There was big news yesterday from the ISAF events committee meeting in Athens. The conference blog reports A 'packed session' heard the Events Committee's recommendation on the provisional Olympic events and equipment for 2016. 

The Events Committee recommends:

- Board or kite-board for men and women - equipment evaluation
- One person dinghy men - Laser Standard
- One person dinghy women - Laser Radial
- Two person dinghy (skiff) men - 49er
- Two person dinghy (skiff) women - equipment evaluation
- Second one person dinghy men - Finn
- Two person mixed multihull - equipment evaluation
- Two person mixed dinghy with spinnaker - 470
- Women's keelboat - Elliott 6m

In so doing the committee's voting recommends taking out the men's keelboat. The second one person dinghy for women was the other option not to be selected.

The Committee's recommendations are of course just that. They will go to the ISAF Council for consideration this weekend. After Council vote they are then subject to confirmation at the ISAF Mid-Year meeting in May 2011.

HOWTH YACHT CLUB. LASER FROSTBITE WINTER 07/11/2010 RACE 1 LASER STANDARD: 1, Paul McMahon HYC; 2, Conor Greagsbey NYC; 3, Darrell Reamsbottom HYC; 4, Conor Murphy HYC; 5, Daragh Kelleher SSC; 6, Stephen Quinn HYC; LASER STANDARD APPRENTICE: 1, Conor Murphy HYC; 2, Brendan Costello MYC; 3, Brian Tyrrell HYC; 4, Conor Hopkins HYC; LASER STANDARD MASTER: 1, Paul McMahon HYC; 2, Conor Greagsbey NYC; 3, Darrell Reamsbottom HYC; 4, Daragh Kelleher SSC; 5, David Quinn HYC; 6, Evan Dolan NYC; LASER STANDARD GRAND MASTER: 1, Stephen Quinn HYC; 2, Robin Hegarty HYC; 3, Daragh Sheridan HYC; 4, Cathal Sheridan MYC; 5, Dermot Mowatt HYC; 6, Alan Carr SDC; LASER RADIAL: 1, Darragh Peelo MYC; 2, Vincent Varley MYC; 3, Robert Ferris HYC; 4, Simon Revill HYC; 5, Ciaran Costello MYC; 6, Carla Fagan 

HYC LASER FROSTBITE WINTER 07/11/2010 RACE 2 LASER STANDARD: 1, Robin Hegarty HYC; 2, Colm Cunningham HYC; 3, Conor Greagsbey NYC; 4, Paul McMahon HYC; 5, Conor Murphy HYC; 6, Stephen Quinn HYC; LASER STANDARD APPRENTICE: 1, Conor Murphy HYC; 2, Conor Hopkins HYC; 3, Brendan Costello MYC; 4, Brian Tyrrell HYC; LASER STANDARD MASTER: 1, Colm Cunningham HYC; 2, Conor Greagsbey NYC; 3, Paul McMahon HYC; 4, Darrell Reamsbottom HYC; 5, Richard Deane HYC; 6, Evan Dolan NYC; LASER STANDARD GRAND MASTER: 1, Robin Hegarty HYC; 2, Stephen Quinn HYC; 3, Dermot Mowatt HYC; 4, Conor Costello MYC; 5, Daragh Sheridan HYC; 6, Edward Ferris HYC

Next week at the ISAF Annual Meeting in Athens, the Olympic Commission recommendations and guidance will be debated and discussed with decisions to be taken by Council for Olympic classes for the 2016 Olympics.

The Council are going to be asked to confirm six core events and these it is understood will most likely will be Men and Women Boards, Laser and Laser Radial and Men and Women Skiff.

Once these are selected the other four events will be considered and the Olympic Commission has suggested that 4 of the following 6 be picked:

Men's Heavyweight (Finn)
Women's other weight division in singlehanded
470 mixed
Multihull mixed
Men's Keelboat
Womens Keelboat

With the commission recommending equal gender balance, the Finn is unlikely to stay on its own and would need another women's singlehander to be selected.

The multihull is almost certain to get in, and there probably will be strong support for men and women's keelboat leaving it to be fought out between the Finn, the 470(mixed) and a Women's single handed dinghy.

Many believe the second decision will be deferred until May, but as one ISAF insider told Afloat.ie "I would be selling my Finn now if I had one".

Meanwhile the Finn class association don't see it that way at all. Under the threat of possible deselection the heavyweight men have been mobilising for a fight. Below are details of its recent campaign to stay an Olympic boat. Scroll down for nice Video too.

International Finn Association Press Release

The Finn - an outstanding display of sailing skills and athleticism

 The Olympic Commission set up by ISAF delivered its preliminary report at the ISAF Conference in May 2010. Based largely on the Olympic Commission report, the ISAF Executive has since published two submissions which outline an exciting new future for the selection and decision making process for Olympic sailing events and equipment. The Finn is positioning itself to be part of that future.

Among the submissions are proposals for two sets of single-handed dinghies for both male and female sailors, to represent the weight and size distribution of modern youth of both genders in the most popular and low-cost type of dinghy sailing. The Finn class supports this idea.

Here are some of the arguments why Finn sailors think the Finn should remain part of the Olympic sailing equipment.

Tough challenge
The Finn is widely regarded as one of the toughest physical challenges in sailing. Sailors have to be tough, strong, fit, agile and athletic, while managing the mental aspects of racing at the highest level. The current world champion has a VOR max comparable with marathon runners and cross country skiers. Winning takes dedication, commitment and performing at the limits of fitness and endurance.

Appealing racing visuals
Modern looking rigs and hulls. Beautiful boat to sail with athletic, fit, muscular sailors. Requires extreme physical effort to sail well. Golden sail insignia for former world champions from 2011. Continuing research into sailor identification and country flags on sails. The free pumping rule has transformed downwind sailing into an absorbing display of skill, strength and athleticism.

Standard boats
Finns can be bought 'off-the-shelf' and be winning the next day. Hulls, masts and sails have all evolved into a level plateau of standardisation that means boats can compete on a level playing field. The strict class rules limits any experimentation into 'super' boats. Boats that are sold year after year are identical within reasonable limits and do not change perceivably over time.

Low costs
The Finn has one of the lowest running costs of any Olympic equipment. Average campaign costs from 35 sailors was just EUR 7,500 a year. One boat can last at least two Olympic cycles. Gear standardisation has meant reduced development costs. Gear is fast and ready to sail 'out of the box'. Increasing IHC and building control is reducing regatta measurement requirements, while 99% of checks at regattas pass first time.

Consistent equipment
Today's Finns are the most consistent, accurate and reliable Finns ever built. A modern Finn can be expected to be competitive for 6-8 years. The Finn is one of the most consistent hulls made today, thanks to very professional builders and strict measurement rules. Modern materials and new technologies means that boats supplied all over the world are as alike as possible in almost every way.

Easier rules
A proposal was passed at the 2010 AGM to lower the free pumping limit to 10 knots. This was aimed to make Rule 42 enforcement easier for judges and sailors. Under 10 knots there are much less opportunities for pumping and surfing. Identifying illegal activity is much easier, so less emphasis on judging decisions. Sailors are educated in Rule 42 – frequent clinics with the active involvement of judges and website coverage.

Worldwide culture
Local builders are producing low cost Finns for regional competition. Having been on the Olympic Programme since 1952, the Finn has the deepest culture and traditions of any dinghy class. Semi-professional class organisation oversees all activities. All levels of competition from Juniors (U21) to Masters (40+) and everything in between. Many countries are developing Junior programmes to fast track talented sailors.

Global spread
Finns are now built in the UK, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Brazil, USA and South Africa, and there are other countries to come. Elsewhere, suppliers and dealers feed local fleets with new and used equipment. There are National Finn associations in more than 50 countries, while between 35 and 40 countries have internationally active sailors. Sailors from six continents attend major regattas. It is truly a global fleet.

Pinnacle event
The Finn is the pinnacle of singlehanded dinghy sailing for men, and the Olympics is the pinnacle event for the Finn. It provides a single step pathway from Optimist to Laser to Finn as the sailor's weight increases, but also allows the development of similar technical and physical skills in the sailor through a natural progression of similar equipment.

What the sailors say:

Jonas Høgh Christensen (DEN), 2006, 2009 World Champion, "The Finn is the most fun, challenging boat for strong, athletic sailors."

Giorgio Poggi (ITA), 2008 Finn Olympian, "The Finn is the class where the sailor must be complete."

Zach Railey (USA), Silver medalist, 2008 Olympics: "For single handed sailing the Finn is my only option given my weight and height to pursue my Olympic sailing dreams. With the technical and physical demands of the boat, the Finn is a pure test of a sailor's ability to react to the changing conditions on the race course under intense physical exertion."

Rob McMillan (AUS), "There is no other boat like it. The advent of free pumping brings a level of athleticism that is unique to the Finn."

Daniel Birgmark (SWE), 4th 2008 Olympics, "Sailing the Finn puts very high demands on the sailors athletic capacity as well as tactical and strategic skills. It's the perfect singlehander for sailors over 85kg."

Tomas Vika (CZE), one of many Finn sailors in their early 20s, "If you are more than 180cm tall and you want to work on your physical condition in a gym you will always weigh more than 85kg and that is the reason why Finn has to stay as an Olympic dinghy in future years."

Gus Miller (USA), Finn legend: "It's a very powerful demanding boat and you need a lot of initiative and attitude that you're going to do it yourself. Everyone realises the challenges is yourself not the other guys. The challenge is the boat and that understanding is the old idea "I love my competitor because he makes me better". The guys here have enormous respect because the challenge of sailing the boat is so great. If one guy figures it out then the others guys are glad for him that he's been able to do it."

Caleb Paine (USA), first Junior, 2010 Finn Gold Cup: "The Finn is the best class I have sailed in. There isn't I class I know of that has such a great sense of camaraderie. After my first international regatta I knew all the best Finn sailors in the world on a first name basis because they were open, friendly and supportive of the new kid. I think that this coherence of the class stems from the fact that the sailors often train together. This builds friendships as well as making everyone better."

Tapio Nirkko (FIN), 2008 Finn Olympian: "The Finn is already well developed in many areas. We're now in a situation when all the Finn equipment (hull, mast, boom, rudders, centreboards) are good quality and last  a long time. When the market is competitive, the price of the equipment is also fair and resale value is good. That's an important factor to make a competitive Olympic project from a small country with a small budget. Now the actions made in the class to make equipment issues more transparent is important to keep Finn as a class where it's possible to make it to the top without having a monster budget."

Ed Wright (GBR), 2010 World Champion, on what makes the Finn class special for him: "For a start it's visually pleasant. The cost is low. I still use my first mast and it's still fast after five years. .... You can gain little advantages everywhere, but you have to treat the Finn with finesse, respect and grunt to keep it up to speed. The people in the class are great people and all hard competitors. Also there is so much history in the class, and never forget the many legends coming from the Finn."

Read more from these interviews and more about the Finn in the latest issue of FINNFARE out now

HOWTH YACHT CLUB. LASER FROSTBITE WINTER (O'ALL) 31/10/2010 LASER STANDARD: 1, Joe Cull HYC (2.00); 2, David Quinn HYC (6.00); 3, Evan Dolan NYC (6.00); LASER STANDARD APPRENTICE: 1, Brendan Costello MYC (2.00); 2, Conor Hopkins HYC (4.00); LASER STANDARD MASTER: 1, David Quinn HYC (4.00); 2, Evan Dolan NYC (4.00); 3, Conor Greagsber NYC (7.00); LASER STANDARD GRAND MASTER: 1, Joe Cull HYC (2.00); 2, Michael Evans HYC (6.00); 3, Robin Hegarty HYC (6.00); LASER RADIAL: 1, Darragh Peelo MYC (2.00); 2, Simon Revill HYC (4.00); 3, Ciaran Costello MYC (6.00)

Ireland's biggest Laser sailing dinghy series starts in over a week and organiser Dave Quinn has been in touch with ten good reasons to race in the 2010 Howth Laser Frostbite series on Sunday 31st October. We're sure there's many more but here's Dave's top ten:

1) This is the biggest series in Ireland, typically with over 50 entries

2) Howth welcome - great pre and post race social atmosphere in club.
3) Great Racing - Two short races per day, in open water just outside the harbour with committee boat starts. Great way to work on your helming and tactics over the winter.
4) Mix of competition - Sailors range from top 5 ranked sailors all the way through to beginners and casual racers. Ages range from 15-65.
5) Laser Round the Island and Lunch - A legendary, not to be missed end of season race, and party in March.
6) Great value - €4 per race, which covers the lunch in March also!
7) Free boat parking - entry fee also covers parking your boat in Howth the the full winter.
8) Dedicated race course - No other classes racing. Mix of windward leeward and triangle courses.
9) Full Rig, Radial and 4.7 fleets all supported
10) Friendly advice, guidance and help make it a great introduction to dinghy racing

Enter online at www.hyc.ie. For enquiries contact David Quinn 086 2835671

Laser training continues in earnest at Royal Cork. A total of 36 sailors participated in the Laser Open Day held at the club on Sunday 5th. September. Under coach Thomas Chaix, Nick Walsh and a group of 6 volunteers, 12 lasers were launched for  training in 15 knot winds.

Following a detailed briefing on the Club's Autumn and Winter schedule, Thomas Chaix outlined the Irish Sailing Association programme for the coming year. This includes club, regional and academy training options available designed to prepare the fleet for the first major of next year - the Munsters in Baltimore at Easter.

Day 6: Tom Slingsby's two completely dominant victories today bring the Australian's third Laser world title in four years within reach. Ireland's James Espey from Belfast Lough is 34th in the Silver fleet.

In wind and sea conditions on Hayling Bay which were a virtual facsimile of previous perfect days, Slingsby seemed to have speed to burn. He finished a long way clear of his nearest rivals on the water in both races.

Now it would appear he just needs to stay clear of trouble and press the 'repeat play' button to be sure of equalling the three world titles tally of his compatriot Glenn Bourke. If he were to be successful it would be the perfect 26th birthday present to himself tomorrow.

After a Black Flag disqualification Friday Slingsby chose to start conservatively today and to then use his speed advantage upwind in the 13-15kts easterly breeze and a decent sized swell.

Sadly for Skandia Team GBR's defending World Champion Paul Goodison, his challenge to Slingsby evaporated on the first run of the first race of the day. Having worked his way up to fourth from a solid start Goodison was given his second yellow flag, for excessive body kinetics in the rolling swells of the first run. His second disqualification in as many days plunged the Olympic title holder to lie a frustrating 19th overall.

His compatriot Nick Thompson, the 2009 ISAF World Cup winner who finished third overall in Halifax last year, lies second overall but admitted to a real mix of emotions when he landed back at Hayling Island Sailing Club.

When he had needed to really impose himself on the first beat of the first race of the day in order to accelerate his title challenge, instead he found himself having to choose to do penalty turns for an infringement, starting up the first beat from last, 55th, but fighting back to sail his discard, 17th.

Thompson came back to a useful 12th in the second heat, preserving a strong set of scores in his armoury, 14 points clear of the St Tropez based French sailor Jean-Baptiste Bernaz.

Bernaz  has 18th as his Worlds best, was 31st last year, and finished eighth at the 2008 Olympic regatta in Qingdao, but after a 15th and third today now needs to hold off the immediate challenge to his podium finish from Cyprus' Pavlos Kontides who lies fourth.

Punchy starting was the key to back-to-back wins in the Junior World Championships first two finals races by Thorbjoern Schierup. The Dane's double bullet day sees him moving ahead of Italy's longstanding championship leader Francesco Marrai.

The oscillating breeze offered the quick starters an early opportunity to establish an early lead. Schierup was quickest off the line then unleashed his excellent downwind speed to record his to wins, now six points clear.
Britain's Alex Mills-Barton lies third, 13pts ahead of Croatia's Filip Jurisic.

Quotes
Tom Slingsby (AUS): "It was 15-16kts, nice waves, sunny a really good day for me. The first race I got a nice start near the pin end and worked the left side of the course and opened up a nice lead which I held. The second race I was not so good off the start line but got the first big shift on the first beat and I just lead to the top mark. I got overtaken by the German Philip Buhl on the down the run and overtook him on the next beat. I could not have asked for anything more today.
Definitely today the key was keeping clean around the course. I know I have plenty of speed so I just have to keep clear lanes, stay a little back off the start lines, I already have one yellow flag and so I am keeping my body kinetics to a minimum so I was just trying to do the small things well and that definitely worked.
Paul I saw him get that yellow flag and a little relief goes because I know how dangerous he is, he can be 30 points behind and still be a threat, but he is just one of 10 boats which can be threat, so there are plenty of other guys out there.
I need to keep myself clean again tomorrow, to knock in a good first race, and then I can assess after that.
I am really superstitious. I try to do it all the same every time, to stick to the same processes, so that is not necessarily a good thing going into the last day of an event. If some little thing goes wrong it might mess with me a little, but I am not too phased if it does not go well I won't get too bent out of shape.
Tomorrow's my birthday and the last day of the Worlds, so a big day!
But I can easily lose. In 2006 I lead for seven days of an eight day event and lost on the eight day. All I am thinking about it doing the simple things right, and keeping clean.
I am really fighting for every spot, even if I am back in the pack tomorrow I'll be fighting for every point come the end of the regatta.
What we did last week, even when we had a good lead, was no ever spoke about winning the regatta, we were all still on edge, trying to do our jobs as best we can. And that is what I am going through here, don't think about the result, just think about the process."

Paul Goodison (GBR): "The first race looked like it was panning out to plan. I got a good start and was steadily pulling through the fleet and was probably up to fourth place and I got my second yellow flag and that really was it all over after that. So now it is just getting round and finishing it all off. I think Tom has got the title wrapped up from here, so congratulations to him. He just has to hold it together and my regatta is over from here.
I think it's a tricky call. In 15-16knots with big waves downwind the boats are rocking around and everybody is trying to make the boats go fast, and so I think it is a bit harsh, it's a jury decisions so there is nothing I can do about it, I just have to get on with it.
I feel a bit gutted. Here, I wanted to do my best and unfortunately I haven't been able to do that because of the decisions, but in all fairness to Tom he is sailing well and thoroughly deserves it.
I don't think I am too far off. I have not done as much Laser sailing recently as some of the guys out there, so we are there or thereabouts two years out from the Games I am in with a good shot."

Nick Thompson (GBR): "Mixed emotions for me today. First race I got a good start and just infringed somebody slightly and through it best to do some turns. I managed to pull way back from there, really deep at the mark rounding, to a 17th, so that was a really good race. The second one I was just in touch but just not quite there, just outside the top 10. But, really a tough day. Going in to the final day in second is great. I was looking for a top three at this regatta  and that would be good. I think the best thing is my discards are not too bad.
Tomorrow will be like starting a new regatta, trying to get consistent results and see how I lie after the first race. I quite enjoy the breeze, but so does Tom Slingsby which is a little bit frustrating, he is sailing really well."

Jean-Baptiste Bernaz (FRA): "I made good starts and went fast. I am not so surprised to be doing well, but I am maybe a little surprised that I have been able to be so consistent. If you are consistent you do well. We trained here at a Qualifier here in June, but we only came here three days before the regatta. Tomorrow I'll just be trying to sail the same as I have and see how we go. I prepared well for Beijing, but since then we have been working hard to sail well in the stronger breezes so I feel like I'm well prepared for tomorrow no matter what."
"Last year I was in the 30's but here I am stronger, heavier, fitter and sailing better."

Thorbjoern Schierurp (DEN): "The starts were really important so that you could get out to tack on the first windshift, and if you could do that it was just wait for the next one. There were some big shifts, maybe 10 degrees coming in on the whole course, and if you could be the first one to get that, you were gone.
It is not a surprise to be this far up, my aim was top three all the time, and so I am pretty happy so far. Now I just have to go the whole way. Myself and the Italian guy are pretty even. Today I got the better starts and that made the difference."

Francesco Marrai (ITA): "I was not so fast in the first race. In the second race I was better so I discard the first race. Tomorrow I don't know it will be better than today. Today he was really fast on the downwind and he just stayed ahead. For sure today I can say he was the best."

Laser Standard Men's World Championships Hayling Island, UK

Standings after 12 races inc 4 of 6 Finals races
1 Tom Slingsby (AUS) 1,8,(29),3,1,1,5,1,(BFD),8,1,1= 30pts
2 Nick Thompson (GBR) 2,3,(25),6,9,7,9,8,4,2(17),12,=62pts
3 Jean-Baptiste (FRA) (33),2,14,12,5,1,(19),3,15,6,15,3=78pts
4 Pavlos Kontides (CYP) 4,3,21,4,5(27),1,1,10,15,(36),13 = 77pts
5 Andrew Murdoch (NZL) 6,4,11,2,8,(22),9,1,(24),14,8=87pts
6 Tonci Stipanovic (CRO) (19),14,15,4,1,8,2,11,3,13,(32),17=88pts
7 Joshua Junior (NZL) 3,22,1,2,7,5,8,(29),12,21,(25),7=88pts
8 Andrew Maloney (NZL) 2,(22),4,10,2,11,3,4,20,5,(37),35=96pts
9 Julio Alsogaray (ARG) 8,(39),11,17,17,6,23,5,(DNC),7,3,5 = 102pts
10 Andreas Geritzer (AUT),(33),6,2,1,2,(22),9,9,(37),16,16,25 = 108pts

Laser Junior World Championships
1 Thorbjorn Schierup (DEN) 3,3,6,(19),6,2,6,4,1,1 = 26pts
2 Francesco Marral (ITA) 2,3,(7),5,5,3,1,1(17),6 = 26pts
3 Alex Mills-Barton (GBR) 12,(BFD),5,2,1,(21),1,1,15,4 = 41pts
4 Filip Jurisic (CRO) 7,(35),1,27,1,(29),3,5,8,2 = 54pts

Overall leader Tom Slingsby carries forward his consistent momentum into the critical six race Finals phase of the Laser World Championships buoyed by his fourth race win and a fifth from the last day of Qualifying heats in Hayling Bay off Hayling Island. Ireland's James Espey lies just inside the top half of the fleet, in 73rd place. Other Irish placing HERE.

The 159 competitors racing on the last day of the group stages could find little to fault with the sparkling English summer weather conditions as another day of sunshine, moderate 8-11 knots mainly E'ly and SE'ly breezes was complemented by a worthwhile swell to offer the downwind specialists the chance to shine.

In the Lead: Tom Slingsby. Photo: Paul Wyeth

But even if the winds looked ideal, appearances were deceptive as at least two of the top four sailors sailed their discards on this last qualifying day.

While Australia's Slingsby retained his run of form, as did Kiwi Andrew Maloney who with today's 3,4, promoted himself from seventh this morning to qualify in fourth, on equal points with third placed compatriot Michael Bullot, world champion Paul Goodison confessed later to a couple of 'schoolboy errors' in the first race, contributing to his 14th and hit the windward mark in the second race when he finished fifth.

The Skandia Team GBR sailor, Olympic and World Champion, goes forward to the three days of Finals in second 14 points, behind Slingsby.

And Bullot, runner-up to champion Goodison last year in Halifax, returned ashore scratching his head after having had to recover more than 30 places in his first race to earn his third. But his powers of recovery deserted him in the second heat of the day and he, too, sailed his discard race on the eve of the Finals.

Slingsby admitted that he owes much of his revitalised attack this season to his lacklustre World Championships last year, when he finished 17th. After winning Skandia Sail for Gold regatta in Weymouth he said today that he is especially happy to have found an extra gear to his downwind speed, completing a package which he feels can win him the title, he won in 2007 and 2008, again.

He may have had a slightly nervous start to his day, discovering when he was rigging up that he had a crack in the top of his supplied daggerboard which was replaced with one which had been repaired, but he finished brimful of confidence and well set for the final stages.

Cyprus' Southampton based Pavlos Kontides, a ship studies student, gave his confidence a leap when he posted to back to back wins to lie fifth into the Finals.

The strong New Zealand squad are certainly among the key contenders with two in the top four, three in the top six and four in the top eight.

After their rest day today the Junior World Championships resume their Qualifying with two scheduled races Friday before their four race Finals commence Saturday.

Laser Standard Senior Men's World Championships
Hayling Island, GBR
Provisional Standings after 8 of 8 Qualifying Races, one discard.
1 Tom Slingsby (AUS) 1,8,(29),3,1,1,5,1 20pts
2 Paul Goodison (GBR) 3,1,9,4,3,7,(14),7,34pts
3 Michael Bullot (NZL) 1,2,5,13,9,3,3 (23) 36pts
4 Andrew Maloney (NZL) 2,(22),4,10,2,11,3,4,36pts
5 Pavlos Kontides (CYP) 4,3,21,4,5,(27),1,1, 39pts
6 Andrew Murdoch (NZL) 6,4,11,2,8,(22),9,1,41pts
7 Nick Thompson (GBR) 2,3,(25),6,9,7,9,8 44pts
8 Joshua Junior (NZL) 3,22,1,2,7,5,8,(29),48pts
9 Ashley Brunning (AUS) 12,9,10,12,3,3,1,(19) 50pts
10 Andreas Geritzer (AUT) (33),6,2,1,2,22,9,9,51pts

Quotes:
Paul Goodison (GBR): "We were on the inside course and it was a bit frustrating. I made a couple of schoolboy errors with the tide. In the first race I went around the bottom mark in fourth and expected there to be a tidal gain on the right, and ended up losing 10-12 places which was a bit frustrating. In the second race I got a pretty good start but got caught out in the middle when the wind went right a bit and then hit the windward mark, so a bit of a frustrating day. Second is a lot better than I thought it would be after today, almost putting a smile on my face again. There are still six races to go and I'm looking forward to going into the finals."

Tom Slingsby (AUS): "The first race was really tricky. We were first off and we might have had the most patchy breeze. I was always there and lost one boat on the last run, so to get through with a fifth was pretty good. Second race was bit more steady, a bit more of boatspeed race. I got round third, second at the bottom and then first at the top.
The first race Nick Thompson and I were doing OK in the middle and then a big group came in from the right and we went round in tenth or so and it was very tricky once you're there. The top three were just gone, you are never going to catch them.
Second race the Kiwis were in first and fourth and I just gained and gained, I had a tiny edge in boat speed and so he did not want to stay with me"

But basically it all changes now into the Finals. It all starts again but if you make one mistake rather than losing five boats you lose 20. The only thing I take forward is knowing that I am sailing quick and that if I sail well I can win the worlds."

"Doing poorly at last year's worlds, finishing 17th, was a feeling I really did not like. I didn't like telling people that I came 17th, I like saying I'm in the top two in the world. I just restarted over again at Sail for Gold last year and it's been going well since then."

Andrew Maloney (NZL): "The first race it was shifty and hard to pick the side I tacked straight off and played the oscillations and came around the top mark in second and so I was pleased with that, we had a jump on the pack. Second race the pin end was favoured, I started three up from the pin and backed my speed and sent it out towards the best side of the course with a group of about five other boats, and tacked across on a nice left shift, sent it out to the starboard lay-line and then we had a nice jump on the rest of the fleet.
It's not easy but much easier when you get a good start, which I don't usually do, but it's been better here, a bit more confidence, a bit more experience, just being a bit older.
We have a great team, all going really well, but we have done a lot of hard work together, trying to work in places where the conditions are similar to these worlds, like down in Tauranga and inside the harbour in Auckland."

Michael Bullot (NZL): "I was having real bad first beats today. The first race I was probably 40th around the top but came back to eighth. But in the second race I just did not come back, so I think I got a 30th, something like that, it was deep.
The second race I made too many tacks up the beat and really never ever got any leverage on the fleet, and just never really found my rhythm downwind. I really never made any gains. But that is pretty annoying leading into gold fleet with something like that.
The conditions were perfect, beautiful 10-12kts, great waves downwind and I just never found my rhythm. It was not overly shifty but if you did not find a rhythm you got sucked back into the pack pretty quickly.
I think we all get on well but of course you are always looking over your shoulder to see how the other Kiwis are doing, but there is a really good mentality within the group."

Ireland's front runner at the Laser World Championships after six rounds at Hayling Island is James Espey in 47th place from a fleet of 159. Ronan Cull is 148th and Paul McMahon is 154th.

On the strength of two impressive race wins in slightly stronger breezes today off England's Hayling Island Australia's double world champion Tom Slingsby stepped four points clear at the top of the leader-board after six of the eight scheduled Qualifying Races have been sailed.

The gentle, and at times fickle minded sea-breezes of the two opening days of racing gave way to a more consistent, ESE'ly wind which averaged around 11-12 knots and peaked at around 14 to offer both fleets, the Standard Senior Men's championship and the Junior Worlds, a brisker and more physical challenge.

But if the winds proved to be more settled in direction there was still no shortage of challenges and traps, not least managing the changing tidal flow of up to one knot. And the choppy, swell made for some fast, enjoyable downwind sailing.

Slingsby attributed part of his success today to his desire to stay super smooth downwind. After a yellow flag penalty for excessive kinetics on Tuesday he commented later that possibly the jury had done him a favour, the penalty was a key to him sailing very smoothly in the choppy waves, and in both races he was well clear of the pack when he took his second and third winning guns of the regatta.

Chasing hard in third overall Skandia Team GBR's Paul Goodison was forced to press his 'recovery mode' into action again today. Deep in the pack in the second race the Olympic and World Champion pulled back to seventh, keeping his world title defence firmly on target with all six of his scores Top 10 finishes.

Goodison shares the same points tally as New Zealand's second placed Joshua Junior who scored a seventh and a fifth today, retaining a level of consistency which he commented was 'a bit of a surprise.' With Michael Bullot lying fourth, the strong, tightly knit Kiwi squad now have four sailors in the top eight.

Austria's Andreas Geritzer, 2004 Olympic silver medallist had taken the overall championships lead after a second in his Race 5, to go 2,1,2 but he was snared in the thick of a raft of boats at the start of the second race and could not get away off the line.
After jumping from 50th after Day 1, to 5th last night, Geritzer lies ninth.

Giacoma Bottoli of Italy has managed to retain one of the most impressively regular set of scores so far. Lying fifth he is the only sailor other than Goodison to have scored the full half dozen top ten finishes.

In the Junior World Championships Italy's Francesco Marrai retained his overall lead today after a fifth and a third, lying two points ahead of Denmark's Thorbjoern Scheirup.

Quotes
Paul Goodison (GBR): " It was a tricky day all in all. I thought with the breeze in that it was going to be a little easier today but it wasn't. It was still quite shifty and the tide played a big part of it. The second race did not quite go quite to plan and I was in the 20's but I had good speed downwind and played the shifts well up the second beat."
"I think with it being such a long regatta it is all about trying to keep in single figures and I've managed to do that so far. I think for me that has been about not taking too many risks and sailing the fleet, but that is not easy because if you do get caught in the middle and it comes in from one side or the other then you do end up in the teens."

Tom Slingsby (AUS): "It was a really good day. There was a lot of current and everyone was really intimidated to get up on the start line but I had good transits and so I was able to start a boat length or two ahead of the boats around me. So I had really good starts, good speed upwind, but I was really fast downwind which is maybe a little out of the ordinary for me. I am usually an upwind specialist but today I was really quick. I am not too sure why. Yesterday I got a yellow flag and that maybe did me some good, I was trying to stay very still and today was a day about being very smooth and rocking really would not have helped you very much."

Joshua Junior (NZL): "The biggest gains were downwind for sure and so if you got to the top mark quite deep then you could really smoke it downwind and pass heaps of boats which was really fun and awesome. I struggled a little upwind.
It was a bit unexpected to do that well today again and really awesome to be up there and doing so awesome. Every regatta I am improving little by little, getting more consistent. Last year I was able to win races but still score the 30ths. Now I seem to be able to get back up to the top ten which is awesome. Over the winter we had some awesome training with seven of us, a couple of months in Auckland. Everyone is really close in training and works really hard."

Laser Standard Senior Men's Championship 2010
Provisional Results after 6 races including 2 discards.
1 Tom Slingsby (AUS) 1,8,(29), 3,1,1, 14pts
2 Joshua Junior (NZL) 3, (22), 1,2,7,5, 18pts
3 P Goodison (GBR) 3,1,(9),4,3,7,18pts
4 M Bullot (NZL) 1,2,5,(13),9,3, 20pts
5 Giacomo Bottolli (ITA), (9),4,3,6,3,8 24pts
6 N Thompson (GBR) 2,3,(25),6,9,7 27pts
7 A Maloney (NZL) 2, (22),4,10,2,11, 29pts
8 A Murdoch (NZL) 6,4,11,2,8, (22) 31pts
9 A Geritzer (AUT) (33) 6,2,1,2,22 33pts
10 L Radelic (CRO) 2,2,(42),1,18,10,33pts

Junior World Championships
1 Francesco Marrai (ITA) 2,3,(7),5,5,3 18pts
2 Thorbjoern Schierup (DEN) 3,36,(19),6,2 20pts
3 Keerati Bulaong (THA) (19),1,10,6,2,4 23pts
4 A Munos (FRA) (14),2,8,4,8,1, 23pts
5 M Kaeldo (DEN) 2,15,1,2,(16),16, 36pts

The Laser National Championships run by Ballyholme YC on Belfast Lough over the last four days (Thursday 26th - Sunday 29th August) saw a mix of wind conditions with the final day, like the Feva Nationals on Dublin Bay, being blown out for the 120 competitors.

In the Standard Rig, Ronan Wallace (Wexford B & TC) took the title from Robert Espey (Ballyholme YC) and Stpehen Mc Lernon (Cushedall SC).

Annalise Murphy (National YC) won the Radial Championships from Philip Doran (Courtown SC) and Tiffany Brien (Ballyholme YC).

Annalise won 4 of the 8 races sailed including all three in the 16-20 knot breeze on Saturday. The National YC sailor becomes the first female sailor to take the Laser Radial Irish National title.

The 4.7 rig was won by John Flynn (Dungarvan SC) from Colm O Regan (Kinsale YC) and Stephen Duke (Courtown SC). The first girl in the 4.7 was Georgina Corbett (LDYC/NYC).