and moves forward in order to keep the spirit alive.

The National 18s are part of the fabric of Cork Harbour sailing. Before the new Morrison boats arrived in July, the old fleet were seen here in May 2015 after their annual race to Ballinacurra in northeast Cork Harbour in company with the Dwyer brothers’ cruising ketch. Photo: W M Nixon

Acceptance of this is something which seems to be bred into Cork’s National 18 enthusiasts, many of whom have the advantage of being firmly of the opinion that a proper dinghy needs three people to sail it. But the social matrix which has built up around Cork Harbour over many decades with this concept at its heart is not something which will necessarily travel easily to other areas, and although the six boats of the National 18 flotilla which visited Howth for the Open Day got a great reception and gave many people from other classes a marvellous time afloat, it’s probable that the very different mood around sailing in Dublin means that something so technically and socially challenging as a three man dinghy is a step too far.

Sailing in the greater Dublin area seems to exist within a framework of independent balloons. While there are those who will happily move from one boat type to another and cheerfully spread their talents and enjoyment about, by contrast there’s the Dublin Bay Sailing Club Thursday Evening Phenomenon.

Thursday is when the DBSC cruiser classes go out to race. And there’s an entire cohort of people, mostly folk who work in offices in the city, who on a Thursday evening go straight to Dun Laoghaire, get aboard a pontoon-based cruiser owned by someone else, go out and race in some very specific crewing job, then come back in and have supper in club or pub with their shipmates, and then that’s it until next Thursday. Just one evening each summer mid-week is their entire sailing programme. Weekends are for something else. And as for the hassle and mixed joys of boat ownership and maintenance, that’s not their department at all.

It’s a very metropolitan, very citified yet specialized way of doing things, and Dublin is one of the very few cities whose location facilitates it. It will be fascinating to measure it, for Dublin’s way of sailing is steeped in history and tradition. But for now it’s refreshing to look at a place which has had a sailing tradition in times past, but somehow lost it, yet it’s coming back again, and one of the good news stories towards the end of 2015 is that the new Youghal Sailing Club has been accepted into the ISA fold.

Youghal at present is a difficult place for sailing, as the tidal power of the mighty Munster Blackwater sweeps straight through the estuary and along the old town’s waterfront, and the creation of any meaningful modern facilities will have the immediate difficulty of silting by incredibly adhesive black mud.

With the sun out, and the tide in, Youghal looks to be an ideal location for the easy installation of a marina….....Photo: W M Nixon

….but with the sun in and the tide out, the mud problem is revealed. Photo: W M Nixon

Thus, as dedicated Afloat.ie readers will have recently observed, no sooner had one group announced that a marina in Youghal was on the way than another longer-established group quietly suppressed the story, as they’re well aware of the engineering and dredging difficulties involved, and premature announcements will only slow any project in the long run.

In the fullness of time, a marina at Youghal will be a godsend for any cruiser plugging along the south coast. It’s not always the easiest coast in the world to make a passage along, sometimes it can seem an awfully long way to Cork from Dunmore East or Kilmore Quay even if you do make stopovers at Dungarvan or Helvick, and there are times when the hardiest seafarer is glad enough to get his boat secured to a good big pontoon.

But that’s for the future. Meantime, the locally-based keelboats are using either the restless anchorage off the town, or the more serene pool across the estuary at Ferry Point on the east shore, while the new club’s flotilla of GP 14s are stored in spare warehouse space during non-sailing time, and when they do go sailing it turns out their clubhouse is a moveable feast - it’s a caravan which can be towed to a choice of sailing locations.

A moveable feast. Members of the newly-affiliated Youghal Sailing Club with their caravan HQ, Adrian Lee in doorway. Photo: W M Nixon

On the national stage, it is young Youghal GP 14 sailor Adrian Lee who has been among those flying the club’s flag, and there’s hope in the air. When we were there in May on a fine day that promised a summer which never arrived, we couldn’t help but think that when they do get their facilities and maybe even a clubhouse, they’ll look back to the days of the caravan and ad hoc racing arrangements with sweet nostalgia. For sometimes, it’s much better to be travelling than it is to arrive.

But for the rest of us, the message from Youghal is simple. The sea is for sailing. Use it or lose it. By all means get proper people surveys done which indicate the way numbers are shaping up and things are going. But really, if you want to persuade people to go sailing, the best way is by example, getting afloat as much as possible yourself. And maybe then you’ll find the time to welcome aboard newcomers too.

Reviving Youghal sailing – on race days, the club’s caravan is simply towed down to the pier and the races are started from there. Photo: W M Nixon

Youghal’s massive public slip provides launching for the YSC sailing dinghies, but during 2015 the boats had to be stored at the other end of town when not in use. Photo: W M Nixon

The pace-setter. Adrian Lee of Youghal SC with his Duffin-built GP14. Photo: W M Nixon

Click to download: ISA Survey of Club Racing 

2008 Irish Olympic Finn sailor Timothy Goodbody completed the Round Antigua race last Saturday covering the course of just over 50 nm in a Laser dinghy in a time of 10 hours and 48 minutes.

According to an Afloat.ie source, no dinghy has ever entered the race before, so the Irish helmsman from the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire picked up a "double" first for his efforts. The organisers have now set the time as a race record to be beaten.

Down the north side of the island Goodbody sailed through a sea of turtles in great big surfing rollers. He ran out of wind at the bottom of the island and then had a long beat to the finish line in Falmouth Harbour. Goodbody reckons with the right conditions it could be done in approx nine hours.

He carried a VHF, EPIRP, GPS and about 10 litres of water for the circumnavigation.

With under 200 days to go to the Olympic Games, Irish radial sailors Annalise Murphy and Aoife Hopkins are preparing for the second round of their Olympic trials at Miami Olympic Classes regatta next week. Murphy leads after the first round of the trials on Rio waters in December and now the Irish rivals will enter the second test at the ISAF World Cup on Biscayne Bay. Hopefully, there will be no unexpected implications in Florida as there appeared to be in Rio. 

Murphy has been busy over the Christmas period competing again in Rio, finishing ninth overall at the Brazilian championships, giving her more valuable race time on Olympic waters.

Apart from Irish interest in the trial for the single Irish place, the Laser Radial fleet will be the one to watch in Miami with a special trio facing off at the top of the 80-boat fleet. London 2012 gold medallist Lijia Xu (CHN) will be joined by silver medallist Marit Bouwmeester (NED) and bronze medallist Evi Van Acker (BEL).

Alongside Murphy, Xu, Bouwmeester and Van Acker had a famous four way battle for gold at London 2012 with the Chinese racer coming out on top. Xu stepped away from the Laser Radial in 2013 but after a two-year hiatus she returned to Olympic sailing at the 2015 Laser Radial World Championship.

The rivalry with Bouwmeester and Van Acker resumed instantly as she finished sixth to their second and third. With more miles and training in the bag, Xu, who stole the hearts of the sailing world in 2012 will be aiming to make an impression in Miami.

Denmark's Anne Marie Rindom continues to excite in the Laser Radial and returns to Miami to defend the title she won 12 months ago. Rindom also comes into the American World Cup regatta off the back of a world championship victory last year and will be aiming for the medals once again.

Much like the Radial, the Laser fleet will feature many of the leading lights of sailing and is set to be a hot contest. There will be no Irish mens trial in Florida as the second trial after Rio has moved back to a European venue.

World #1 Tom Burton (AUS) and #2 Matt Wearn (AUS) will spearhead a fleet that includes key players on the road to Rio. Five-time Olympic medallist Robert Scheidt (BRA), 2014 world champion Nicholas Heiner (NED), Rutger van Schaardenburg (NED), Andy Maloney (NZL), Jesper Stalheim (SWE) and Charlie Buckingham (USA) will be amongst the front runners looking to capture top honours.

Racing is set to commence at 10:00 local time on Monday 25 January across the ten Olympic and two Paralympic fleets. Medal Races on Saturday 30 January.

Also racing in Miami next week is Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey in the 49erfx, 49er duo Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern and the Paralympic trio John Twomey, Ian Costelloe and Austin O Carroll who have just launched a logo campaign.