#WORRALL THOMPSON - Celebrity chef Anthony Worrall Thompson - in Dublin at the weekend for a fundraiser for Olympic hopefuls Ger Owens and Scott Flanigan - has credited his Irish wife with being the "rock" that kept him going through his recent shoplifing controversy.

"She is absolutely amazing," he told the Irish Independent of his Dublin-born wife Jacinta Shiel. "We met nearly 20 years ago. She's gorgeous, she's got a great heart and she's my rock."

Worrall Thompson was at Malahide Rugby Club on Saturday to judge a celebrity chef night in aid of the Olympic 470 duo's bid for a spot at the 2012 games, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

He kept his promise to attend the event following last Monday's public apology for his "stupid and irresponsible actions" after he was caught shoplifting cheese and wine from a Tesco store.

Worrall Thompson also donated his appearance fee from RTÉ's Saturday Night Show to Owens and Flanigan, who require sponsorship to supplement their support their funding from the Irish Saling Association.

#OLYMPIC – It must be getting close to the Olympic regatta if the official Notice of Race has been published. ISAF have released the formal details for London 2012 Olympic Sailing competition in its Notice of Race (NOR) document this afternoon. The competition begins on 29 July and runs until 11 August at Weymouth and Portland, Great Britain.

So far three Irish boats have qualified for Weymouth, at least three more attempting to do so in the next few months.

The Notice of Race states the key conditions for the 10 sailing events at the London 2012 Olympic Games and includes details on the rules, regulations, entry and qualification guidelines, format, scoring, schedule, venue and courses.

Athletes, coaches, trainers and other team officials shall comply with the Olympic Charter, as well as with the ISAF rules, in order to be eligible for participation in the London 2012 Olympic Sailing competition, and shall be entered by a National Olympic Committee (NOC). The full NOR is here

#PERTH2011 – Annalise Murphy's World Championships ended in Perth today with a personal best result of sixth overall for the Dun Laoghaire single-hander. She also takes home the all important ticket to the London 2012 regatta, the first Irish sailor to win Olympic qualification. Overall the National Yacht Club sailor had four race wins to her credit, more than any other sailor in her 102-boat fleet.

Annalise on her way to a personal best performance in Perth. Photo: Richard Langdon

While Murphy had put herself back in contention with two firsts on the penultimate day, a  Laser Radial medal was always going to be a long shot. In the end hitting the last windward mark in the medal race put paid to the bronze medal which went to America's Page Railey, eight points clear of Murphy.

Conditions were light and  difficult for the medal race and Annalise lead for a time but was overtaken by the overall winner Marit Bouwmeester (NED). Annalise also sailed in to a wind hole before finishing eighth in the race to secure a sixth place overall in the championship.

Annalise in action off Fremantle. Photo: Richard Langdon

'I sailed very well at this event but I was very unlucky at the end but I have achieved my objectives which were to qualify for the Olympics and finish in the top 10',  Annalise said.

The battle for the world title was fought out between Murphy's biggest rivals.

Evi van Acker (BEL) fought till the very end, but it was not enough to beat an ecstatic Bouwmeester.

"I feel awesome. I said I wanted to dominate the week. It was a really really tough week and I was happy," Bouwmeester said.

"Fight back yesterday and now fight back today. Yea I feel awesome," she said.

It's Bouwmeester's first world title. "I'm going to give my family and friends a big hug, celebrate and say thank you." Many of them were on the grandstand breakwater, cheering her on with flags and cheers of encouragement.

Evi van Acker worked her way to a point where she could have taken the world title, but her efforts weren't enough.

"I keep getting second, it's sad but it keeps me motivated to work more for the Olympics," van Acker said.

Paige Railey (USA) won the bronze by the smallest of margins, taking the medal by a single point. "It's a huge relief. I'm extremely happy to see all the hard work pay off," she said.

The Laser Radial Medal Race sailors had winds of 8-13 knots, but the pressure constantly changed. The spectator breakwater also played a role in defining race tactics.

Veronika Fenclova (CZE) came from 6th to win the medal race.

There were many lead changes before that though. Annalise Murphy (IRL) led leg one, but was overtaken by Bouwmeester on leg two. Sara Winther (NZL) led leg three but was disqualified for breaching rule 42 (pumping).

She was overtaken by van Acker on the second last leg of the race.

It appeared the Belgian sailor was going to win the race but the umpires gave her a penalty for pumping, putting Bouwmeester ahead on points.

"I think I could have won. Some mistakes were made, that's what cost me the gold medal," a dejected van Acker said.

Bouwmeester's fourth place in the Medal Race was enough to win the world title.

"I just had to stay with the front fleet and everything is going to be decided in the last down wind and it worked to my advantage," she said.

Paige Railey spent most of the race at the back of the fleet. "I went pretty risky in the beginning and it didn't pay off." the bronze medallist said.

#PERTH2011 – Ireland's first sailor for London 2012, Annalise Murphy of the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire, sailed a further three races in Perth at the ISAF World Sailing Championships today finishing 37th, 17th and 4th respectively to lie fifth overall. There is a further day of racing tomorrow before the top ten competitors progress to the medal race on Sunday. It will be very difficult for her to medal now having a 26 point drift.

In other classes, Ger Owens and Scott Flanigan are currently lying in 34th position in the Gold fleet of the 470 class. They can still qualify Ireland for the Olympics as the top 19 nations will secure a place. They race until Saturday, with the top 10 then proceeding to the medal race on Sunday.

Ross Hamilton in the Finn is in 65th position but will not qualify Ireland for the Olympics at this event burt has one more opportunity at the Finn World Championships next year.

#LONDON2012 – Dun Laoghaire's Annalise Murphy becomes the first Irish sailor to qualify for the 2012 Olympics following a stellar performance in Australia this week. The 21-year old currently lies second in the ISAF World Sailing Championships in Perth. The 102 boat fleet now splits 50% into Gold and Silver fleets. The split means it is now impossible for Annalise to fall outside the top 29 nations thus securing Ireland's place on the start line in London. Annalise competes in Perth until the medal race on Sunday 11 December where she can win world championship Gold, Silver or Bronze.

#LEARN TO SAIL - Charter yacht trip firm GoSailing.ie is weathering the recession, as the Sunday Business Post reports.

The venture - which provides daily and corporate yacht excursions since setting up in 2000 - reacted to a shortfall in customers due to the changing ecomonic climate by relocating from Westport to Dun Laoghaire marina, where business has been brisk.

Aaron O'Grady, a veteran of the Irish Olympic sailing squad, started the business with his father Pauric, the duo investing in a 54-foot yacht The Explorer to run sailing trips off the Mayo coast, helping novices learn to sail.

They later teamed up with business manager Bref Kennedy, who says that the recreational sailing business has plenty of room to grow.

"Our main goals are trying to break the perception of sailing that pervades in Ireland and also to introduce people to the exciting world of sailing on the extremely under-used and beautiful coastline that exists right on our doorstep," said Kennedy.

GoSailing is also the only company providing a charter yacht service on the east coast, according to Kennedy, which is "amazing considering we are an island nation".

Charter yachting trips around Dublin Bay, Killiney Bay and Dalkey Sound typically go for around €35 a head for groups of 12. For more details visit GoSailing.ie.

Ireland is on the entry list in six classes for the Weymouth and Portland International Sailing Regatta 2011, the London 2012 Olympic Test Event, that has been finalised today.

Ireland's leading hopes for  a top result is in the Radial class where Annalise Murphy took bronze at the Sail for Gold regatta at the same venue. There's also high chances in the Star class with Peter O'Leary and David Burrows. Also sailing for Ireland is James Espey is in the Laser, Ross Hamilton in the Finn, Ger Owens and Scott Flannigan in the 470, Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern in the 49er. A full entry list is available for download at the end of this post.

Sixty six nations have submitted the names of the 460 sailors who will test the conditions at Weymouth and Portland one year ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition.

For many of Member National Authorities there has been a selection headache with nations following game time rules where only one athlete per event is allowed.

In the Finn class Great Britain's Ben Ainslie was selected ahead of Giles Scott and Ed Wright, Spain's Marina Alabau received the nod ahead of Blanca Manchon and Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) lost out to Sally Barkow (USA).

The Women's Match Racers open the Weymouth and Portland International Regatta on 2 August 2011 with the start of their Round Robins. The Men's and Women's RS:X begin on 4 August followed by the Laser, Laser Radial and Men's and Women's 470 on 5 August before the Finn, 49er and Star sailors begin their competition on 6 August.

At the 2012 Games sailing will introduce women's match racing for the first time. The racing format will be a single round-robin, quarter finals, semi-finals and then the finals. The nine fleet racing events will all sail an opening series before the top ten in each event contest a double-points Medal Race to decide the final positions. The Medal Races have a target time of approximately 30 minutes and will take place close to the shore at the Nothe to allow spectators ashore to get close up to the action.

Afloat opinion: The recent results in World Cup sailing regattas will give rise to considerable optimism in Irish sailing circles that David Wilkins and Jamie Wilkinson's successful performance in the boycott affected 1980 Olympics may be repeated. There have been pretenders to the throne in intervening years – O'Hara, both Lyttles, Mansfield and Burrows are among the names that have quickened the pulses only to be found wanting in the pressure cooker that is the Olympic regatta.

In the previous era there was talk of saving performances for key events – peaking so to say. Nowadays the leading sailors bring their "A" game to every regatta and the consistent nature of the performances being recorded by Annalise Murphy and Peter O'Leary, notwithstanding the changes of crew in the Star class, suggests that this summit has been reached.

Peter O'Leary (left) wins Gold in 2010. Photo: OnEdition

Annalise Murphy (right) wins bronze in 2011. Photo: OnEdition

Murphy's progression in the last few years has been extremely impressive. An eighth place at the Laser Radial Worlds in 2009 preceded a successful period on the Australian circuit with a subsequent progression into the world's top ten. In her last two world cup regattas she has finished fifteen times in the top ten and has won ten races. Her win rate at the Skandia Sail for Gold regatta on the Olympic course was matched only by Ben Ainslie. Inconsistency prevented her from taking first place in both events.

The Star class is studded with achievers, and the top of the fleet is currently littered with Olympic Medallists and World Champions in a number of classes. That the Irish team can compete at this level is beyond doubt, winning at Skandia Sail for Gold last year and finishing 2nd by one point at the Bacardi Cup.

That all three athletes are outstanding sailors may have something to do with their sailing steeped DNA. Additionally, the Star pairing have Olympic experience, although not together. While it may be paradoxical to suggest that in certain circumstances such background and experience might not be 100% positive, the sailing team management will need to set out their stall in an early and positive plan which has buy in from all the connections, clearly defining roles and responsibilities.

The plan must also identify the work necessary to eliminate the inconsistencies that have prevented regular and frequent podium performances. Whether it is course management, tactical decision-making or boat speed (not a problem in certain conditions), it is not a time to be faint hearted in regard to ensuring that the best possible specialist coaches are employed to work on these areas. The ISA management team will need to understand their own strengths and weaknesses, using all the resources available, particularly those provided through the Institute of Sport, so that two medals can be a realistic achievement in Weymouth. Peter, David and Annalise deserve no less.

Comment on this article by writing to us HERE.

Olympic Sailing coverage HERE.

Royal Cork's Peter O'Leary kept his title defence alive after a tricky first race in Weymouth yesterday but it is the only good news story so far from the Irish Olympic Sailing team at the Sail for Gold regatta.

Annalise Murphy scored a 33rd in the Radial class, a disappointing opener for the 21-year old who won five races at Delta Lloyd ten days ago. This week there are 92 boats from 34 nations in the Radial class.

Podcast with Irish Olympic Team Manager James O'Callaghan

49er duo Ryan Seaton and Matthew McGovern sailed three rounds but in the last race scored a 'Did Not Finish' to place them 50th in a 68–boat fleet.

O'Leary now paired with Malahide's David Burrows are also in the second leg of a selection trials and rivals for next year's Olympic slot, Max Treacy and Anthony Shanks finished yesterday's opening race in 34th. 41 Stars are racing drawn from 21 nations.

Dun Laoghaire's Ger Owens and Phil Lawton are 42nd in a 77– boat 470 dinghy fleet.

This morning, the tricky conditions are gone and Weymouth has a good 15 knots from the West and the anticipation is for a full schedule of races.

This year's Skandia Sail for Gold regatta is almost as big as the Olympics, according to triple gold medal legend Ben Ainslie. The reason is that many national teams are using the event as a crucial component of their selection process. So anticipation was high this morning when the sailors arrived at the Olympic centre, but the wind had other ideas, toying with the race officials as they tried to set fair race course in the light and shifty conditions. The Match Racing got started on time, others were not so lucky with the Laser Radial's waiting ashore until 17:00 before being sent afloat.

But while the Women's Match Racing might have got started on time, it was still going when almost everything else was done. The usual names found their way to the top of the round robin, with stand-out unbeaten performances from Claire Leroy, Elodie Bertrand and Marie Riou (FRA); Anne-claire Le Berre, Alice Ponsar and Myrtille Ponge (FRA); and Silja Lehtinen, Silja Kanerva and Mikaela Wulff (FIN) all on 3-0, and Lucy Macgregor, Annie Lush and Kate Macgregor (GBR); and Anna Tunnicliffe, Molly Vendemoer and Debbie Capozzi (USA) on the slightly more impressive 4-0.

The RS:X fleet got going at a reasonable hour, and managed a couple of races for both the men and the women. Blanca Manchon from Spain showed the class that made her the 2010 World Champion with two bullets to lead overall from France's Charline Picon, hot on her heels with a first and second. In the RS:X Men it was Poland's Piotr Myszka that matched Manchon's results with two wins, but with a slightly bigger advantage, this time to his countryman Lukasz Grodzicki, who is in second overnight with a first and third. Britain's Nick Dempsey won the second race to pull himself into third overall.

All three Paralympic classes were sailing early in the harbour – the wind was a lot stronger near the shore in the morning - and completed two races in all the fleets. In the Sonar it was Australia's Colin Harrison and Russell Boaden tied with the US's Rick Doerr and Brad Kendell, both teams with a first and a second. In the SKUDs it was Beijing silver medallists Daniel Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch leading from their Aussie compatriots Jamie Dunross and Rachael Cox – the former benefitting from a three point margin. In the 2.4mR's it is Damien Seguin of France leading from the Netherland's Thierry Schmitter and his countryman, Andre Rademaker.

The 49ers were also the beneficiaries of a race course close to Weymouth beach, and got a couple of races in for both flights. There was another outstanding performance in this fleet, this time from Italy's Sibello brothers posting two seconds and a first to lead overall from the Austrian pair of Nico Luca Marc Delle Karth and Nikolaus Leopold Resch.

The 470s started mid-afternoon with some of the fleet's most recognisable names struggling in the conditions. It was the Croatian pair of Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic that topped the day with a second and a third, closely followed by Pierre Leboucher and Vincent Garos of France. Portugal's Alvaro Marinho has been combining his match racing on the World Tour with the 470, and posted a third and a fourth with crew Miguel Nunes and hold third overnight. Aussie World Champions Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page were back in 15th. The 470 Women saw stronger performances from the superstars with 2010 Dutch World Champions Lisa Westerhof and Lobke Berkhout leading overall from Tara Pacheco and Berta Betanzos of Spain.

The Star and Finn classes were not released until 15:00 hrs and had the longest sail out to their course. They finally got underway at 17:30 after the wind had settled, and managed a single race. No one was particularly surprised to see Britain's triple gold medallist Ben Ainslie lead for the first lap, but then New Zealand's Dan Slater slipped through on the final round when Ainslie sailed to the wrong gate, and took the win. In the Stars it was all about Brazil's Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada, winners of their one race from Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Dominik Zycki, with Canada's Richard Clarke and Tyler Bjorn in third.

The huge Laser fleet was out late, a combination of split flights - and the multiple starts required to get some of them away cleanly - making for a long day. In the end it was Germany's Franziska Goltz that took the gun in the single Radial race, beating China's Lijia Xu and Sari Multala. In the Men's fleet, Netherland's Rutger van Schaardenburg won their single race from Britain's Nick Thompson and New Zealand's Andy Maloney.

Provisional Results
Monday 6th June
49er                            Sailed: 3
1st        ITA 3              SIBELLO Pietro / SIBELLO Gianfranco 5pts
2nd       AUT 84           DELLE KARTH / RESCH9pts
3rd        FRA 1162       D'ORTOLI Julien / DELPECH Noe 13pts

470 WOMEN            Sailed: 2
1st        NED 11        WESTERHOF Lisa / BERKHOUT Lobke 6pts
2nd       ESP 696        PACHECO Tara / BETANZOS Berta 7pts
3rd        USA 1757      MAXWELL Erin / FARRAR Isabelle 17pts

470 MEN                    Sailed: 2
1st        CRO 83           FANTELA Sime / MARENIC Igor 5pts
2nd        FRA 44           PIERRE Leboucher / VINCENT Garos 7pts
3rd        POR 81           MARINHO Alvaro / NUNES Miguel 7pts

FINN                          Sailed: 1
1st        NZL 1             SLATER Dan 1pt
2nd       GBR 3            AINSLIE Ben 2pts
3rd        CRO 524        KLJAKOVIC GASPIC Ivan 3pts

LASER                      Sailed: 1
1st        NED 192625   VAN SCHAARDENBURG Rutger1pt
2nd       GBR 198211   THOMPSON Nick 2pts
3rd        NZL 198109   MALONEY Andy 3pts

LASER RADIAL     Sailed: 1
1st        GER 198982   GOLTZ Franziska 1pt
2nd        CHN 177117  XU Lijia 2pts
3rd        FIN 199059    MULTALA Sari 3pts

STAR                         Sailed: 1
1st        BRA 8255       SCHEIDT Robert / PRADA Bruno 1pt
2nd        POL 8417      KUSZNIEREWICZ Mateusz /  ZYCKI Dominik 2pts
3rd        CAN 8361      CLARKE Rochard /  BJORN Tyler 3pts

SKUD 18                    Sailed: 2
1st        AUS 47           FITZGIBBON Daniel / TESCH Liesl 3pts
2nd        AUS 52          DUNROSS Jamie /  COX Rachael 6pts
3rd        GBR 45          RICKMAN Alexandra / BIRRELL Niki 6pts

SONAR                      Sailed: 2
1st        AUS 788         HARRISON Colin / BOADEN Russell 3pts
2nd        USA 674        DOERR Rick / KENDELL Brad 3pts
3rd        NOR 1            WANG-HANSEN Aleksander / KRISTIANSEN Per Eugen 8pts

2.4                               Sailed: 2
1st        FRA 13           SEGUIN Damien 5pts
2nd        NED 12          SCHMITTER Thierry 8pts
3rd        NED 11           RADEMAKER Andre 9pts

RS:X MEN                Sailed: 2
1st        POL 82         MYSZKA Piotr Myszka 2pts
2nd        POL 738      GRODZICKI Lukasz 4pts
3rd        GBR 1           DEMPSEY Nick 5pts

RS:X WOMEN         Sailed: 2
1st        ESP 1           MANCHON Blanca 2pts
2nd        FRA 4          CHARLINE Picon 3pts
3rd        ESP 5           ALBAU Marina 4pts

Quotes of the Day

Dan Slater (NZL) - Finn
The race went well today and that was all down to getting a good start. I started at the pin end which was significantly biased, and allowed the first three place getters in the race to effectively 'port tack' the fleet. Then I managed pull alongside the leader (Ben Ainslie) on the downwind which forced us to different gates. The gate I rounded appeared to be favoured which gave me margin for the last upwind, and I retained that to the finish.

Ben Ainslie (GBR) - Finn
There were a few issues on the start and I made quite a bit of an error going into the wrong gate which gave Dan (Dan Slater, Race 1 winner) a big break. I did manage to catch up quite a bit but Dan ended up winning by about four boat lengths so it was a bit frustrating doing that after making a solid result. In the end the conditions were ok and it was good to finally get out racing after a morning of postponements. I'm pleased to get a decent result in the first race and I look forward to the breeze filling for the rest of the week

Rick Doerr (USA) – Skud
I have competed in Skandia Sail for Gold for the last three years now and have had some pretty mixed results in Weymouth. We have only been here for three days which is a late start for us, but we have had some great practice with our head coach who had a really thorough plan and it seems like she was right on it.
I think we are feeling good about everything today, our rig set up, the way we are sailing, and our boat handling was fantastic.  We are a pretty new team and have only been sailing together for a year and a half and we are competing against teams who have been together for ten years so we are feeling great that everything came together for us on the water today. It can take a while to get the crew mechanics down and we have worked really hard training against the rest of the US Sailing team which has really improved our boat communication.

Robert Schedit (BRA) – Star
There was a lot of current on the start line so we were very careful not to be over the line. We didn't get a great start but that actually put us in a position where we could play the fleet a little. First we were playing in the middle but we managed to round the first mark in the lead followed by the Polish team. That was key to winning the race – it meant we had clean wind when we were sailing downwind so we could extend our lead quite significantly. By the time we were on the third beat we had extended enough that we made it difficult for the rest of the fleet to make up that water.

Iain Percy (GBR) – Star
We just never got into it today and we made a schoolboy error when we overstood the windward mark by half a mile and ended up reaching in against the tide. It was a very short course and we're not used to that, but we were aware of it so we should have thought, and we have no one to blame but ourselves. When you make an error on a short course it becomes hard because then you are playing catch up which is really hard. We never gave up trying and I think over a series that pays off. They breaks just didn't fall our way today.

Paul Brotherton (GBR) – 49er
The conditions weren't ideal today but that's sailing and we rolled with it. We didn't get many breaks in the first race but the second was better and that is going to be reflected in the results. But the important thing is that we went out there and enjoyed ourselves and didn't burn each other out in the first day.
What happens on the first day rarely reflects on what happens at the end of the week but we enjoyed ourselves out there. We are going to get a good range of conditions this week and the best people are going to end up winning, there is no doubt about that. The ups and the downs will even themselves out over the week and our job is to make the best of every single opportunity that presents itself.
I love coming to the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta and it is great to be a part of this team and it is an honour to be wearing the GBR jersey and a privilege to be a part of it all. I missed last year through injury after tearing my medial meniscus cartilage last year in July so it is great to be back - I am certainly the oldest in our fleet by some margin so you just have to enjoy it and go out there with a smile on your face because you never know when it will be your last.

Rutger Van Schaardenburg (NED) - Laser
The conditions are really challenging, in this weather everyone can sail fast and everyone knows what side of the course to choose and what position they need to be in on the start line, so it is all about having a good start. I have put a lot of effort into practicing my starts and it paid off today so I am happy with that.
We were on a different course that we haven't sailed on before and there seemed to be less waves and less tricky winds so it is different game, but the race we did was really good– we had good conditions and nice wind. It was a shame we only got one race in today as the wind has really picked up tonight but we should have some good conditions tomorrow so I am looking forward to that.

Course Tracking: Please note today Tuesday 7th June, tracking will be on the Laser & Laser Radial classes. You can follow the tracking on the event website, www.skandiasailforgoldregatta.co.uk For Smart Phone users please visit www.mobile.tractrac.com

Irish sailing bosses are determined to "stand on the podium" at the 2012 Olympic Games.

That was the message from last week's briefing by Ireland's four Olympic 'water sports' of canoeing, rowing, swimming and sailing, covered in The Irish Times.

For next summer the Irish Sailing Association has narrowed its focus on three boat classes - the Star Class, 49er and Laser Radial. 

But the competition will be tough, with more than 40 countries vying for a handful of remaining Olympic spots at the Perth Sailing World Championships in December.

Other sports are more modest in their aspirations, with rowing rebuilding from the ground up with younger athletes, and Swim Ireland pushing forward with a streamlined team and plans to have six swimmers compete in London next summer.

In canoeing, Eoin Rheinisch - who placed fourth in the canoe slalom in Beijing - was on hand to discuss his qualification hopes, with two chances to clinch a spot between now and the games.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.