It was a frustrating third day for the sailors at the Delta Lloyd Regatta in Medemblik, Holland but not for Dun Laoghaire's Annalise Murphy who proved her world class speed again in strong winds. With wind increasing to 30 knots, racing was abandoned and boats sent to shore after just four races were completed.

Ireland's Annalise Murphy won the only Laser Radial race today. "I like the breeze!" said Annalise "but I have to admit that the last downwind leg was scary!"

The National Yacht Club sailor is now leading the strong Laser Radial fleet, "I am not complaining, I had a good result. I was leading by a long distance at the top mark but Marit Bouwmeester caught up on the down wind but I could stay in front." She now leads the overall standings on 14 points, ahead of Tina Mihelic (CRO), who came fifth today, on 15 points after discarding her first day's disqualification "I am satisfied with my result. I am not so strong in the breeze, I am much lighter than the others and it is harder for me to hike when the wind is strong. A fifth is a good result and I am relieved that I can finally discard my penalty."

Annalise at high speed today. Photo: Sander van der Borch

Marit Bouwmeester (NED) have enjoyed better results in the breeze with a second, and comes back to the score, she places in third overall position.

Overnight leader Gintare Scheidt finished 13th today and has dropped to fourth overall.

On top of the World in Holland. The Scoreboard after five races

In the Men's RS:X were the only fleet to successfully complete their two scheduled races. The day belonged to Taehoon Lee (KOR) who won Race 5 before finishing second in Race 6 to end the day on 12 points is in third.

The top of the Men's Standings is tight with just three points are separating Dorian Van Rijsselberge (NED) in first, on nine points, and Lee in third.

Van Rijsselberge, who is sailing in his home regatta, has been the pick of the sailors in the RS:X fleet this week. After winning gold at the Rolex Miami OCR and Trofeo S.A.R. Princess Sofia MAPFRE the Dutchman is well on track to maintain his 100% record so far having only competed in two out of four ISAF Sailing World Cup regattas before Medemblik.

His nine points gives him a two point advantage over Jon-Paul Tobin (NZL) who finished 2-3 today.

The rest of the fleet have a tough task of catching Van Rijsselberge, Tobin and Lee as Canada's Zachary Plavsic, in fourth place, finds himself trailing the frontrunners by 15 points.

In the Laser, ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year, Tom Slingsby (AUS) has jumped to the top of the Standings. He won the only race today in the Laser fleet and has six points after discarding his tenth place finish in the third race. "I am very happy, these are my optimum conditions. It is unfortunate that the second race is cancelled because I love the breeze. I hope I can win this regatta as it will then count towards my Olympic selection. If I can't win here I will try in Weymouth and then Kiel." explained Tom Slingsby.

Bruno Fontes (BRA) came second today and has ten points, he leapfrogs early Laser leader Milan Vujasinovic (CRO). The Croatian finished the first day with double bullets in the breeze but was unable to find some similar form on an equally breezy third day. His seventh place finish has seen him slip to third overall on 13 points.

In The Women's Match Racing, just six races took place in Group B before abandonment. Renee Groeneveld (NED) qualified for the Gold Group after defeating Julia Bossard (FRA). Groeneveld has won seven out of eight races and has one more to go.

With one race apiece remaining, Ekaterina Skudina (RUS), Silja Lehtinen (FIN), Anna Kjelberg (SWE) and Stephanie Hazard (NZL) are in contention for the final two qualification places. With six race wins China's Ru Wang has completed her nine races, if results go her way she will qualify for the Gold Group.

After a long postponement on shore, the race committee announced that further sailing was cancelled for the day. Tomorrow's forecast predicts a more "sailable" weather and racing will start at 9am for the Women Match Racing and from 10am for the other classes. The Laser and 470 Men will race in Gold and Silver fleets.

Irish sailing's golden girl Annalise Murphy has shot to the top of the Laser Radial fleet in strong winds at the ISAF World Cup series in Medemblik today, counting a third in the first race and a second this afternoon to be placed second overall after day one. The National Yacht Club sailor should have won the opener to give here the overall lead but she capsized and got her mast stuck in the mud.

 

Irish sailing's bid for Olympic glory in London next year kicks off today when rival helmsmen Max Treacy and Peter O'Leary square up for the right to represent Ireland next July at the Olympic Regatta in Weymouth.

The Irish Star keelboat Olympic trials gets underway today on the waters off Medemblik, Holland as part of the massive ISAF Delta Lloyd regatta.

O'Leary with new crew (and triple Olympian) David Burrows will go head to head with Treacy and Anthony Shanks in a 23-boat fleet that has attracted all the top teams, a mirror of next year's Olympic regatta itself.

Also competing in Holland is Laser Radial sailor Annalise Murphy and the two 49er crews.

The new procedures set out for Olympic qualification were announced by the Irish Sailing Association in January.

The fifth of seven ISAF Sailing World Cup Regattas runs in Medemblik until 29 May.

The 2010-2011 ISAF Sailing World Cup has seen some of the world's best fleet racing sailors, match racing sailors and paralympic sailors compete as they prepare for the 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition which will be held in Weymouth, England.

And the Star class is no exception featuring another field full of Olympic medallists and world champions. World #1 and current ISAF Sailing World Cup Star Standings leaders Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada (BRA) will be looking to hit the sort of form that has seen them pick up the gold medal at US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR and the Semaine Olympique Française.

The pair, who won silver at the 2008 Olympic Sailing Competition, will face stiff competition in Medemblik from compatriots and 2004 Olympic gold medallists Torben Grael and Marcelo Ferreira. Grael and Ferreira are currently #10 in the world and find themselves ninth in the Star Standings. Also set to attend is 2008 Olympic gold medallists and Trofeo S.A.R. Princess Sofia MAPFRE winners Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson (GBR) and last years Delta Lloyd Regatta winners and 2009-2010 ISAF Sailing World Cup Star Champions Eivind Melleby and Petter Morland Pedersen.

Ed Wright (GBR) has finished at the top of the ISAF Sailing World Cup Finn Standings for two years in a row. But this year he looks like relinquishing his crown with Ben Ainslie (GBR) currently leading the 2010-2011 Standings on 60 points after three regatta victories compared to Wright's 46 points with a best place finish of second at Sail Melbourne.

Wright will have a chance to close the gap on Ainslie in Medemblik as the multiple Olympic gold medallist will not be attending. Nonetheless Wright will have his work cut out with World #1 Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO), World #10 Dan Slater (NZL) and the Netherland's own Pieter-Jan Postma all registered to sail in the 74 boat fleet in Medemblik.

In the Men's RS:X Dorian Van Rijsselberge (NED) has sailed at the Rolex Miami OCR and at the Trofeo S.A.R. Princess Sofia MAPFRE and convincingly won both regattas. But after missing out the Semaine Olympique Française he lost his spot at the top of the Men's RS:X Standings to Shahar Zubari (ISR) who has a three point lead having finished in the top ten in Miami, Palma and Hyères.

But of the top ten in the Men's RS:X Standings only Van Rijsselberge, Ricardo Santos (BRA) in seventh and Aichen Wang (CHN) in tenth will sail so all will have a chance to climb up the overall Standings.

In the Women's RS:X there are 42 sailors registered to compete with Australia's three time Olympian Jessica Crisp the highest placed sailor in the Standings set to attend. Crisp is eleventh just two points ahead of Patricia Freitas in twelfth and Flavia Tartaglini (ITA), the bronze medallist in Medemblik in 2009 at 13. All three will be set to take their opportunity to claim a medal and move up the Standings.

The top five teams on the 49er Standings are not set to compete in Medemblik but this is still a high class field. The fleet includes World #5 Steve Morrison and Ben Rhodes (GBR), World #10 Emil Toft Nielsen and Simon Toft Nielsen (DEN) and World #9 Nathan Outteridge, direct from the Zhik SB3 Worlds, and Iain Jensen (AUS).

National Yacht Club Olympic campaigner Annalise Murphy won the UK Laser Radial Qualifiers in North Wales at the weekend. It was a short, sharp affair with no wind in Pwhelli on Saturday. She scored a 1,1,6 in the three races on Sunday sailing in a southerly 15-knot breeze and in a mixed fleet of 79 entrants.

There was no doubt that race two of the series was owned by Murphy who had finished 55th in the first race according to a UK Laser report. Murphy's upwind speed put the rest of the fleet to shame and she pulled well clear leaving the rest of the fleet to scrap over the minor places. Brewster who has been training with Murphy in Ireland obviously had some of the strong wind technique rubbed off on her to take second with Phil McCoy coming in third.

Race three and Hannah Snellgrove had the best start but Murphy footed off underneath and with the first shift tacked and was never seen again. Harvey showed that he can not only perform in the light but also the wind, putting in a convincing second, with Olly Porter taking third.

Race four and Murphy was unable to clear the pin at start time and had to tack duck the whole fleet, leaving her to claw her way back through the fleet which was being initially led by Harvey. The battle at the final windward mark was between Porter and Harvey who were well clear of the chasing pack, with Emmett holding off Murphy for third. This time downwind Porter got the better of Harvey, securing the bullet with Harvey second. This was more than enough for Harvey to take the event with Porter's bullet putting him into second. Murphy had a disappointing downwind to finish seventh and a drop to third overall.

However upon returning ashore it transpired that Harvey had been black flagged, promoting Emmett to second in the race. This dropped Harvey to fifth overall and promoted Murphy to take the event on tie breaker!

Overall results:

1st Annalise Murphy 8pts
2nd Olly Porter 8pts
3rd Andrea Brewster 11pts
4th Cameron Douglas 12pts
5th Ross Harvey 13pts
6th Hannah Snellgrove 17pts

Murphy (21) is in Weymouth today at a two week training camp before Ireland's first Olympic qualification event at the Delta Lloyd regatta in Holland. It's a process however that has got easier for the Dun Laoghaire sailor following the withdrawal of the Belfast lough campaigner Tiffany Brien.

Far from hanging up her boots though Brien was back on home waters winning the Laser Radial Ulster Championships at Royal North Ireland YC, Cultra last weekend.

 

 

Despite light and shifty sailing conditions which brought mixed results for most leaders, during the fourth racing in the Princesa Sofia MAPFRE competition, Ben Ainslie in the Finn class and Dorian van Rijsselberge in the RS:X, were able to sail to a perfect day claiming victories in the day's races.

Dun Laoghaire's Annalise Murphy lies sixth overall in the Laser Radial class after another strange day on the water. Her results here

Ryan Seaton and Matthew McGovern's 49er campaign got a boost with a race win in the gold fleet in race 12. They are 20th overall. Results here

Ben Ainslie (GBR) increases his lead over Giles Scott (GBR) in second and places 24 points from Thomas Lebreton (FRA), third overall. Dorian van Rijsselberge (NED) is eleven points ahead of Nick Dempsey (GBR) and twenty from Gold Medallist Tom Ashley (NZL) in the RS:X.

The day's tricky conditions distributed high scores to all the favourites and with two more races on Friday, the top ten places for the medal races not a done deal yet.

Defending champions, Manu Dyen and Stéphane Christidis (FRA) are keeping the lead in the 49ers despite mixed results which include a victory, 10 and 20. Pietro and Gianfranco Sibello (ITA) are gaining a place in second after three top ten places and carry a good lead over third. It could have been a perfect day for the British duo of Dylan Fletcher and Alan Sign (GBR). They score a fifth and a second, but a penalty on the start force them to count 19 points.

Mixed results also collected for French 470 teams who share top placing despite collecting their worse race results today. Nicolas Charbonnier and Jérémie Mion (FRA) are conserving the lead without winning a race yet. They struggled in the first race and took third in the second. Three points behind, last year regatta winners Pierre Leboucher and Vincent Garros (FRA) read the wind differently with a second in the opening race and a 28th in the second.

"The wind was unstable and tended to favour the left. The last race was long and difficult. In the end we scored a good race and may be back on the podium so not so bad in the end." explained Leboucher and Garos.

The Greek team of Panagiotis Mantis and Pavlos Kagialis are third. Races victories went to Panagiotis Kampouridis / Efstathios Papadopoulos (GRE) and Gideon Kliger / Eran Sela (ISR).

The women in the 470 class suffered the same fate with all top teams collecting high scores.

"It was a very exhausting day." explains the Israeli team of Cohen and Vered, who narrowly slip into first place overall after a 22 and a 12. " We usually are in the top ten at the windward mark. Today was another story, we struggled in these conditions and had to go with the fleet in the middle to try to gain places. We kept gaining and losing so in the end it was quite stressing. Anyway, the other top girls have also collected a bad race so it makes our day look better! The score is very tight so with two races tomorrow before the medal race, it is like we start all over again."

Jo Aleh and Bianca Barbarich-Barber (NZL) won the first race but followed the trend with a high point second race. They are in second, only two points from the Israeli. Ai Kondo and Wakako Tabata (JAP) lost the lead after scoring their worse results so far. But with only five points from first, anything remains possible.

Marina Alabau is enjoying the conditions in Palma, with another good racing day. The Andalucian is conserving her lead in the RS:X fleet, six points from Charline Picon (FRA). They share today's victories. Third place goes to Italy but Alessandra Sensini has stepped down from the podium, replaced by Laura Linares (ITA).

With Paul Goodison (GBR) collecting top points for braking the start, Tom Slingsby (AUS) is reclaiming the lead in the Lasers. The Australian has sailed to top 6 results and is going into tomorrow's final races with a good advantage. Nick Thompson is third, one point only from Goodison and five from Slingsby. Best results (2-1) in the Gold fleet today were taken by Sam Meech (NZL) who climbs from 10th to 4th.

In the Laser radial, Paige Railey (USA) loses the lead for Evi van Acker (BEL). The American wins the first race but has to carry the 28 points collected in the second race and drops to third overall five points from the new leader. Veronika Fenclova (CZE) climbs to second overall.

Olympic Gold medallists Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson (GBR) are increasing their lead in the Star class after winning a race. New faces are coming to the top with Andrew Campbell /
Ian Coleman (USA) in second and Diego Negri / Enrico Voltolini (ITA) third.

"There was very little wind out there today, it was pretty hard going. We didn't feel we got it right today, but somehow we seemed to still have a good day. We were not very lucky out on the course, but we fought back really hard and are pretty pleased to have extended our lead." says Percy.

The top three remain in place in the 2.4. Thierry Schmitter (NED) and Heiko Kroger (GER) shared today's best results with a first and a second. They are increasing the gap over Megan Pascoe (GBR).

The Women's Match Racing fleet at the 42nd Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sofia MAPFRE has now been reduced to the top eight teams. The morning saw the completion of the Repechage Group to see who would advance to the Quarter-Finals with the Gold Group. Anne-Claire Le Berre (FRA) and Stephanie Hazard (NZL) were 1-2 in the group with scores of 4 wins and one loss each.
Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) continued her unbeaten streak through the Gold Round Robin and won the Gold Group to earn the chance to sail against the second place team for the Repechage (Hazard) in the Quarter-Finals. The other pairings for the Quarter-Finals are Claire Leroy (FRA) vs. Anne-Claire Le Berre (FRA), Silja Lehtinen (FIN) vs. Silke Halbrock (GER), and Lucy Macgregor (GBR) vs. Sally Barkow (USA). Th first team in each pair to score 3 points will advance to the Semi-Finals.
After two flights of the Quarter-Finals, Tunnicliffe leads Hazard 2-0; Le Berre and Leroy are tied 1-1; Lehtinen leads Hahlbrock 2-0; and Macgregor and Barkow are tied 1-1.
Tomorrow will see the completion of the Quarter-Finals and the Semi-Finals in the Women Match racing and the final races for the other classes. Last chance to qualify among the top ten for Saturday's medal races.

The third day of sailing at the Trofeo Princesa Sofia MAPFRE was not the easiest but a better one for Ireland's Annalise Murphy in the Olympic Laser Radial class who took eighth and seventh to move from 14th to ninth overall in the 78-boat class.

Opposite winds and unsettled conditions made life difficult for sailors and race committees. Some classes managed to complete their first race in the North-Easterly and waited for the wind to turn into a sea breeze to continue with remaining races. While RS:X were sent back to shore during the change, the Finns waited over three hours on the water before they could start racing in the new wind. The fifth race of the Star had to be cancelled when the change occurred, delaying racing. In other classes like the Laser radial and the 470 women, the changed occurred during the first race. As a result some sailors didn't make it to the finish line within the time limit. Tonight, the jury room is busy with requests for redress.

With five races completed at least in each class, all sailors can now discard their worse race result which will become handy for the leaders who have for most collected a bad race in the last two days's shifty conditions. Scores are very tight at the top, half way through the regatta.

In the Laser, the top three are within two points with Olympic champion Paul Goodison (GBR) leading by one point over World Champion Tom Slingsby (AUS), and two over team mate Nick Thompson. Both British won a race today.

Other tight results are in the 470 men competition where the top four are within two points. Olympic champions Mat Belcher and Malcolm Page have won a race and are in the lead despite collecting 20 points in the day's last race. They are on equal points with French Charbonnier/Meyer-Dieu who had a good day with a third and a fifth. Third and fourth place overall are early leaders Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell (GBR) on equal points with Palma defending champions and Sail for Gold winners Pierre Leboucher and Vincent Garos (FRA) collecting the best scores today with a first and a third.

Dorian van Rijsselberge (NED) proved he has learned from yesterday's racing conditions with two bullets in medium wind added to his good score in heavy wind Monday. He moves back to top place three points from Nick Dempsey (GBR). Byron Kokkalanis (GRE) moves up to third after a second and a third.

"It was not easy today. The first race was much tougher than the second race. They were typical Palma conditions: the left side was favoured and I went left and so I won the race." explained van Rijsselberge.

In the women division, Marina Alabau (ESP) comforts her lead with a win and a second. After discarding her DNF collected after braking equipment during windy Monday, Charline Picon (FRA) is climbing to second overall in front of Sensini (ITA) in third.

The top of the Laser radial fleet had mixed results in the shifty breeze. Paige Railey (USA) is keeping top place despite failing to finish within the time limit and collecting high scores. With the discard coming into play and good results in the previous day, the American is not affected by the DNF. Evi van Acker (BEL) is in second position and Bouwmeester (NED) in third. Great racing day for Fatima Reyes (ESP) who climbs to fifth overall thanks to a second and a first, and for Sarah Winter (NZL) who is now 6th after taking two bullets.

Japanese crew Ai Kondo and Wakako Tabata (JAP) have increased their lead in the 470 women class over Cohen/Vered (ISR) and Aleh/Barbarich-Barber (NZL). With many protest still being heard the 470 women results could change.

The Stars sailed from the Real Club Nautic de Palma, had their race abandoned when the North-Easterly changed for the sea breeze. In the end, only one race was sailed, won by Mark Mendelblatt and Ian Fatih (USA). Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson (GBR) keep the lead of the regatta with a third place. They are five points from Kusznierewicz/Zycki (POL) and 11 from Scheidt/Prada (BRA).

The Finns and the 49ers were last off the water. Ben Ainslie and Giles Scott are one point apart in the Finns with the Olympic champion conserving his lead. Tomas Lebreton (FRA) is climbing to third.

"It's been an interesting event." explains Ainslie. "The first day we obviously had a lot of wind and that was hard work for everybody – I haven't raced in that amount of wind for a long time, so that was a good experience but hard work! The last couple of days has been a bit lighter and trickier winds and it's been good racing."

With four top five results including a race win, Manu Dyen and Stéphane Christidis (FRA) are taking the lead in the 49ers. The defending champions are 15 points ahead of Peter Krugger Andersen and Nicolai Thorsell (DEN) in second position. Pietro and Gianfranco Sibello (ITA) are in third.

"We had a very good day with four races in the top five; We have a good lead so it is a good position to go into the finals tomorrow. We won the event last year and would like to win the title again." explains Manu Dyen.

Thierry Schmitter (NED) conserves the lead in the 2.4 after taking his fourth victory. After a bad move in the second Schmitter cross the finish in sixth place:

"Today the first race went well. During the second race I went completely to the right, and there was no wind at all. Therefore I was the last one at the first windward mark. I can not remember in my sailing career to be the last one at the top mark! Then I went left and came back to finish sixth."

Four points away in second overall is Heiko Kroger who finished the day by claiming the second race. Megan Pascoe (GBR) is third with consistent top 4 results.

In the Women Match racing, the six teams in the Repechage Group were first up sailing three flights of their round robin. The New Zealand team of Stephanie Hazard, Jenna Hansen, and Susannah Pyatt had a very successful morning winning all three of their matches.
"It was a good day. We had good sailing conditions for all of our matches apart from the hour or so we postponed. The Race Committee did a good job with what they had this morning and it was good racing all around. We were happy with our results. We didn't make too many mistakes and kept everything pretty simple. We got pretty decent starts – we were ahead every start which definitely helps and then we had great crew work and great communication around the course.  Overall, a good day." remarked Stephanie Hazard after racing.
Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) and Claire Leroy (FRA) lead the Gold Group with three wins each. And in the Silver Group Anna Kjellberg (SWE) leads the way with 3 wins from 3 matches.
Tomorrow will see the completion of the round robins with the top two from the Repechage Group joining the six teams from the Gold Group in the knock-out Quarter-Finals.
Repechage Group Results:
Hazard (NZL) 3-0; Skudina (RUS) 2-1; Le Berre (FRA) 2-1; Souter (AUS) 1-2; Roca (ESP) 1-2; Groeneveld (NED) 0-3.
Gold Group Results:
Tunnicliffe (USA) 3-0; Leroy (FRA) 3-0; Lehtinen (FIN) 2-1; Macgregor (GBR) 1-2; Barkow (USA) 0-3; Hahlbrock (GER) 0-3 (-0.5 penalty).
Silver Group Results:
Kjellberg (SWE) 3-0; Goncalves (POR) 2-1; Meldgaard (DEN) 2-1; Spithill (AUS) 2-1; Abrahamsen (DEN) 0-3; Monina (ITA) 0-3.
Bronze Group Results:
Echegoyen (ESP) 2-0; Bekkering (NED) 4-1; Zimmermann (PER) 1-1; Wang (CHN) 1-2; Kutovaya (RUS) 1-3; Abbott (CAN) 0-2.

Sailing in Palma today, Dun Laoghire's Annalise Murphy had mediocre results compared to yesterday's stellar opening round, dropping her from second overall to 14th in a fleet of 78 boats.

The second day of racing in Palma offered the 1000 sailors racing in the 10 Olympic classes and the 2.4 paralympic event, tricky conditions with moderate and shifty winds. Today's races were sailed in opposite wind directions, with the remaining North-Easterly opening the day but replaced in the afternoon by the expected sea breeze. The committee was able to complete a race for all classes in both winds in moderate conditions averaging 10 knots.

The British team capitalised on yesterday's results to take top placing in three classes.

Olympic Gold medallist and Sailing World Cup leader, Ben Ainslie (GBR) claimed today's races and the lead in the Finn class in front of team mate and earlier leader Giles Scott (GBR), and Pieter-Jan Postma (NED). In the other group the races went to Australian Brendan Casey coached by Finn medallist, John Bertrand (USA) and by junior sailor Jorge Zarif (BRA) coached by Robert Scheidt brother and ex-coach Thomas Scheidt.

Bronze medallists in the 2011 Rolex Miami regatta, Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell add two more victories to their score in the 470 men fleet and climb from 6th to 1st overall. Nick Rogers and Chris Grube (GBR) remain in second overall, three points ahead of Australians Mat Belcher and Malcolm Page.

"The racing was good today, the forecast was right. We started in the offshore wind and came back with the sea breeze. There were different styles going on so it was good to train, keep your eyes out and keep sailing to all the changes going on around you." explained Luke Patience.

Despite winning a race yet, consistent racing brought Nick Dempsey (GBR) in top place in the RS:X fleet. Beijing Bronze medallist, Shahar Zubari (ISR) got to second while Dorian van Rijsselberge (NED) drops to third after suffering in today's conditions. Today's races went to Mashia Nimrod (ISR) and 2008 Olympic champion, Tom Ashley (NZL).

With a total of five races sailed in the event and tricky conditions close to the shore in Palma, the 49ers fleet has collected high scores. The Sibello (ITA) brothers are back on the international circuit after the Sail for Gold regatta. The 2009 European champions are in good form winning two out of three races. They claim the top place four points from early leaders Dylan Fletcher and Alan Sign (GBR).

The Princesa Sofia defending champions, Manu Dyen and Stéphane Christidis (FRA) are taking third overall.

The Japanese AI Kondo and Wakako Tabata (JAP), are conserving the first position in the 470 women fleet with top five results collected in diverse conditions in during the last two days. The Japanese have been training in Palma for the last three weeks with some of the top teams.

"We used to be lacking speed in the breeze but our intense training in Palma has paid off on Monday. We were able to master the breezy conditions and continue with good results today. Lots of other top teams have changed crew like the Dutch or the British so it does give us an advantage." declared Ai Kondo.

The Sail For Gold winners are only two points from Jo Aleh and Bianca Barbarich-Barber (NZL) who claimed today's races. The Princesa Sofia regatta is the first event together as a team for Joe and Bianca who stand in for Polly Powrie who is recovering from a bike crash! The new composed team who has been training together for six days only before the event is collecting great results.

"There was a lot less wind than yesterday. The conditions were good for us. We had lots of fun!" says Aleh.

Australian Tom Slingsby conserves his lead in the Laser fleet with top three results so far. However the day was perfect for Olympic Champion Paul Goodison (GBR) who took two bullets and climbes to second overall only five points from the World Champion. Julio Alsogaray (ARG) is in thrid after winning the day's first race and placing fifth in the next.

In the Radial, Paige Railey (USA) has collected four second places to lead the fleet in front of Marit Bouwmeester (NED). Tania Calles (MEX), Tatiana Drozdovskaya (BLR), Gintare Scheidt (LTU) and Cecilia Saroli (ARG) all win a race today.

The RS:X women fleet has a new leader with Marina Alabau (ESP) racing consistently to a fourth and a second placing: "I am happy with my day, the wind was difficult, light and shifty. I stayed fourth during the whole first race and started the second in the same position but was able to catch up two places and pass Blanca before the finish."

Alessandra Sensini (ITA) didn't perform in the lighter conditions adding twenty points to her score today. She is now in second position overall. Charline Picon (FRA) who had suffered from equipment failure in Monday's windy races, was undefeated today with two bullets. She seats in 12th position overall but could come up in the front when the discard comes in.

Mateus Kusznierewicz and Dominik Zycki (POL) win the first race and claim the lead in the Star in front of Percy/Simpson (GBR) and Scheidt/Prada (BRA). The Italian team of Diego Negri and Enrico Voltolini (ITA) win the second race to place fifth overall.

In the 2.4m, Thierry Schmitter (NED) is keeping the lead in the ten boats fleet after collecting another first and a third.

After a long day on the water Stage One was completed for the Women's Match Racing at the 42nd Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sofia MAPFRE in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

Advancing to the Gold Group are the three undefeated teams (Lehtinen, Barkow and Tunnicliffe) and the three 2nd place teams in each group (Leroy, Hahlbrock, and Macgregor).  They will sail a round robin to determine the seeding of the Quarter-Final Knock-out series.

Fighting for a chance to join the Gold Group in the Quarter-Finals are: Skudina, Roca, Groeneveld, Souter, Le Berre, and Hazard. They will sail a round robin with the top two advancing.

The remaining 12 teams will continue racing in the Silver and Bronze groups to determine places 13 through 24 in the event.

Racing will resume on Wednesday at 10am for the Women match racing and 11am for the other classes.

All our Olympic news HERE

The 42 Trofeo Princesa Sofia MAPFRE, third event in the ISAF Sailing World Cup, started on Monday in Palma with gruelling conditions, sun and clear blue sky. The 49ers and Star races were delayed waiting for the wind to ease. In the end a thousand sailors took the start and filled the bay of Palma with sails. The breeze lovers made the most of the day with many teams taking it all!

Ireland is off to a blistering start in the Laser Radial and is now place second overall. Annalise is the sole Irish competitor in the radial.

Ireland's Peter O'Leary and David Burrows are not competing this week in the Star class.

Rob Lehane and Tom Mapplebeck from Kinsale Yacht Club are 53rd in the 470 class.

The 2.4 paralympic fleet, sailing out of Calanova Yacht Club, was the first to complete two races. Thierry Schmitter (NED) enjoyed the strong winds to win both races and take the lead from German Heiko Kroger and Megan Pascoe (GBR).

Ai Kondo and Wakako Tabata (JAP) took a convincing lead in the 470 women fleet with two victories. Gil Cohen and Bouskila Vered (ISR) and the British team of Penny Clark / Katrina Hughes (GBR) placed in second and third overall. "It is good to have a bit of breeze" says Cohen. "It was good fun! We are having a good start in the regatta so let's see how we go."

Renowned to master these demanding conditions, Dorian van Rijsselberge (NED) took a clean sweep in the RS:X fleet with two bullets, leaving his closest rivals, 2009 World Champion Nick Dempsey (GBR) and German Tony Wilhelm, in second and third with a six points margin. The Dutch continues on his good form after claiming victory at the second SWC event in Miami.

Same scenario for Rolex Miami OCR winner, Giles Scott (GBR), who enjoyed the strong wind in Palma and won today's both races in his group. In the other group, races went to Finnish sailor Tapio Nirkko and Pieter-Jan Postma (NED). They place second and third respectively in the general results, only a few points behind Scott.

The young New-Zealanders, Paul Snow-Hansen and Jason Saunders (NZL) take the races and the lead, in the 470 class. The twenty years old have won Sail Auckland in February and will represent New-Zealand at the Olympic Test event next August in Weymouth.

Second and third are the British teams of Nick Rogers / Chris Grube (GBR) and Nic Asher / Elliot Willis (GBR). "We had a solid day in tricky conditions. The wind was strong and gusty;" explains Asher. "It is a long regatta but if we keep sailing like that we can come up in the medals."

Tom Slingsby (AUS), crowned ISAF sailor of the year in 2010 for a double world title in the Laser and the Etchell (with John Bertrand and Andrew Palfrey), along with several SWC victories, enjoyed his most favoured conditions by claiming both races. Simon Grotelueschen from Germany and Belgium sailor Van Laer Wannes take second and third overall. The Lasers are divided in three groups.

In the Radial division, Evi van Acker (BEL) claimed the day in her group and lead the overall standings with a narrow margin over Annalise Murphy (IRL) and 2010 SWC winner, Marit Bouwmeester (NED). They both won a race today and placed second and third respectively in the other. Paige Railey (USA) is in fourth overall with two second.

After a postponement, the Star fleet completed the two scheduled races in challenging conditions. Double Gold medallists and current World Champions, Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson (GBR) are making a successful come back to the competition after a long break with two bullets claimed in a fleet packed with medallists and world champions. The top five share a total of 15 Olympic medals including seven Gold collected in the Star and Finn classes. Second to fifth place are taken by Kusznierewicz and Zycki (POL), Scheidt and Prada (BRA), Grael and Ferreira (BRA) and Loof with Salminen (SWE)!

Last of the water today, the 49ers waited for the wind to decrease before heading to sea. Dylan Fletcher and Alan Sign (GBR) took the honours with two bullets. In the Yellow group, German team of Erik Heil and Thomas Ploessel placed second and first, a small point from the top of the rankings.

Alessandra Sensini, who is racing in Palma to qualify for the Olympic Games and defend her title, has given the pace to the strong RS:X women fleet with top placing. "I have a lot at stake here and I will give my maximum!" One of the most experienced sailor in the whole event, Sensini won the first race and placed second in the next. In second overall is Lee el Korsiz from Israel who placed third in the first and went on winning the second, Chan Wai Kei from Hong-Kong ranks third.

The women's match racing teams completed their full schedule of matches today with 10 of the 21 flights sailed in Stage One.  The 24 teams are divided into 3 groups for the Stage One round robins. In Group A, Claire Leroy (FRA) and Silja Lehtinen (FIN) are undefeated with scores of 3-0.  In Group B, four teams are undefeated and leading the way with scores of 3-0: Nicky Souter (AUS), Renee Groeneveld (NED), Sally Barkow (USA), and Silke Hahlbrock (GER).  Group C completed four flights and two teams are undefeated with scores of 4-0: Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) and Anne-Claire Le Berre (FRA).  Stage One will continue tomorrow.  The top two teams from each group will move into the Gold Group and the next two will move into the Repechage Group.  The Repechage Group will sail a round robin to determine who will join the Gold Group in the knock-out quarter-finals.

Racing will continue on Tuesday 5th with starts scheduled at 11am and 10am for the Women Match racing.

Results here

Sailing in a talented fleet of a thousand sailors from 53 nations, Annalise Murphy has scored a 1 and 2 in today's opening round of the 42nd Trofeo Princesa Sofia regatta, the third event in the Sailing World Cup circuit.

Murphy, from the National Yacht Club, won today's second race by a staggering margin of one minute and 30 seconds as the breeze freshened to 15 knots off Palma de Mallorca, on the Balearic Island of Spain.

The 21-year old sailor from Dun Laoghaire is in a tough fleet of 78, made up of all the top international trailists for next year's Olympic regatta in the Laser Radial Class. Today's opening races in 15 knots of breeze are the first of six days of racing. 

Lastest Olympic Sailing News here

 

Ireland's top performers from last week's Miami Olympic Classes Regatta are captured by photographer Ingrid Abery. Peter O'Leary and David Burrows in the Star keelboat are photographed in upwind pose along with fourth overall Annalise Murphy in the Laser Radial. Click HERE for Ingrid's gallery.