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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Matias Buhler and Nathalie Brugger complete the podium.

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

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

#isafworldcup – Annalise Murphy won both her races at the ISAF world Cup today but she is still counting the cost of disappointment in the qualifying rounds that has dropped her into the Silver fleet of the Laser Radial fleet.'I won both races today. Wish I was in gold but really makes me realise the importance of getting it right in qualifying' she said on coming ashore.

In the mens Laser fleet Belfast's James Espey discarded 44th leave to him 28th overall in the Laser Gold fleet.

The mistral at ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyères kicked in on the third day of racing in the South of France as the final series got underway, pitting the top sailors against one another.

After two days of tricky breeze a fresh 17-20 knot easterly breeze was welcomed by the sailors as racing ramped up.

Making the most of the conditions in the Nacra 17 was Sweden's Tim Shuwalow and Hanna Klinga who moved into pole position whilst France's Audrey Ogereau and Matthieu Vandame were in fine form taking two bullets to progress up the leader board.

Carrying forward a non discardable fifth place from the qualification series the Swedes notched up a third, second and an eighth, discarding the latter, to open up a three point advantage over Switzerland's Matias Buhler and Nathalie Brugger (SUI).

Shuwalow and Klinga teamed up three months ago and at ISAF Sailing World Cup Palma they finished sixth and Shuwalow is under no illusions that they are the finished product at such an early stage, "We're still developing and learning a lot each day and have a long way to go yet but it's proving good so far," said Shuwalow. "We try and keep it fun because obviously there are stressful moments and that's the way it always will be but she's new to the catamarans and enjoying it and I just really love the Nacra 17."

Two days of final series racing and two Medal Races follow and the Swedes believe a podium could be in sight, "If we continue sailing consistently and up there then we're in with a chance but there are many good teams and some of them are probably yet to find form this week and it will get tougher as we get towards the end no doubt."

Whilst the Swedish partnership proved consistent, stealing the day was France's Ogereau and Vandame as the pair picked up double race wins and an eighth. Carrying a 21st forward they have progressed nicely to eighth overall and just 11 points off the leaders.

"On the two races we won we had good starts and good speed upwind," said Ogereau. "It was busy on the start line and good starts don't always get you at the front but in these races we knew that the left was better so we got first.

"In our first win we were 20 metres ahead and a bigger distance of 150 metres in the second so we were happy with our speed in these races."

Swiss pair of Buhler and Brugger won the first race of the day and posted an impressive third and ninth to sit second whilst rounding off the top three is Billy Besson and Marie Riou (FRA).

Despite an OCS in the second race of the day Dylan Fletcher and Alain Sign (GBR) have taken the lead in the 49er. Carrying a third place forward they recorded a sixth and a fourth but will have to tread carefully for the remainder of the final series following an OCS.

Making the biggest climb up the leader board is Spain's Carlos and Anton Paz. The Spanish brothers flew out the traps taking a bullet and a second in the gold fleet before a 13th in the last race of the day. The result moves them from 14th to fifth. "For us our first two races were really good with a first and a second," said Carlos. "The last one was completely opposite after a change in the wind but overall we're happy with our day. Our 13th isn't a bad result for a discard so we will try to push and be in the final eight."

ISAF Sailing World Cup Palma gold medallists Erik Heil and Thomas Ploessel (GER) are just one point behind Fletcher and Sign whilst France's Julien D'ortoli and Noe Delpech sit third.

In the 49erFX Charlotte Dobson and Mary Rook (GBR) are coming together nicely after racing with different team-mates at ISAF Sailing World Cup Palma. Dobson finished fifth with Sophie Ainsworth whilst Rook came 22nd with Kate Macgregor. Two race wins in Hyères has moved them into top spot ahead of World #2 Alex Maloney and Molly Meech (NZL), who took the days other race win, and World #1 Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze (BRA).

"We're not really too focussed on the results," said Dobson, "although you're a competitive person so they are pretty much always on your mind – even though you say to your coach they're not."

With limited skiff racing experience the British team are mixing the 49erFX racers up at the early stages of the quadrennial to find the right formula and Dobson is seeing the progression first hand, "The learning curve is literally vertical, every day is a learning day and that's what's making it really rewarding at the moment.  You can really see the steps you're making forward every single day."

Ivan Pastor (ESP) held onto his lead in the Men's RS:X but French youngster Louis Giard was the stand out performer on the race track winning the first of the day and coming second in the other. Carrying forward a fourth Giard, who finished third at the 2011 ISAF Youth Worlds, moves up to second overall and was a cheerful sailor after racing, "I was behind the Polish sailor but he was OCS so that was the win for me. This is my first win here and I'm really happy."

In the Women's RS:X Charline Picon (FRA) and Bryony Shaw (GBR) hold a joint lead following solid days on the water. Shaw took the first race win whilst ISAF Sailing World Cup Palma victor Flavia Tartaglini (ITA) took the second to move to third overall.

Tonci Stipanovic (CRO) leads Brazil's Bruno Fontes and Robert Scheidt in the Laser after a race win and a discarded BFD. Australia's Matt Wearn took the days other bullet but carrying forward a 44th he only moves up to 25th overall.

Holding her Laser Radial advantage on the first day of the final series is Tuula Tenkanen (FIN). A third and a sixth enabled her to maintain her two point advantage over the chasing pack. Taking the day's race wins was Canada's Isabella Bertold, who lays fifth overall, and Great Britain's Alison Young, sitting pretty in fourth.

Mat Belcher and Will Ryan (AUS) were back on top form in the Men's 470 taking double bullets to jump up two places to second. Luke Patience and Joe Glanfield (GBR) hold the lead by two points but discard a 24th.

Fernanda Oliveira and Ana Barbachan (BRA) remain firmly at the top of the Women's 470 leader board and have an eight point advantage over Anne Haeger and Briana Provancha (USA).

Pieter-Jan Postma (NED) has taken first overall in the Finn class and is one point ahead of Giles Scott (GBR) and Vasilij Zbogar (SLO).

In the 2.4mR Heiko Kroger (GER) opened up a seven point lead over Megan Pascoe (GBR) and in the Sonar Aleksander Wang-Hansen, Marie Solberg and Per Eugen Kristiansen (NOR) and Bruno Jourdren, Eric Flageul and Nicolas Vimont-Vicary (FRA) share the lead.

Racing resumes on Thursday 25 April at 11:00 local time.

#Annalise - A new series of videos (via Sailfeed) peers into the world of Afloat.ie Sailor of the Year and Olympic hopeful Annalise Murphy as she readies herself for her next Olympic campaign.

With little more than three years to go till the first races in Rio, Ireland's top Laser Radial prospect discusses her commitment to the sport and the hard work she's determined to put in between now and 2016.

And it almost goes without saying that the whole of Ireland will be behind 'The Irish Lever' all the way as she takes on the best of the best in Brazilian waters.

More from Annalise below:

Annalise Murphy Interview - The Journey from Atomic on Vimeo.

Annalise Murphy - The Journey/The Gathering from Atomic on Vimeo.

#annalise – 'Even when I don't want to go training I still go out on the water'. Such is the commitment of Annalise Murphy in her campaign for Rio in three years time the 22-year-old Dubliner has been braving the snow and ice on home waters to make this video with the Irish Sports Council.

This video and others like it was officially launched this morning and can be viewed on a new sports council website intended to profile different athletes and the unseen preparation they do for the other 364 days a year before they hit the spotlight.

Lets hope RIo is this windy but maybe not as cold?

#Annalise Murphy – After a break of two months since Miami in January, Dun Laoghaire's Annalise Murphy returns to international competition in Hyeres, France in a week's time. It will be an opportunity for Annalise, who only narrowly missed out on Ireland's first Olympic medal in 30 years last summer, to cross tacks with London 2012 Laser Radial gold medallist Lijia Xu (CHN) who makes her return to ISAF competition.

After regattas in Melbourne, Australia, Miami, USA and Palma de Mallorca, Spain, ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyères will bring the 2012-13 series to a close and will feature the world's top sailors.

ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyères welcomes London 2012 Laser Radial gold medallist Lijia Xu (CHN) who returns to the fleet for the first time since her thrilling Medal Race victory at London 2012 where she sealed China's first ever Olympic sailing gold medal in a dinghy.

Xu, the 2012 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year, won in Hyères in 2012 as her preparations for the Olympic Games ramped up. Her aim for 2013 is somewhat different than last, "I am having an easy year sailing after the Olympics, I still want to enjoy every second on the boat.

"I haven't sailed since the London Games, not even now. I will arrive in Hyères a week earlier to smooth my steering. As an easy year, my aim is to keep my feeling with the sailboat. So the physical and technical preparation will be kept to a minimum, to provide more time on my study and spending time with family or friends in order to make the most of my transition year."

The Chinese sailor won bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Sailing Competition and was selective over her events initially after the 2008 Games, a path that she will follow again on the road to Rio, "I will focus more on the journey itself instead of the destination. Rio is part of my goal and I'd like to balance every aspect of my life, cherish every moment and appreciate everyone around me alongside the process towards my next goal."

Also stepping back into a Radial for the first time since London 2012 is Marit Bouwmeester (NED). Like Xu, the Olympic silver medallist has taken her time to get back into the boat and following a split from her coach of seven years Hyères will be a fresh start for the Dutch sailor.

Bouwmeester said, "I'm very grateful to Mark [Littlejohn] for what we have achieved. But I now see opportunities to the next step towards a more independent athlete. I want more control over my own campaign. I want a variety of experts from the Laser to see what works well with little wind, the conditions we can expect in Rio.

"My focus is on the ISAF Worlds in 2014 in Santander and optimum preparation for Rio 2016. I want some experts committed to Santander and from the 2014 Worlds to work with a permanent coach until the games in Rio."

Whilst the Olympic medallists may find the early going slow many of the fleet will bring some form into the regatta. Alison Young (GBR) dominated the Radial fleet in Palma to claim a well-deserved gold medal and with confidence high Young will be mixing it up at the front. Ireland's Annalise Murphy, Canada's Isabella Bertold, France's Amelie Riou and Croatia's Tina Mihelic will all be aiming for top finishes.

All of the World's top ten in the Laser Rankings will sail in the 119-boat fleet in Hyères including World #2 and ISAF Sailing World Cup Palma victor Andy Maloney (NZL). The Kiwi sailor had a perfect final day in Palma to overturn World #1 Tom Burton's (AUS) commanding lead after he was OCS in the final race. "It was a bit unfortunate for Tom Burton in the last race but that happens to all of us," Maloney said on the final day in Palma, "I'm always looking to win the event so I'll be aiming for another gold in Hyères."

World #3 Phillip Buhl (GER) enjoyed some good early form in Palma but faded on the penultimate day to miss out on the Medal Races, he will look to make amends in the South of France to defend the title he won last year.

To reflect lessons and sailor feedback from ISAF Sailing World Cup Palma modifications have been made to the scoring format in Hyères. The Qualifying Series for ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyères has been shortened to two days. The first race of the Final Series shall be a non discardable carry forward race with points equal to a boat's final rank in the qualifying series. Three days of Final Series racing then culminates in the Medal Stage where the 49er and 49erFX will sail three Stadium Races and the remaining eight fleets will sail two Medal Races.

Mat Belcher and Will Ryan (AUS) will be the favourites to take gold in the 64-boat Men's 470 fleet following their third victory together in Palma and Belcher's 11th in a row. The pair were tested by a strong fleet in Palma but their consistency in the final series paid off as they took a convincing win. Palma medallists Panagiotis Mantis and Pavlos Kagialis (GRE) and Luke Patience and Joe Glanfield (GBR) will both sail in France as they look to halt the Australians winning streak.

Twenty nine crews will be gunning for gold in the Women's 470. Brazil's Fernanda OIiveira and Ana Barbachan enter the event with a perfect record in 2013 that includes victories at ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami and Palma. The Brazilians sit comfortably atop of the Women's 470 rankings ahead of Lara Vadlau and Jolanta Ogar (AUT), Xiaoli Wang and Xufeng Huang (CHN) and Tina Mrak and Veronika Macarol (SLO). The Austrian, Chinese and Slovenian crews will all sail in France to put pressure on the Brazilians.

Sailing together for the first time in Palma was Great Britain's Sophie Weguelin and Eilidh McIntyre. The British duo took silver and pushed the Brazilians all the way so confidence will be sky high for them ahead of the first race in Hyères.

A strong 76-boat Finn contingent will take to the water in Hyères and features all the gold medallists from the 2012-13 ISAF Sailing World Cup series. Melbourne victor Brendan Casey (AUS), Miami winner Caleb Paine (USA) and Palma gold medallist Giles Scott (GBR), who stepped back into the Finn in Palma after America's Cup commitments, will all sail at the final event of the series. Add London 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Jonathan Lobert (FRA), several strong Brits and the experience of Pieter Jan Postma (NED) and Vasilij Zbogar (SLO) into the pot and it makes for a tasty week of competition.

There is also further action in the 49er, 49erFX, Nacra 17, Men's and Women's RS:X, 2.4mR and the Sonar.

Racing is scheduled to start at 11:00 local time on 22 April with the climax of racing on 27 April.

ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyeres Website
http://swc.ffvoile.com/

ISAF Sailing World Cup Website
http://www.sailing.org/worldcup/home.php

ISAF Sailing World Cup Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/ISAFSailingWorldCup

ISAF Sailing World Cup YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/SailingWorldCup

International Sailing Federation (ISAF)
http://www.sailing.org

#brokennose – #London Olympic sailor Annalise Murphy (23) has broken her nose after crashing into a parked car. Fortunately Annalise is not intending to race in Palma at the second leg of the ISAF World Cup due to start next week on April 1. She tweeted this afternoon 'Did something rather stupid this morning... crashed my bike into the back of a parked car'.

The tweet was followed by a second with picture caption: 'Was very well looked after by an ambulance crew and luckily it turns out I only broke my nose'

#olympic – Annalise Murphy will be saying goodbye to her recently purchased Moth dinghy and hello to her Laser Radial next week for the ISAF Sailing World Cup in Palma commencing on 1 April with an exciting array of world class competitors ready to embark on new challenges.

Held across Club Nàutic S'Arenal and Club Marítimo San Antonio de la Playa over 900 sailors will fight for the titles in the ten Olympic events.

Thirty seven of the 38-boat Nacra 17 fleet will take to ISAF Sailing World Cup race action in Palma for the first time. ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami victors Sarah Newberry and John Casey (USA) are the only team racing from the inaugural appearance of the multihull in January.

From skiff sailors to former windsurfers the fleet welcomes a blend of sailing talent who are looking to apply their skills and mind set to the Olympic multihull.

Making the switch from the Laser Radial to the Nacra 17 is two time Olympian Nathalie Brugger (SUI) who is teaming up with former Men's 470 sailor Matias Buhler. "After six years in the Radial it is quite demanding on the body and I was looking forward to a change and a new challenge," said Brugger.

"I am lucky to get to team up with Matias – we have known each other for quite a while and he has a lot of racing experience from the 470 and other big boat programs. I guess we both knew that if either of us was to campaign in the Nacra 17 for Switzerland, together we would be the best team."

Despite years in the Radial Brugger is no stranger to multihull racing after she sailed on Dona Bertarelli's boat, the Decision 35 Ladycat, in the M32 Cup on Lake Geneva, Switzerland. Even though Brugger has sailed with some skilled multihull sailors she isn't expecting miracles overnight at ISAF Sailing World Cup Palma, "I think all the teams will be watching Sarah and John as well as the Dutch teams as they have maybe had the most time and experience with the boats. It will be about learning to get the best speed and boat handling but this early in the Olympic cycle the focus for Matti and I will be about building our own team."

Three Dutch teams will be sailing in Palma, Mandy Mulder and Thijs Visser, Renee Groeneveld and Karel Begemann and Elke Delnooz and Mischa Heemskerk. Mulder and Groeneveld come from women's keelboat backgrounds and fought tooth and nail for the Dutch Women's Match Racing Olympic spot over the last four years and have had to learn how to sail multihulls with their new partners. On the other hand Delnooz and Heemskerk are multihull sailors through and through.

Heemskerk holds a wealth of experience and is no stranger to the front of the fleet and podium finishes and most recently took the A-Class Catamaran title in Florida, USA. Like Heemskerk, Delnooz has also been on the multihull scene for a number of the years and Heemskerk believes he has a strong team mate, "Elke and myself have been racing against each other in the Formula 18 class for the last seven years," said Heemskerk.

"She has been improving her performance rapidly in the last two years so when the Olympic catamaran came about she was a good candidate to team up with. She is a more mature woman, very intelligent and stable character which will help over a four year campaign to stay a good team. We have been training in Palma with the two other Deltalloyd teams and she is very quick on the helm with me on the trim."

Heemskerk's recent developments on the A-Catamaran has seen him introduce winglets on the rudders allowing more control on the 1-person boat. He has transferred his skillset over to the Nacra 17 to help the Dutch team understand how to sail the boats and what to do when the boats are flying.

With plenty of time on the water as well Heemskerk has a firm understanding on the boat, "The Nacra 17 is upwind a mix between a A-Cat and a Formula 18 downwind because of the spinnaker it is an overpowered A-Cat. Downwind the two of us have to control the beast which requires great teamwork cause the delicate balance between steering, trim and weight makes you either fast or out of control."

Whilst the American duo and the trio of Dutch teams could be seen as favourites to take the final honours the fleet also includes 2010 Tornado World Champions Roland and Nahid Gaebler (GER), Beijing 2008 Yngling gold medallist Pippa Wilson (GBR) and familiar Olympic campaigners all starting off on a new adventure.

A strong Finn fleet at ISAF Sailing World Cup Palma welcomes 76 sailors and includes World #1 Brendan Casey (AUS), Olympic veterans and fresh new faces.

Moving back to the Finn fresh from winning gold in the Star at the London 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition is Sweden's Max Salminen. The Swede took a memorable gold on the final day of the competition with Freddie Loof when it looked like gold would go the way of the British team. Salminen last sailed the Finn in 2010 and is looking forward to the new challenge, "It's a nice boat that fits me pretty well. You also realize how much you've learned during the star period and that you're coming in to the class as a new sailor and not the one that stepped out of the boat three years ago."

Salminen will be joined by ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami Champion Caleb Paine (USA), 2011 World Champion Giles Scott and London 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Jonathan Lobert (FRA).

With some of the old guard retiring and a bigger emphasis on powerful young sailors in the fleet Lobert is excited about the challenges that he'll face, "The good thing in sailing is as the venue changes the game changes, so Rio will be different from Weymouth and I will need new skills to succeed there. I see this new campaign as a super exciting challenge with some new guys such as Max joining the fleet and a lot of old guys leaving so it will be interesting to see the new fleet classification."

Many seasoned campaigners return in the Men's RS:X with 40 registered entrants all vying for top spot. ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami victor Ivan Pastor Lafuente (ESP) will be the one to beat as he competes on his home waters and steady results that has seen him climb to World #3 in the Men's RS:X Rankings. With the likes of Toni Wilhelm (GER), Ricardo Santos (BRA) and Julien Bontemps (FRA) joining him the competition will be tight.

Fresh from victory at ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami and a third place at the 2013 RS:X Worlds in Buzios, Brazil, Israel's Maayan Davidovich will be one of the favourites in the Women's RS:X fleet. Joining her in the fleet will be RS:X Worlds silver medallist Bryony Shaw (GBR) and World #1 Flavia Tartaglini (ITA) making for tasty competition in the 28-person fleet.

There is a strong contingent of Danish, Spanish, French, British, German, Italian, Russian and Swedish crews that will make up the bulk of the 81-boat 49er fleet. The entrants include Olympic bronze medallists Allan Norregaard and Peter Lang who have gone their separate ways, Norregaard is sailing with Alders Thomson and Lang is crew with Beijing 2008 gold medallist Jonas Warrer. Athens 2004 gold medallist and Beijing 2008 silver medallist Iker Martinez (ESP) has also teamed up with Iago Lopez.

There is also further action in the 49erFX, Laser, Laser Radial and the Men's and Women's 470.

Racing is scheduled to start at 11:00 local time on 1 April through to 6 April across the ten events.

#annalise – Afloat's Irish sailor of the year Annalise Murphy is the latest sailor to bite the bullet on the hydrofoil sailing Moth dinghy craze.

Annalise who competes at the ISAF World Cup in Palma at the end of this month was on the Ulysses car ferry last week heading for Holyhead to pick up her new boat!

The Moth Class is the name for a small development class sailing dinghy. There are three types of moths and possibly up to 5 currently in existence: the International Moth, a fast sailing hydrofoil dinghy

Annalise, who finished fourth at the London Olympics and is campaigning again for the 2016 Olympics says she is 'learning how to sail all over again'.

The 23–year–old National Yacht Club sailor has just been awarded €40,000 in funding as a 'podium athlete' by the Irish Sports Council.

She spent a lot of time 'cart-wheeling' around Dun Laoghaire Harbour, much to the amusement of other the local DMYC Frostbite fleet.

Other international Laser stars such as triple world Laser Champion and Olympic Gold medallist Tom Slingsby have found sailing the foiling craft helps their Laser technique.

Annalise is not the first to sail the hydrofoiling craft in Ireland. In 2011 the Moth made its debut in Irish waters.

Annalise gets to grips with the hydrofoil

#annalisemuphy – Like Miami, Florida a month ago Ireland's Annalise Murphy will try out the Rio 2016 racing format at Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mapfre, Spain later this month.

The 44th edition of the Trofeo SAR Princesa Sofia Mapfre for Olympic classes, the first European event of the ISAF Sailing World Cup, has been chosen by ISAF to test the racing format to be used at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

In early February, Annalise had a 'disastrous' conclusion in three short medal races in Florida where the Irish one time leader of the USA Olympic classes regatta went from first to fourth overall, denying her a place on the podium in her first event on the road to Rio 2016. It will be something the Afloat Irish Sailor of the Year 2012 is keen to correct in a fornights time.

The Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mapfre, to be held in the bay of Palma from 30 March to 6 April with the participation of the top world sailors of Olympic and Paralympic classes, will use a new racing format combining innovation and simplicity and aims at having the fairest event possible following the request from ISAF.

Following some tests in SWC Miami, ISAF concluded "there were too many differences in the racing format in each class" a fact that caused important problems to the scoring system so it was decided to unify criteria starting at the Sofia Mapfre.

ISAF also considered some of the rules applied in Miami did not work well and therefore will no longer be used. Among some of the discarded ideas there are "the winner of the last race is the overall winner" – this was tested by the windsurfers- or sailing three medal races for the Laser and Laser Radial.

The approximately 800 sailors that will take part at the Sofia Mapfre, the only Spanish event of the ISAF Sailing World Cup, will sail qualifying and final series – with one discard, like they did last year and at the London 2012 Olympics.

But two main novelties which were successful in Miami will be introduced at the SWC Palma. On one hand, the qualifying series score as one of the final series races, rule already proposed for Rio 2016. On the other hand, two medal races -final races always scoring double points, non-discardable and reserved to the top ten sailors- will be sailed in all classes except for the 49er and 49er FX that will sail four Stadium Races, of ten minutes duration instead of thirty and reserved to the top eight and with single scoring; with four non-discardable races. The results of the now called Final Day will be added to the results of the final series (which already include the qualifying series as one race) to decide the final overall results and podium.

On the other hand, for the monotypes both the qualifying and the final series will consist of six races of 50 minutes duration (in the final series, one of these six races is the one resulting from the qualifying series), while the 49er, 49er FX and Nacra (the new mixed skiff) will sail 30 minute races, nine in the qualifying series and six (plus one carried forward from the preceding round) for the finals.

Another big change is to be seen in the scoring system. Every single win scores 0 points instead of 1, while second classified scores 2, third scores 3 points and so on. This rule makes single wins more important but it has not yet been decided if it will be used in Río 2016.

ISAF will evaluate this racing format at the Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mapfre and with the sailors' feedback it will make the necessary amendments towards the next SWC regatta to be held in Hyères (France).

"The Sofia Mapfre is proud to be the sailors' event and we are pleased ISAF has chosen Palma to test the racing format and that the sailor's opinion will be taken into consideration in order to define the racing format for the next Olympics", stated Ferran Muniesa, the Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mapfre CEO.

#sailoroftheyear – There was warm applause yesterday for Sailor of the Year Annalise Murphy. The Olympic 2012 sailor is already back on the water training hard for her next regatta at the end of March but found the time to post on her Facebook page from Cadiz, Spain - 'Thanks to Afloat magazine for making me Irish Sailor of the year. Truly never thought this would happen to me :)'

Murphy follows in the footsteps of 1996 Laser ace Mark Lyttle, the inaugural winner of the first sailor of the year award 17 years ago.

Yesterday's prize hit the sports headlines appearing in The Irish Times and last night's RTE's Six One news bulletin. (see 41mins in on the RTE Player)

The National Yacht Club (NYC) sailor from Dun Laoghaire beat a short list of 12 outstanding Irish achievements from 2012 to lift the top prize. Over 12,000 online votes were cast in a poll on Afloat.ie

Murphy, got a quick response from her social media followers to the new prize. Clair Burke commenting: 'Well deserved Annalise, you did a fabulous job of raising the profile of sailing for the non sailing public in Ireland'.

News of the award for the 23-year-old was carried by the Irish Sports Council, Olympic Council of Ireland and the Federation of Irish Sport as well as numerous popular sailing websites including this morning's Scuttlebutt Europe.

Considering the talented and dedicated NYC sailor and UCD student is still only 23, there's clearly plenty of sailing success awaiting in her future, and she starts 2013 on her 'Road to Rio' aiming to clinch a medal at the 2016 Olympic Games.

In spite of losing out on a podium finish at the ISAF Sailing World Cup in Miami earlier this month, the fact that she came so close - and led the charge in the early stages - proves that she can stand proudly with the elite in her class. And she'll have another chance to prove herself in the next round of the ISAF World Cup in Palma de Mallorca on 30 March.