'Results not what we had planned for but valuable time on the water nevertheless' is the ISA conclusion from a mixed bag of results posted by the Olympic Sailing Team in Weymouth this weekend. On the eve of the Rio Olympics, there is at least some consolation that Northern Ireland 49er pair Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern are through to today's medal race final. 

By virtue of winning the last race of four sailed yesterday, the Belfast Lough duo qualified for today's medal race. (Watch race live here at 13.50)

In the Laser Radial, the National Yacht Club's Annalise Murphy finished 34th, one behind Howth's Aoife Hopkins in the 39–boat class. Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey were 15 from 15 in the 49erfx womens skiff.

Although this 2016 edition of the Weymouth World Cup was a bit of a light air wash–out, expect competition to be a whole lot tougher in similar conditions in Rio in just 54 days time.

Ireland's Olympic Sailing Team will be hoping that the prospect of slightly more wind for the second day of racing tomorrow might boost some poor opening results scored today at the Sailing world Cup in Weymouth. There is still plenty of racing to try to catch up over the next three days and tomorrow Friday will be used to continue the catch up on Wednesday's missed races. Ireland's best result was in the mens 49er skiff where Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern are mid fleet.

All of the ten Olympic fleets took to the water to tackle a bumper day of racing. Wednesday's little to no breeze and bright sunshine was replaced with strong easterly winds and fog on Thursday morning. As the day progressed, the breeze dipped and the fog disappeared as a full schedule of 34 races spread across all ten Olympic fleets concluded.

For all but the Men's RS:X, it was the start of the competition after Wednesday's frustration and the serious Rio 2016 Olympic contenders took to the front of the packs.

For the Irish Olympic team bound for Rio, Annalise Murphy of the National YC is well capable of improving on her 37 from 39. She is a place behind Rio trialist Aoife Hopkins of Howth in 36th. After three Radial races, the top three nationalities replicate the positions of the flags at London 2012, China, the Netherlands, then Belgium. The familiar faces of Lijia Xu (CHN) and Marit Bouwmeester (NED) remain but Emma Plasschaert is leading the charge for Belgium with the London 2012 bronze medallist, Evi Van Acker, 15th after a black flag in the opening race. Each sailor took a race win and Xu leads on three points. Bouwmeester follows on four and Plasschaert on seven.

Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern are 16 from 30 but they will rue the black flag disqualification in race 2. The 49er fleet touched back ashore at 18:20 after four light and tricky races. New Zealand's Logan Dunning Beck and Jack Simpson continue to fly the flag for the nations 49er sailing, leading the 30-boat fleet on 12 points. Spain's Diego Botin and Iago Lopez and Great Britain's Dylan Fletcher and Alain Sign follow behind the Kiwis. 

In the womens 49erfx, Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey of the Royal Irish YC are 14 from 15. Sailing World Cup Hyères winners Lisa Ericson and Hanna Klinga didn't immediately pick up from where they left off just a few short weeks ago as they were OCS in the opening race. However, they quickly found the form that helped them win in Hyères, following up with a third and double bullets to lead the fleet.

"It's the beginning of the regatta so anything could have happened today,” explained Klinga. "Apart from the OCS, we are happy but we will take less chances now because we can't afford to get another bad result, but we will think exactly the same as normal, just race and look forward.”

The Swedes have moved into serious contenders for an Olympic medal and have got their spot at Rio all sewn up. They were involved in a long running battle for national qualification, facing up against Julia Gross and Cecilia Jonsson, one in which Ericson and Klinga triumphed. However Gross and Jonsson are still keeping their rivals on their toes and sit one point behind them on the leader board.

Charlotte Dobson and Sophie Ainsworth (GBR) follow, two points off the leaders with Norwegian twin sisters Ragna and Maia Agerup occupying fourth overall.

The Agerup sisters will be heading to Rio 2016 and are using Weymouth and Portland to sharpen up, "We wanted to have some racing before the Olympics so that's why we decided to come here. We only got selected a few days ago by the Olympic Committee so it's been pretty full on. We have been training in Rio the past couple of weeks and we will go out again soon.

"We take this regatta as good training and we will push it and see how far we can go

Full results are here

Britain's Alison Young has written her name into the sailing history books, becoming the first British woman to win a World Championship title in a solo Olympic dinghy class. Annalise Murphy finished third in the silver fleet and Aoife Hopkins four places behind her. The end of the championship also marks the conclusion of the Irish Olympic trial that has been won by Annalise who now takes Ireland's sole Rio berth in the Radial class. 

While Murphy finished ahead of Hopkins in each of the three regattas in the trials, Mexico saw the margin tighten to just four places in that event.

However, the overall selection trials score was comfortably in Murphy’s favour.

“Congratulations to Annalise for winning the trials that confirm her as the best Laser Radial sailor in Ireland,” said James O’Callaghan, ISA Performance Director. “Aoife also sailed a great contest and she is clearly a prospect for 2020.”

London Olympian Young, whose previous World Championship best was fourth in 2012, claimed an emphatic last race victory over USA's Paige Railey to seal Laser Radial World Championship glory in Vallarta, Mexico, on Wednesday and provide a huge boost to her Rio preparations with 107 days to go until the 2016 Opening Ceremony.

After a hard-fought regatta where the overall lead changed daily, it all came down to just a single point in the end. The 28-year-old Young held her nerve to take her third race win of the week in the 13th and final race of the regatta, relegating erstwhile leader Railey into the silver medal position by the narrowest of margins.

Shirley Robertson claimed 2000 Olympic gold in the Europe class, which was then the women's one-person Olympic dinghy, but a World Championship title in that event eluded her. The Laser Radial has since replaced the Europe on the Games programme, and Young becomes the first female British sailor to win a World Championship in an Olympic single-handed dinghy event. Penny Way won windsurfing World Championship gold in 1990.

Final top ten:

1. Alison Young, GBR, 42 points
2. Paige Railey, USA, 43
3. Anne-Marie Rindom, DEN, 50
4. Marit Bouwmeester, NED, 54
5. Gintare Volungeviciute Scheidt, LTU, 68
6. Erika Reineke, USA, 84
7. Lijia Xu , CHN, 90
8. Nazli Cagla Donertas, TUR, 98
9. Manami Doi, JPN, 101
10. Brenda Bowskill , CAN, 109

Full results: www.laserworlds2016.org

Annalise Murphy is third overall and three points off the overall lead of the silver fleet of the Women's Laser Radial World Championships on its final day in Mexico today. Howth Yacht Club's Aoife Hopkins is seventh overall in the same fleet and 36 points off the lead.  Today's championships conclusion on Banderas Bay marks the end of the Irish selection trial for Rio, a series that Annalise leads.

Finishing in the top five in both races yesterday, Paige Railey (USA) moved up to claim the lead in the Gold fleet at the end of Day 6. Marit Bouwmeester (NED) remains in second, followed Alison Young (GBR), Anne-Marie Rindom (DEN), and Gintare Scheidt (LTU).

Race 10 started in 8-10 knots of a southwesterly breeze under mostly clear skies on Banderas Bay. The first start in the Gold fleet led to a general recall, but they started cleanly under a black flag (disqualification for starting early) on the second attempt. The Silver fleet also had aggressive starts, with general recalls and several competitors disqualified under the black flag.

The breeze shifted to the right, and built to 16, knots as the afternoon progressed. The stronger breeze led to larger waves than we’ve seen this week, benefitting those sailors who could best work the waves.

The start of Race 11 was delayed as the westerly wind settled in. But clouds began to appear, and the wind began to fade after both fleets had started. The race committee shortened the race for both fleets after the second windward leg.

Today is the final day of the competition, with two races scheduled for each fleet. At the end of the day, the Laser Class will have a new Women’s World Champion.

Full results here

Britain's Alison Young leads the Women's Laser Radial Worlds on its penultimate day on Banderas Bay in Mexico. Ireland's Annalise Murphy from the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire leads the silver fleet after a race win yesterday afternoon. Howth Yacht Club's Aoife Hopkins is ninth in the silver fleet.

It took five attempts, but Race eight, the first race of the Finals Series, started just before 1430h under clear skies on Banderas Bay. The first attempt led to a general recall, but the three subsequent attempts faltered when Race Committee postponed during the starting sequence as the wind shifted left, then right, finally settling in from the southwest.

After a clean start for the Gold fleet, the Silver fleet had clean start on the inner loop of the trapezoid course. The wind direction remained mostly steady, and built as the afternoon progressed. Both fleets started cleanly in Race 9 and the sailors were headed to the harbor before 1700h.

The course layout didn’t change during the afternoon’s racing, but oscillations around the average led to gains and losses for the sailors. Several of the top ten competitors ended up using Race 9 as their single discard. When Race 10 is completed, a second discard becomes available.

At the end of the day, Alison Young (GBR) leads the pack, followed by Marit Bouwmeester (NED), Paige Railey (USA), Gintare Scheidt (LTU), and Anne-Marie Rindom (DEN). Only ten points separate the top five competitors, and the places will likely shuffle after tomorrow’s races, especially when the second discard becomes available. As of now, Boumeester stands to gain to the most from the second discard.

A great day of racing, and hopefully more to come in the remaining two days of the Championship.

Results are here

Both Annalise Murphy and Aoife Hopkins will complete the 71–boat Women's Laser Radial World Championship in the Silver fleet following the conclusion of the fourth and final day of qualifying races in difficult conditions yesterday. The Irish Olympic class trialists finished 40th and 46th respectively missing the top 35 cut for Gold fleet participation. The final rounds begin today and run over the remaining three days of competition on Banderas Bay, Mexico.

Looking very much like an Olympic regatta dress rehearsal, currently the top 12 places are filled by 12 different countries with some familiar names at the top of the star–studded fleet. First is Marit Bouwmeester (NED), second Paige Railey (USA) and third Alison Young (GBR).  The Olympic Gold Medallist Lijia Xu (CHN) is tenth overall.

Yesterday, the starting sequence for the first race (R7 for Yellow) began at 1400h, but a shift to the right led to a postponement.  After settling in at about 10 knots from WSW, this fleet started cleanly, but a general recall for the Blue Fleet gave time for the wind to shift back to the left. The Race committee adjusted the course and the Blue Fleet started under a black flag restriction in 12-14 knots of building breeze and clearing skies. 

1st	206333	Marit Bouwmeester	NED	(17.0)	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	3.0	2.0	26.0	9.0
2nd	197111	Paige Railey	USA	(9.0)	3.0	4.0	3.0	1.0	1.0	7.0	28.0	19.0
3rd	202411	Alison Young	GBR	(11.0)	1.0	7.0	6.0	2.0	4.0	3.0	34.0	23.0
4th	184454	Erika Reineke	USA	3.0	2.0	3.0	3.0	7.0	(37.0 BFD)	5.0	60.0	23.0
5th	202750	Gintare Volungeviciute Scheidt	LTU	8.0	2.0	4.0	2.0	6.0	(9.0)	2.0	33.0	24.0
6th	207194	Anne-Marie Rindom	DEN	(27.0)	6.0	3.0	5.0	4.0	2.0	8.0	55.0	28.0
7th	199066	Manami Doi	JPN	(13.0)	10.0	5.0	11.0	4.0	4.0	1.0	48.0	35.0
8th	204468	Brenda Bowskill	CAN	8.0	(25.0)	9.0	10.0	2.0	2.0	4.0	60.0	35.0
9th	205491	Luca Falasca	ARG	4.0	12.0	2.0	7.0	11.0	1.0	(21.0)	58.0	37.0
10th	177117	Lijia Xu	CHN	1.0	8.0	(19.0)	4.0	7.0	17.0	1.0	57.0	38.0
11th	204452	Dolores Moreira Fraschini	URU	2.0	15.0	10.0	2.0	14.0	3.0	(19.0)	65.0	46.0
12th	202441	Sara Winther

 

Full results here