Lynch Gets Penalty in Mens Laser, Saskia Tidey Leads in Sailing World Cup Final in Santander

7th June 2017

The National Yacht Club's Finn Lynch in action at the Sailing World Cup Finals in Santander Credit: Pedro Martinez/World Sailing

The National Yacht Club's mens Laser dinghy ace, Finn Lynch was hit with a U Flag penalty today that keeps him 23rd of 25 at the end of the second day of World Cup Final racing in Santander, Spain. Royal Irish Yacht Club sailor Saskia Tidey, also from Dun Laoghaire, but now sailing for Team GB, leads the 49erFX fleet after six races sailed with partner Charlotte Dobson. Results are here.

Santander was baked in sunshine for the second day of World Cup racing as sailors looked to either capitalise on a great opening day, or play catch up after slow starts.

Conditions were near on perfect for the 260 sailors from 41 nations racing across the ten Olympic fleets and Open Kiteboarding. Not a cloud in the sky and 11-15 knots of breeze coming from the north east enabled a full on day of racing.

Saskia tidey Santander Team GB's Charlotte Dobson with Dun Laoghaire crew Saskia Tidey lead in Santander. Photo: Jesus Renedo/World Sailing

Sailors who had slow starts yesterday (6 June) used the day to make amends for any mistakes and climb the leaderboard. The overnight leaders, meanwhile, looked to maintain their focus and keep hold of the top spots.

Germany's Philipp Buhl was full of smiles ashore after racing following a consistent performance in the Men's One Person Dinghy, Laser.

Buhl grabbed a third and a fifth to move up into third place and fully in contention. As he de-rigged his Laser after racing, he was in a buoyant mood, "It was a really nice day,” he commented. "My results are good and the conditions are perfect. I cannot remember a time when I've ever come back with a big smile like today, lots of sunshine and waves made it perfect.”

The Laser fleet in Santander is full of leading competitors. Two-time World Champion Nick Thompson (GBR), Olympic medallists Tonci Stipanovic (CRO) and Pavlos Kontides (CYP) are just two of the leading lights.

Grabbing a spot at the front of the fleet is no easy task as Buhl continued, "Races like today are always hard because you must hike and everything is quite exhausting. There are a few leading guys here and you must stick and fight for the metres to come first, second or third.”

France's Jean Baptiste Bernaz holds on to his overnight lead after he picked up his second race win of the week and a third. Charlie Buckingham (USA) sits inbetween Bernaz and Buhl.

The day belonged to Evi van Acker (BEL) and Anne-Marie Rindom (DEN) in the Women's One Person Dinghy, Laser Radial as they shared the top two places in both races.

Rindom snapped up the opening victory with van Acker following. The positions were reversed in the preceding race and the pair have moved to the top of the leaderboard. Van Acker, London 2012 bronze medallist, leads on four points and Rindom, Rio 2016 bronze medallist, follows on seven.

American World Cup winner Vasileia Karachaliou (GRE) follows in third.

Spain's Fernando Echavarri and Tara Pacheco were on form in the Mixed Multihull, Nacra 17, winning two races and claiming a second. Echavarri and Pacheco know Santander very well and have spent many hours training and racing on the waters. So when the pair saw the forecast they knew what had to be done, "Today we could not afford any mistakes. The weather is very typical of Santander so it was an easy day to read the conditions.

"The key point today was to have a good start and have good speed. That is it.”

They dominated the first two races and were unlucky not to claim a third. Echvarri concluded, "In the third race we had some problems but we managed to recover from it and we almost took first place. There is still a long way to go but we are happy to know we are performing well. As I like to say, we're taking it step by step.”

Tom Phipps and Nicola Boniface (GBR) and Ruggero Tita and Caterina Marianna Banti (ITA) occupy the final podium spots after six races.

Defending World Cup Final Champion Oliver Bridge (GBR) found his form on the second day of competition, winning five out of six races in the blue fleet to leap into the podium positions. Sitting in third, he is two points off brother Guy. Nico Parlier (FRA) maintained his excellent form and snapped up five wins in the yellow fleet to extend his lead.

Rio 2016 Olympic gold medallist Hannah Mills sailing with Eilidh McIntyre (GBR) stole the show in the Women's Two Person Dinghy, 470. Mills, who has been sailing in the 49erFX recently, has made a temporary switch back to the 470 and had no trouble finding her feet on the second day of competition. The British pair claimed a pair of race wins and lead Afrodite Zegers and Anneloes van Veen (NED) who have not lost a regatta in 2017.

It's the early stages of the competition with six fleet races and a Medal Race to go so Zegers and van Veen will remain focused on continuing their run.

Olympic bronze medallists Panagiotis Mantis and Pavlos Kagialis (GRE) were on fire in the men's fleet, winning both of their races. They advance to first overall and have put five points between themselves and David Bargehr and Lukas Mahr (AUT) who are second.

A pair of second place finishes was enough for Great Britain's Ed Wright to grab the lead in the Finn, the Heavyweight One Person Dinghy. He leads race four winner Zsombor Berecz (HUN) by three points. Anders Pedersen of Norway won the opening race of the day and occupies seventh.

In the Men's and Women's Windsurfer, RS:X, two sailors in both fleets dominated the day.

Kiran Badloe (NED) swept the field aside in the men's division, winning every single race to grab the overall lead, two points ahead of Shahar Zubari (ISR). Meanwhile, Patricia Freitas (BRA) snapped up a pair of wins and a third in the women's fleet. Her advantage stands at six points over China's Yunxiu Lu, winner of the American World Cup.

Lukasz Przybytek and Pawel Kolodzinski (POL) hold onto their advantage in the Men's Skiff, 49er. A steady string of races gives them a one point advantage over James Peters and Fynn Sterritt (GBR). Dylan Fletcher and Stu Bithell (GBR) were the standout racers in the 49er, grabbing a pair of race wins and a third to move into third spot overall, within sight of the leaders.

There is still very little separation in the 49erFX, Women's Skiff, with eight points splitting the top six. Charlotte Dobson and Saskia Tidey (GBR) are in pole position following a 3-2-1 day.

Racing resumes at 12:00 local time on Thursday 8 June. The week of racing will culminate in the Live Medal Races on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 June.

Published in Tokyo 2020

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Irish Olympic Sailing Team

Ireland has a proud representation in sailing at the Olympics dating back to 1948. Today there is a modern governing structure surrounding the selection of sailors the Olympic Regatta

Irish Olympic Sailing FAQs

How long has Ireland been sailing at the Olympics?

Ireland’s representation in sailing at the Olympics dates back to 1948, when a team consisting of Jimmy Mooney (Firefly), Alf Delany and Hugh Allen (Swallow) competed in that year’s Summer Games in London (sailing off Torquay). Except for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Ireland has sent at least one sailor to every Summer Games since then.

Who has sailed for Ireland at the Olympics, and when?

How many Olympic medals has Ireland won in sailing?

Ireland has won two Olympics medals in sailing events, both silver: David Wilkins, Jamie Wilkinson in the Flying Dutchman at Moscow 1980, and Annalise Murphy in the Laser Radial at Rio 2016.

Who is on the current Irish Sailing Olympic team?

The current team, as of December 2020, consists of Laser sailors Finn Lynch, Liam Glynn and Ewan McMahon, 49er pairs Ryan Seaton and Seafra Guilfoyle, and Sean Waddilove and Robert Dickson, as well as Laser Radial sailors Annalise Murphy and Aoife Hopkins.

What is the National Governing Body for sailing in Ireland?

Irish Sailing is the National Governing Body for sailing in Ireland.

Who is responsible for selecting Ireland’s Olympic sailors?

Irish Sailing’s Performance division is responsible for selecting and nurturing Olympic contenders as part of its Performance Pathway.

What is the Performance Pathway?

The Performance Pathway is Irish Sailing’s Olympic talent pipeline. The Performance Pathway counts over 70 sailors from 11 years up in its programme.The Performance Pathway is made up of Junior, Youth, Academy, Development and Olympic squads. It provides young, talented and ambitious Irish sailors with opportunities to move up through the ranks from an early age. With up to 100 young athletes training with the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway, every aspect of their performance is planned and closely monitored while strong relationships are simultaneously built with the sailors and their families

Who is the Irish Sailing Performance head coach?

Rory Fitzpatrick is the head coach of Irish Sailing Performance. He is a graduate of University College Dublin and was an Athens 2004 Olympian in the Laser class.

Who is Irish Sailing’s Performance Director?

The Performance Director of Irish Sailing is James O’Callaghan. Since 2006 James has been responsible for the development and delivery of athlete-focused, coach-led, performance-measured programmes across the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway. A Business & Economics graduate of Trinity College Dublin, he is a Level 3 Qualified Coach and Level 2 Coach Tutor. He has coached at five Olympic Games and numerous European and World Championship events across multiple Olympic classes. He is also a member of the Irish Sailing Foundation board.

Who is the most famous Irish Olympic sailor?

Annalise Murphy is by far and away the biggest Irish sailing star. Her fourth in London 2012 when she came so agonisingly close to a bronze medal followed by her superb silver medal performance four years later at Rio won the hearts of Ireland. Murphy is aiming to go one better in Tokyo 2021.

Who are the Irish Sailing Performance coaching staff?

Under head coach Rory Fitzpatrick, the coaching staff consists of Laser Radial Academy coach Sean Evans, Olympic Laser coach Vasilij Zbogar and 49er team coach Matt McGovern.

How is performance sailing in Ireland funded?

The Irish Government provides funding to Irish Sailing. These funds are exclusively for the benefit of the Performance Pathway. However, this falls short of the amount required to fund the Performance Pathway in order to allow Ireland compete at the highest level. As a result the Performance Pathway programme currently receives around €850,000 per annum from Sport Ireland and €150,000 from sponsorship. A further €2 million per annum is needed to have a major impact at the highest level. The Irish Sailing Foundation was established to bridge the financial gap through securing philanthropic donations, corporate giving and sponsorship.

What is the Irish Sailing Foundation?

The vision of the Irish Sailing Foundation is to generate the required financial resources for Ireland to scale-up and execute its world-class sailing programme. Irish Sailing works tirelessly to promote sailing in Ireland and abroad and has been successful in securing funding of 1 million euro from Sport Ireland. However, to compete on a par with other nations, a further €2 million is required annually to realise the ambitions of our talented sailors. For this reason, the Irish Sailing Foundation was formed to seek philanthropic donations. Led by a Board of Directors and Head of Development Kathryn Grace, the foundation lads a campaign to bridge the financial gap to provide the Performance Pathway with the funds necessary to increase coaching hours, upgrade equipment and provide world class sport science support to a greater number of high-potential Irish sailors.

How are the funds raised for the Performance Pathway spent?

The Senior and Academy teams of the Performance Pathway are supported with the provision of a coach, vehicle, coach boat and boats. Even with this level of subsidy there is still a large financial burden on individual families due to travel costs, entry fees and accommodation. There are often compromises made on the amount of days a coach can be hired for and on many occasions it is necessary to opt out of major competitions outside Europe due to cost. Money raised by the Irish Sailing Foundation will go towards increased quality coaching time, world-class equipment, and subsiding entry fees and travel-related costs. It also goes towards broadening the base of talented sailors that can consider campaigning by removing financial hurdles, and the Performance HQ in Dublin to increase efficiency and reduce logistical issues.

What is the organisation structure of the Performance Pathway?

The ethos of the Performance Pathway is progression. At each stage international performance benchmarks are utilised to ensure the sailors are meeting expectations set. The size of a sailor will generally dictate which boat they sail. The classes selected on the pathway have been identified as the best feeder classes for progression. Currently the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway consists of the following groups: * Pathway (U15) Optimist and Topper * Youth Academy (U19) Laser 4.7, Laser Radial and 420 * Development Academy (U23) Laser, Laser Radial, 49er, 49erFX * Team IRL (direct-funded athletes) Laser, Laser Radial, 49er, 49erFX

What is the governance structure for performance sailing?

The Irish Sailing performance director produces a detailed annual budget for the programme which is presented to Sport Ireland, Irish Sailing and the Foundation for detailed discussion and analysis of the programme, where each item of expenditure is reviewed and approved. Each year, the performance director drafts a Performance Plan and Budget designed to meet the objectives of Irish Performance Sailing based on an annual review of the Pathway Programmes from Junior to Olympic level. The plan is then presented to the Olympic Steering Group (OSG) where it is independently assessed and the budget is agreed. The OSG closely monitors the delivery of the plan ensuring it meets the agreed strategy, is within budget and in line with operational plans. The performance director communicates on an ongoing basis with the OSG throughout the year, reporting formally on a quarterly basis.

What is the Olympic Steering Group?

Due to the specialised nature of Performance Sport, Irish Sailing established an expert sub-committee which is referred to as the Olympic Steering Group (OSG). The OSG is chaired by Patrick Coveney and its objective is centred around winning Olympic medals so it oversees the delivery of the Irish Sailing’s Performance plan.

How is progress monitored on the Performance Pathway? Who decides when sailors are selected or dropped?

At Junior level (U15) sailors learn not only to be a sailor but also an athlete. They develop the discipline required to keep a training log while undertaking fitness programmes, attending coaching sessions and travelling to competitions. During the winter Regional Squads take place and then in spring the National Squads are selected for Summer Competitions. As sailors move into Youth level (U19) there is an exhaustive selection matrix used when considering a sailor for entry into the Performance Academy. Completion of club training programmes, attendance at the performance seminars, physical suitability and also progress at Junior and Youth competitions are assessed and reviewed. Once invited in to the Performance Academy, sailors are given a six-month trial before a final decision is made on their selection. Sailors in the Academy are very closely monitored and engage in a very well planned out sailing, training and competition programme. There are also defined international benchmarks which these sailors are required to meet by a certain age. Biannual reviews are conducted transparently with the sailors so they know exactly where they are performing well and they are made aware of where they may need to improve before the next review.

©Afloat 2020

Tokyo 2021 Olympic Sailing

Olympic Sailing features a variety of craft, from dinghies and keelboats to windsurfing boards. The programme at Tokyo 2020 will include two events for both men and women, three for men only, two for women only and one for mixed crews:

Event Programme

RS:X - Windsurfer (Men/Women)
Laser - One Person Dinghy (Men)
Laser Radial - One Person Dinghy (Women)
Finn - One Person Dinghy (Heavyweight) (Men)
470 - Two Person Dinghy (Men/Women)
49er - Skiff (Men)
49er FX - Skiff (Women)
Nacra 17 Foiling - Mixed Multihull

The mixed Nacra 17 Foiling - Mixed Multihull and women-only 49er FX - Skiff, events were first staged at Rio 2016.

Each event consists of a series of races. Points in each race are awarded according to position: the winner gets one point, the second-placed finisher scores two, and so on. The final race is called the medal race, for which points are doubled. Following the medal race, the individual or crew with the fewest total points is declared the winner.

During races, boats navigate a course shaped like an enormous triangle, heading for the finish line after they contend with the wind from all three directions. They must pass marker buoys a certain number of times and in a predetermined order.

Sailing competitions at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo are scheduled to take place from 27 July to 6 August at the Enoshima Yacht Harbour.

Venues: Enoshima Yacht Harbor

No. of events: 10

Dates: 27 July – 6 August

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Dates

Following a one year postponement, sailing competitions at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo are scheduled to take place from 23 July 2021 and run until the 8 August at the Enoshima Yacht Harbour.

Venue: Enoshima Yacht Harbour

No. of events: 10

Dates: 23 July – 8 August 2021

Tokyo 2020 Irish Olympic Sailing Team

ANNALISE MURPHY, Laser Radial

Age 31. From Rathfarnham, Dublin.

Club: National Yacht Club

Full-time sailor

Silver medallist at the 2016 Olympic Games, Rio (Laser Radial class). Competed in the Volvo Ocean Race 2017/2018. Represented Ireland at the London 2012 Olympics. Laser Radial European Champion in 2013.