#SailingWCMiami – First it was sunny and bright then It was storming and raining sideways and then It was sunny and bright. Just like home. Those familiar conditions may have helped Ireland's Annalise Murphy get the 2015 Olympic saiing season off to an auspicious start in Miami yesterday posting two second places to lie third overall in the women's Laser radial class. Erica Ruigrok finished 74th from 77th, not completing the second race.

Murphy's National Yacht Club club–mate Finn Lynch also stole a march on the Irish sailors racing in the 104–boat Mens Laser fleet. The 21–year–old trialist is 33rd, three places ahead of 2012 Olympic representative James Espey. Cork's Darragh o'Sullivan is 88th with Strangford's Chris Russell not competing in either of yesterday's opening rounds. 

Belfast's Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern are 36th from 54 in the 49er skiff. Disappointingly, Ireland's womens skiff pair of Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey did not finish in their 40– boat fleet with only eight teams crossing the finish line.

Numerous challenges were posed to the competitors in wet and windy day of action. Racing commenced shortly after 10:00 local time with a confirmed number of 856 sailors from 63 nations competing across the ten Olympic and three Paralympic events.

Results here.

Laser

Robert Scheidt, winner of five medals in five Olympiads, two of them gold, described the series opener as, "Windy. Tough. What you have to do this early in the regatta is avoid the big problems."

Which is not so easy when a squall is the takeaway.

"In the first race there was a time on the second weather leg where we couldn't see through the rain, couldn't find the marks," Scheidt said. "Finally Bruno (Fontes) saw a bit of colour out there in the grey stuff, and we both went for it, and we made big gains."

Figure the breeze at the moment was high 20s or perhaps even 30 knots, so a boat aimed the right direction - and on its feet - had a lot going for it. "After that," Scheidt said "I didn't have a special second race, but I didn't need to. I was happy with a second and a fourth." Those finishes left Scheidt second to Fontes, first, and New Zealand's Andy Maloney, second at 4-1 in the other division of the split fleet.

The other piece of Laser class news happened in the other division of the split fleet, where the Aussie, Tom Burton, who has been on a winning streak, dug himself a hole with finishes of 18th and 20th.

Men's 470

Perennial threats Luke Patience and crew Elliot Willis of the UK comfortably topped a fleet of 45 entries in the 470 class, on a challenging day, on scores of first and second.

As in other fleets, the people at or near the top of the leaderboard were grateful to be just that. Australian 470 skipper Mat Belcher figured, "The job was to get around the course. We were happy with a first and a fifth and a boat that was still working. We have the whole week to make points." Perhaps it is fair to add, Belcher was busy gluing and screwing new parts onto his "still working" mast as he spoke.

And Belcher has earned whatever confidence he can muster. A five time world champion - all in a row - he and crew Will Ryan won the inaugural ISAF Sailing World Cup Final title in Abu Dhabi, UAE, in November.

Asenathi Jim and Roger Hudson of the Republic of South Africa stand second off a 4-6 day, followed by the French threat of Sofian Bouvet and Jeremie Mion, 3-8. They're the defending champions. At this regatta one year ago, Bouvet and Mion broke a seventeen-regatta winning streak that Belcher and Ryan had been riding.

Stories stories, everybody had a story. The Japanese duo of Tetsuya Matsunaga (a second generation sailor) and Yugo Yoshida used both sides of the course, "sometimes" to good effect, said Matsunaga, "It was very shifty. It the second race, we went left and the wind came from the right. We rounded the top mark 20th or so. I really don't know." But that "20th or so" turned into a 10th for a 2-10 day and fifth in the standings.

Women's 470

In the Women's 470 racing, London 2012 gold medalists Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie of New Zealand, "had just made it around the gybe mark" of race one, Aleh said, when THE SQUALL hit.

"We looked back and the blast was fairly flattening the fleet. You wanted to ask, where did everybody go? But we got the kite down, we stayed on our feet and we made some nice gains."

The day wrapped up with Aleh and Powrie leading the standings off a pair of seconds.

Two top British teams, Hannah Mills/Saskia Clark and Sophie Weguelin, won a race apiece and stand second and third, respectively.

"The team of the moment," in the words of a close series observer, fared less well. That would be Austria's Lara Vadlau and crew Jolanta Ogar The 2014 World and World Cup champions presently stand ninth off finishes of 15th and 16th - remarkably consistent, but.

Again, stories and stories. Americans Anna Haeger and Briana Provancha were gybing at the mark when squall's blast arrived. It did not go well. Haeger and Provancha had an 11-10 day and some body pain to take home.

Men's RS:X

Louis Giard (FRA), conqueror of the inaugural ISAF Sailing World Cup Final title, resumed in Miami from where he left off in Abu Dhabi - leading the way.

Although he sits pretty on two points at the top, he discards an 11th, which could prove deadly to his points total if he finishes lower than that as the week pans out. A scoreline of 3-1-2 is more of a solid foundation to build upon and second placed Byron Kokkalanis (GRE) is the proud owner of that run.

"All the races were good with lots of shifts and a lot of ups and downs," commented Kokkalanis. "I managed to do well by finishing third, first and second. I had to catch up in the first and third race but the second race was really good. I had a good start and was fighting hard with Nick Dempsey, it was really fun and a good day."

Solid foundations are key for a week long RS:X competition. Races are short, frequent, intense and compelling. Thirteen more are scheduled for the week with gold fleet racing commencing on Wednesday and Kokkalanis knows he has to be in top shape to defend his title, "Tomorrow I will take the same approach and try to do my best as always. That's what everybody is trying to do.

"I'll try to stay on top and then the real racing, gold fleet, starts on Wednesday. All the good guys will be together so until then I'll try and get as few points as possible."

Tom Squires (GBR) laid an equally impressive foundation, a 1-3-3, rounding off the top three after day one.

Women's RS:X

In a field that features Olympic medallists, World Champions and an ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year, home nation sailor Marion Lepert had a dream start.

From two races Lepert notched up a fourth and a bullet to top the pack of 37. She holds off Flavia Tartaglini (ITA) and Olga Maslivets (RUS), who are second and third respectively.

A recent graduate from youth competition, Lepert made in-roads in the Techno 293 where she claimed a silver medal at the 2011 World Championship. She moved up to the RS:X and a fourth at the 2013 Sail First ISAF Youth Worlds confirmed her promise. Albeit a dream start, Lepert will have her work cut out to maintain such a performance it in amongst a field of seasoned professionals.

Nacra 17

Taming the Nacra 17 beast came as a challenge to many of the 49-boat Mixed Multihull fleet. With gusts hitting the 30 knot mark, thrills and spills were inevitable and that was certainly the case with as many as 26 boats either unable to finish the second race or deciding enough was enough in advance of the start.

A night of boat work and maintenance will be in order for several of the competitors whilst leaders Gemma Jones and Jason Saunders (NZL), Vittorio Bissaro and Silvia Sicouri (ITA) and Billy Besson and Marie Riou (FRA) will all rest easy after a job well done from three races.

49erFX

Like the Nacra 17 sailors, the Women's Skiff competitors on the 49erFX also found the Miami breeze extremely tough to handle.

Of the 40 teams, just eight of them successfully worked their way around the course to complete the single race of the day.

Alex Maloney and Molly Meech (NZL) are two of the most experienced 49erFX competitors around, with well over two years of boat experience behind them. With a range of knowledge behind them they comprehensively claimed the day's race win by more than a minute.

Nina Keijzer and Claire Blom (NED) came through in second with ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne winners Tess Lloyd and Caitlin Elks (AUS) in third.

49er

Spain's Diego Botin and Iago Lopez got off to a flying start in the 49er, controlling the proceedings in the blue fleet. Right from the off they put in a composed performance in a competitive pack to take the opening race bullet.

They remained at the front for the next bout, coming through in second behind John Pink and Stuart Bithell (GBR) before they rounded off a superb day by taking the final race victory

Being at the top of the 49er leader board, after the opening day, is not uncommon ground for Botin. The young Spaniard had an outstanding start at the 2014 editions of World Cup Mallorca and Hyères. However, he was unable to convert that into consistent results over a gruelling six day ISAF Sailing World Cup regatta.

For now, Botin and Lopez lead, but with five days and 13 races remaining, time will tell if Botin can continue his form.

Results were mixed in the yellow fleet with no team taking the bull by the horns. Federico and Arturo Alonso (ESP) sit second after they recorded a discarded 20th and a second and a third. David Gilmour and Rhys Mara (AUS) occupy the final podium sport at the early stages.

Finn

Hand it to hardy Briton Giles Scott, who has taken over the throne of the longest-serving dinghy class in Olympic sailing. The Finn has been raced in 16 Olympiads. It is known as the boat in which Paul Elvstrom redefined the racing sailor as an athlete. And it is known as the boat that tests athletes as no other.

Scott has not lost in 15 months, and he didn't do it through cherry-picking the easy stuff. He won seven ranked regattas in that time, and on Monday Scott won both races. His countryman, Ed Wright, has often come closest to unseating him, but following the opening day of racing here Wright stands fourth on scores of 3-7.

In second is Australia's Jake Lilley, 2-3, with Croatia's Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic third, 8-2.
American hope Caleb Payne retired from the second race.

Paralympic Events

It was a double bullet day for John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Steve Thomas (GBR) the Sonar. They dominant Brits top the leader board and are followed by Paul Tingley, Logan Campbell and Scott Lutes (CAN) who saw the back of the British boat on two occasions with a pair of seconds.

John McRoberts and Jackie Gay (CAN) started well in the SKUD18 with a second and a first. They lead on three points with Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell (GBR) second on five points.

Racing is scheduled to resume at 10:00 local time on Tuesday 27 January.

#49er –  In a certain boost to their debut season Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey will race in tomorrow's medal race at Kiel week regatta after five blustery qualifying races – that included a race win. 

Scoring a 10th today and dropping a 13th (discarded after 5 races) Brewster and Tidey now lie eighth overall in the Eurosaf Cup event, 20–points off the overall lead. (Download results below as a pdf file).

'We are pretty thrilled with our result as we have made it into the medal race tomorrow with the top 10 boats. This will be the first medal race we have ever qualified for' Brewster wrote on Facebook tonight.

The girls medal race starts at 10am on Friday and, according to organisers is to be broadcast live HERE.

A month ago, the Royal Irish pair were forced to withdraw from the Eurosaf regatta on Lake Garda when crew Tidey was injured in a high speed capsize. Thankfully, this injury appears to be completely behind them, with this week's performance in breeze a heartening result for the Dublin Bay campaign.

Admittedly the Kiel womens' 49erfx fleet is missing both the winner and runner up from the last outing of the ISAF world Cup in Hyeres in late April but the 33–boat fleet does contain the Danish pair Ida Marie Baad Nielsen and Marie Thusgaard Olsen who took bronze on the Cote D'Azur. Also in Kiel this week are top placed Italian and Dutch crews to reinforce the point that although Kiel may not be part of ISAF's world cup circuit it can still produce a hotly contested womens skiff event.

In the mens division, Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern, will also contest tomorrow's medal race. The Northern Ireland skiff pair won an ISAF silver medal at Hyeres World Cup Event in April and have proved quick again this week in breezy conditions. (See above vid).

More than 4,500 sailors from more than 50 nations with 1800 boats are racing off Schilksee from 21 to 29 June at the 132nd Kieler Woche, and they are fighting for titles and medals in 42 Olympic, paralympic, international and offshore classes. 

Medal Race: Front Runners From Five Nations
The wind eased for the time being. At the fourth day of Kieler Woche after three days of strong winds, there was only a light breeze on the outer fjord in Kiel. But that did not really make life of the race directors and sailors easier, since the crews proceeded on their courses at a snail's pace - too slow to get a complete race program done.

On Wednesday there will be the finals of the Olympic classes sailed on short legs and three courses. At 10am the 49erFX (TV course), Laser Radial (course India) and the Nacra17 (course Juliett) will start, followed by the 49ers at 11am (TV) and the Lasers (India) and the 470s Men (Juliett) at 11:30am.

Results: Kieler Woche day 4

2.4mR: (5 races)
1. Heiko Kroger, GER, 4 points
2. Barend Kol, NED, 9
3. Helena Lucas, GBR, 15

Sonar: (5)
1. Jens Kroker / Robert Prem, Siggy Mainka, GER, 4
2. Soren Werner / Christian Bauer, Lutz Rewa, GER, 8
3. Thomas Beer / Jorg Meierdiercks, Oliver Utrata, GER, 11

49er: (7)
1. Erik Heil / Thomas Ploessel, GER, 16
2. David Evans / Ed Powys, GBR, 26
3. Jacopo Plazzi / Umberto Molineris, ITA, 26

49er FX: (5)
1. Jena Mai Hansen / Katja Salskov-Iversen, DEN, 11
2. Victoria Jurczok / Anika Lorenz, GER, 15
3. Tamara Echegayen / Berta Betanzos, ESP, 15

Nacra 17: (6)
1. Allan Norregaard / Line Just, DEN, 15
2. Vittorio Bissaro / Silvia Sicouri, ITA, 18
3. Lorenzo Bressani / Micol Giovanna, ITA, 23

Finn: (5)
1. Bjorn Allansson, SWE, 16
2. Giorgio Poggi, ITA, 16
3. Tomas Vika, CZE, 17.3

470 M: (6)
1. Panagiotis Mantis / Pavlos Kagialis, GRE, 13
2. Mathew Belcher / Will Ryan, AUS, 17
3. Ferdinand Gerz / Oliver Szymanski, GER, 18

470 W: (6)
1. Lara Vadian / Jolanta Opar, AUT, 10
2. Annina Wagner / Elisabeth Panuschka, GER, 12
3. Alisa Kirilyuk / Liudmila Dmitrieva, RUS, 18

Laser Standard: (9)
1. Philipp Buhl, GER, 29
2. Karl-Martin Rammo, EST, 33
3. Tobias Schadewaldt, GER, 40

Laser Radial: (4)
1. Lisa Fasselt, GER, 10
2. Tatiana Drozdovskaya, BLR, 10
3. Pauline Liebig, GER, 21

Melges 24: (7)
1. Riccardo Simoneschi / Enrico Fonda, Stefano Orlandi, Federico Buscaglia, Lucia Giorgetti, ITA, 8
2. Kim Christensen / Peter Jakobsen, Mads Holmer, Jamie Lea, DEN, 11
3. John Den Engelsman / Rikst Dijkstra, Willem Jan Van Dort, Rinse Ubbink, Irena Doets, NED, 27

Platu 25: (7)
1. Gordon Nickel / Morten Nickel, Nils-Mathes Fiege, Nils Merten Farber, Sebastian Roske, GER, 9
2. Ingo Lochmann / Christian Maedel, Matthias Kruger, Jens Steinborn, Timo Chorrosch, GER, 21
3. Eiko Powilleit / Robert Heymann, Frank Barownick, Thomas Schuler, Andreas Gluschke, GER, 22

J/70: (7)
1. Claas Lehmann / Marc-Daniel Mohlmann, Bjorn Athmer, Valentin Zeller, GER, 14
2. Wouter Kollmann / Kim Platteeuw, Gilbert Figaroa, Wick Hillege, NED, 20
3. Michael Ilgenstein / Finn Mrugalla, Jan-Ole Burzinski, Terje Klockemann, GER, 21

J/80: (7)
1. Martin Menzner / Frank Lichte, Mika Rolfs, Carsten Hopp, GER, 6
2. Soren Hadeler / Peer Schickedanz, Henning Buchmann, Simon Bodermann, GER, 17
3. Hauke Kruss / Ole Sartori, Rune Schytt-Nielsen, Peer Kolberg, GER, 20

SB20: (7)
1. Alexey Murashkin / Kirill Frolov, Egor Ignatenko, RUS, 9
2. Marco Van Driel / Joost Assmann, Martijn Worseling, NED, 13
3. Leonid Altukhov / Igor Matviienko, Ruslana Taran, RUS, 19

Albin Express: (7)
1. Arne K Larssen / Merle Risy, Steffen Muhlenkamp, Sebastian Hantke, Nils Albrecht, SWE, 7
2. Andreas Pinnow / Jan Heinecke, Frieder Neu, Malte Nathke, Julian Heller, GER, 11
3. Mark Schuerch / Dirk Hornschuh, Soren Hesse, Raoul Kubler, GER, 28

Offshore:

ORC I IDM (6):
1. Platoon, Harm Muller-Speer, GER, 7.5
2. Desna, Sven Wackerhagen, GER, 21.5
3. Oxygen, Morton Ulrikkeholm, NOR, 22

ORC II IDM (6):
1. Rockall IV, Christopher Opielok, HKG, 11
2. X-Day, Niels Gauter, GER, 20
3. Sirena, Peter Buhl, DEN, 23

ORC III/IV IDM (6):
1. Sportsfreund, Axel Seehafer, GER, 10
2. Solconia, Max Gurgel, GER, 11
3. Patent3, Jens Tschentscher, GER, 13

#deltalloydregat – Royal Cork's Robert O'Leary made his international debut in the Finn single hander dinghy at the Delta Lloyd Regatta in Holland yesterday. The Munster man is among a team of three Irish Olympic and Paralympic teams but last year's Gold medal winner Annalise Murphy is not competing this week.O'Leary (younger brother of double Olympian Peter) lies tenth overall in his 14–boat fleet having scored a 13 and 9 in the first two rounds.

Yesterday, 350 sailors from 49 nations enjoyed some close, tactical racing in light to moderate winds and very warm temperatures at the second Eurosaf Cup event.

Recent World Cup Silver medallists Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern lie eighth in the 34–boat 49er class, James Espey is 22 from 43 in the Laser Standard and the Paralympic Sonar team; John Twomey, Ian Costello and Austin O'Carroll are lying nine from ten starters.

Racing started on time at 11.00 in 9-11 knots from the south-west and slightly overcast skies, and later rose to around 15 knots, though there were some significant wind shifts through the day, that mixed up some fleets and delayed others.

In general, the favourites found there way to the front, though there were a few surprise performances through the day. In the Finn Philip Kasueske (GER) posted a perfect day with two bullets, as did Michelle Broekhuizen and Marieke Jongens (NED) in the 470 women.

The Polish sailors dominated the RS:X events with Pawel Tarnowski (POL) winning two races in the RS:X Men with Przemyslaw Miarczynski (POL) winning the third, and Maja Dziarnowska (POL) leading a Polish top three in the women's fleet.

In other fleets there was some very tight racing with the honours split between the sailors. But the message from the returning sailors was always the same: this year is a lot nicer than last year.

The last fleets came ashore just after 16.00, completing the full programme on the first day of the regatta.

Racing continues Wednesday at the slightly earlier time of 10.00. Full results for each class can be found at: results.deltalloydregatta.org

#irish49er – Ireland's Ryan Seaton and Matthew McGovern sailed with intent and focus in Hyères and came away with their first ever ISAF Sailing World Cup medal on Saturday. Their silver medal earned them a good point's haul and pushed them up from World #30 to World #11.

Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (NZL) have four straight regatta victories in the 49er fleet and are currently at World #16 as those around them count points from six regattas.

The Kiwis took convincing victories at ISAF Sailing World Cup Mallorca and Hyères and are in a good place in advance of the 2014 49er European and ISAF World Championships.

Jonas Warrer and Peter Lang (DEN) top the pile on 960 points. Over the 12 month period the Danes have posted consistent top placed results. A gold in Miami and silver in Mallorca puts them in a good place.

The latest world rankings from ISAF are here.

#49er – Ireland's 49er duo Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern continue to hold second overall as the ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyères reached a critical stage on the French south coast.

Scoring 18,15 and 8 today they stay second overall narrowly ahead of Kiwi pair Marcus Hansen and Josh Porebski.

Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (NZL) showed a fine display of racing on the 49er course to stay out of trouble, avoiding a double point score like many of their competitors succumbed to. A ninth in the opening bout was followed up with a fourth and a ninth and they have a healthy 22 point lead with two days remaining.

Seaton and McGovern held on to second overall but they found the going tough discarding an 18th and count a 15th and an eighth to trail the Kiwis on 72 points. They are just a single point ahead of Hansen and Porebski 

Germany's Erik Heil and Thomas Ploessel started the day emphatically in the gold fleet and in Race 10 narrowly missed out on the bullet to Manu Dyen and Stephane Christidis (FRA) as they came through in second. In Race 11 they hit back hard and were truly dominant. Leading from the outset they never truly looked threatened and eased through to a 15 second victory overall Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen (AUS).

Unfortunately it did not go to plan in the final race of the day for the Germans as a 25th puts them in ninth overall.

The final bullet of the day went to David Evans and Ed Powys who are 11th overall.

Over 1,100 sailors are competing at the fifth and final stage of the 2013-2014 ISAF Sailing World Cup series and it was long day out on the water with the last race concluding at 20:01 local time.

Following a delayed start to the day a shifty 10-12 knot westerly breeze tested the sailors' and the race committees. 

#isafrankings – Irish sailing star Annalise Murphy who won this year's Laser European Championships is placed 13th in the latest ISAF World Sailing Rankings. London 2012 Laser rep James Espey in the men's Laser class is 49th in the just released rankings and his Northern Ireland club mates from Belfast Lough, Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern are 40th in the 49er Skiff class. 

The Top ranked sailors in each class are:

Laser: Tom Burton, AUS
Nacra 17: Moana Vaireaux / Manon Audinet, FRA
Laser Radial: Mathilde De Kerangat, FRA
Men's 470: Mathew Belcher / William Ryan, AUS
Women's 470: Lara Vadlau / Anneloes Van Veen / Jolanta Ogar, AUT
Finn: Caleb Paine, USA
Women's RS:X: Bryony Shaw, GBR
Men's RS:X: Ivan Pastor Lafuente, ESP
49erFX: Martine Soffiatti Grael / Kahena Kunze, BRA
49er: Stephen Morrison / Ben Rhodes / Chris Grube, GBR

The full ISAF World Sailing Ranking lists, results from all ISAF Graded events, lists of Graded events throughout the year, Ranking release dates and the method of calculation for the Rankings can be found on the ISAF website at www.sailing.org/rankings

#49er – Skiff duo Ryan Seaton & Matt McGovern will compete in the 49er World Championships in France next week along with new Irish women's combination Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey in the new 49erFx skiff class.

The six day and potential 25 race regatta held in Marseille  will be the biggest test of the year for the London 2012 partnership, especially as team bosses are already talking up the prospect of a 'replication of the recent successes of Olympic teammate Annalise Murphy', the new Laser European champion. The pair are targeting a solid top 10 finish to keep Rio plans on track.

Included in the 96–boat fleet will be three-time World Champions and London 2012 Gold medallists Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen from Australia who have most recently been competing in the America's Cup. Kiwis Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, London 2012 Silver medallists and 2013 49er European Champions will also be in attendance. With the Worlds being late in the season it has given everyone a chance to get back up to speed post Olympics. Without doubt this will be the toughest event of 2013. 

This championship will conclude what has been a busy summer for the Northern Ireland pair who had their best performance of the year at the Sail for Gold regatta in Weymouth in June when they won Gold. 

Also competing at the regatta are female 49erFX campaigners Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey.

#sailforgold – As Ireland's Annalise Murphy collects Bronze in the Laser Radial medal race this afternoon the Irish 49er pairing of Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern have increased their lead to 10 points over GBR's John Pink and Simon Wheeler with one more race to go in Sail for Gold Regatta in Weymouth.

Murphy adds this third successive medal in the Eurosaf circuit to two Gold medals earned in Holland and Italy in the past month.

The Chinese had already created enough of a points lead to guarantee gold and silver and the odds were in Ireland's favour as four of the five sailors vying for that final podium spot were Irish. Having been given the opportunity to sail in the Women's Radial event at this regatta, some of the world's top youth sailors including Irish U18s Finn Lynch, Fionn Lyden and Seafra Guilfoyle competed. The young Irish trio and Annalise battled it out against the UK's Chloe Martin for the coveted medal in the final race with Annalise ultimately winning and claiming the bronze followed closely by Finn Lynch in second (4th overall) and Fionn Lyden in third (5th overall).

Six Irish sailing teams were racing for medals at Sail for Gold regatta today. 

More 49er details as we have it from Weymouth.

#genuine prospects – Ireland has won Gold in the Star class and Bronze in the Radial class at the most important pre-Olympic event of the season.

While the boycott reduced Olympics of 1980 may have given hope to the Irish Olympic Sailing team, it is perhaps fair to say that the performances of the class of 2012 are closer to the positive end of the hope-expectation scale. With superb timing, in the last major confrontation of Olympic contenders, the Irish medal race sailors put in tremendous final race performances to take away a first, a third and a seventh from the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta last week.

With only a few weeks to go to the ultimate competition in this quadrennial, Ireland is set to emulate and perhaps exceed the 1980 result. If we do, it could lessen the burden carried for so long by Wilkins and Wilkinson in the same way that Michael Carruth's gold in Barcelona eventually relieved the nation's unreasonable reliance on Ronnie Delaney.

Peter O'Leary and David Burrows on the way to overall victory in the Star class. Photo: Brian Carlin

In the Star Class, Peter O'Leary and David Burrows have been mixing it with the world's best for a couple of years now and in getting the better of current World champions, Brazilians Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada and the British Olympic Champions, Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson, the Cork/Dublin combo have laid down a very clear message that the destiny of this year's top reward is no longer the two horse race that many punters have been predicting. With consistency across a variety of conditions, the Irish Star team are no longer outsiders for a medal, but have clearly signalled their intention to, once again, ascend the Weymouth podium come August 5th. However, this Star Class is deep with talent and anyone of ten teams could realistically medal. Canada, Switzerland, Poland, France, Denmark and Greece all harbour aspirations to medal in the Star and our heroes will need to double check equipment on a daily basis to ensure they are not denied by equipment failure, particularly with the additional restrictions on coach support during the Games itself.

Annalise is recognised as the world leader in heavy airs. Photo: Richard Langdon

Annalise Murphy's welcome return to form, following a Radial worlds dogged by inconsistency and a poor showing (by her standards) at a reduced quality Delta Lloyd regatta, augurs well should Weymouth enjoy decent breeze. Recognised internationally as the class's best heavy weather sailor by some distance, it was encouraging to see that she wasn't completely off the pace in the lighter winds on the regatta's first day. Annalise has set out her schedule for the remaining period prior to the Games – more work on light air sailing work should be a part of the work plan.

Ryan Searton and Matt McGovern produced three race wins at Sail for Gold last week. Photo: Richard Langdon

Team officials must be delighted, not only with the Star and Radial performances, but also by the 49er team of Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern. 10th in the 2011 World Championship in Perth must have seemed to be a distant memory with a poor start to 2012.

Less than stellar results in the early season World Cup events culminated in failing to make gold fleet at the 2012 Worlds in Croatia in May last month. However, the Northern Ireland duo bounced back in fine style to record their best result to date. Barely hanging on to the medal race spot in the final gold fleet race, the boys then finished 5th in the medal race, leap frogging three competitors to finish in 7th overall. With three British sailors ahead of them, this conceivably puts them top five in the Olympic fleet. However, form suggests the gold medal battle will be between Spaniards, Iker Martinez and Xabier Fernandez, currently away on Volvo duty, and Australian World Champions Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen, with the battle for the minor medal between any number of countries - France, Britain, Finland and Denmark are among those – making the Irish team outsiders. But outsiders with a great boost to their confidence, and this young team, should they continue, will have made a huge claim for enhanced support for the next quadrennial.

So, Irish sailing embarks on the voyage to London 2012 with a reasonable expectation for a positive outcome. But for it to be similar to the Sail for Gold result will not only demand that all our sailors are on their best form, but also that there is consistently strong breeze for the duration. A tall order perhaps? Gaoth láidir, le do thoil!

The Irish Times reports that Ireland's sailing team have encamped to Fremantle in western Australia for some invaluable training ahead of the ISAF World Championships in Perth next year.

Though the Irish contingent is a much smaller one than that at Weymouth in August - the scheduled venue for sailing at the 2012 Olympics - and reports of shark sightings and attacks in the area are apparently on the rise, those who did make the trip were determined not to waste the opportunity.

“Between the breeze and the nice temperature our training is much more effective than back at home,” said 49er skiff crewer Matt McGovern.

He joins fellow 49er Ryan Seaton and Laser Radial sailor Annalise Murphy at the Perth International Regatta this week. Single-hander Ross Hamilton is also competing but outside the auspices of the Irish Sailing Association’s Olympic group.