swchyeres – There are big improvements in results for the Irish Olympic sailing team in France this week as the qualification stages of the ISAF Sailing World Cup in Hyeres concluded today with Gold fleet racing tomorrow. Ryan Seaton & Matt McGovern are fifth overall, Annalise Murphy Sailing is 15th and Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey 18th in the 49erfx.

It was an up and down day for Ireland's Annalise Murphy in the final round of the world cup as she took an opening win in the blue fleet before suffering a scoring penalty in the second of the day as she dropped from the leading positions to 15th overall, "I was over the start line in that last race which is a bit unfortunate but I'm still happy enough," explained Murphy after racing. "I'm putting everything I've done in training into racing in this regatta. I'm happy with how I've been racing but just unfortunate I was over a little bit early."

Murphy came agonisingly close to taking a medal at the London 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition, losing out in a way four shoot out for the medals. Since then she's been working hard with the 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships this September on her mind, "Santander is the important one with it being a big world championship and the Olympic qualifiers. Hopefully I can stop making mistakes and get it all right there.

"It's much earlier in this cycle with it being two years before the Olympics. The last cycle it was eight months before and it's a big difference. It was good for me because if it had been two years out in the last cycle I probably wouldn't have qualified the country as I was still very young. This time I'm really looking forward to it."

Murphy is 29 points behind Van Acker but with six races and a Medal Race on the horizon anything can happen.

Belarus' Tatiana Drozdovskaya had a consistent day on the water posting two second places and is third overall. Results here. 

I had a 1st and a 3rd today...unfortunately I was over the start line in the second race so got disqualified. 3 more days of fleet racing!

— Annalise Murphy (@Annalise_Murphy) April 22, 2014

The qualification stage at ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyères has drawn to an end with gold fleet racing on the minds of the world's best top sailors over the next three days.

Conditions at the fifth and final regatta of the 2013-2014 ISAF Sailing World Cup series could not have been any better on the second day of racing.

"Champagne sailing" and "glamour conditions" were the buzz words of the day used by the 1,111 sailors from 59 nations as an easterly breeze in between 10-12 knots with steady waves ensured a full complement of races across ten Olympic and two Paralympic fleets.

Also most certainly through to the gold fleet is Ireland's 49er pairing Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern who  count a stunning set of top ten results (3 6 7 6 2 (8)) to lie fifth overall.

Dylan Fletcher and Alain Sign (GBR) continued to display excellent consistency in the 80-boat 49er fleet as the two day qualification stage came to an end with six races in excellent conditions.

Fletcher and Sign took two race wins and a fourth in the blue fleet and lead Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (NZL) by three points.

On the day Sign said, "It was pretty glamorous conditions for 49er racing, probably about 11-12 knots and it was exciting, straightforward fun.

"We kept our tactics simple. We had pretty good boat speed today and we were just monitoring what the fleet were doing and not getting into trouble and that paid off for us."

Twenty five 49ers will take to the gold fleet whilst the remaining racers will be split into silver and bronze fleets. Sign is now looking forward to the action and facing ISAF Sailing World Cup Mallorca gold medallists Burling and Tuke, "We're pretty happy with how it's gone but there's quite a long series to go with the gold fleet tomorrow. That's when it all matters.

"We've worked out that we haven't actually sailed against the Kiwis in a qualifying series for the last six events. We know we've got the boat speed and it's not all about the Kiwis and the Aussies, there are quite a lot of boats out there that can get it."

The Brits took bronze behind Burling and Tuke and Jonas Warrer and Peter Lang (DEN) in Mallorca and whilst it's still early stages they are well on track as Sign concluded, "From our goals set in the winter we were aiming to try and medal early on in the season and that would give us the step forward so we know what we need to work on through the rest of the summer and then hopefully at Santander get a medal."

Race wins in the yellow fleet went the way of David Evans and Ed Powys (GBR), who picked up two and Burling and Tuke. Marcus Hansen and Josh Porebski (NZL) picked up the fifth race bullet in the blue fleet and are third overall. Resuts here.

Royal Irish women's pairing Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey are 18th from 42, a significant ranking at their second only ISAF regatta. 

#swchyeres – After missing the gold fleet cut at both Miami and Palma ISAF World Cup regattas this year, Ireland's Olympic sailor Annalise Murphy showed the depth of her ambition in France this afternoon when she opened her Laser Radial account at the final round of ISAF's World Cup in Hyeres with a race win and a third place to lie just two nett points off the overall lead after the first three races.

After a fantastic day afloat in consistent 15–knot breezes, Annalise lies second overall tonight to Belgium's Evi Van Acker tonight and except for a slip in race two might well be heading up her 79–boat fleet. The Dubliner shares the same four points as the Belarussian Tatiana Drozdovskaya with only seven seven points separating the top ten.

Murphy was as far back as 28th after counting a 27th in race two but bounced straight back with a third in race three to be right in the frame in the early part of this qualification round.  

It was a significant performance in the more than forecasted winds and in a fleet that contains the very best sailors in the world including two of the three London 2012 Olympic medallists. Results here.

Tweeting after coming ashore, Murphy told her followers: "I had a 1st, a shocker of a 27th and a 3rd today which should put me into third overall. Significant improvement from Palma!"

Van Acker looked to banish her Palma demons as she took two race wins and a fifth to lead in Hyères. The Belgian racer missed out on a podium spot at ISAF Sailing World Cup Mallorca as she engaged in a battle for silver with Tuula Tenkanen (FIN) in the Medal Race. She finished the Medal Race in 10th and fell to fourth, missing out on a medal. A strong performance in the Hyères has put her on the right route at the early stage of the event.

ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne gold medallist Tatiana Drozdovskaya (BLR) is third overall.

A confirmed number of 1,111 sailors racing in 765 boats from 59 nations are racing on the French Gold coast in what is a massive turnout to bring the ISAF Sailing World Cup series to a close.

In other Irish sailing team news from Hyeres, Murphy's London 2012 team–mates have also opened their French accounts each sailing three races today. 

In the mens 49er skiff class Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern are highly placed in tenth overall in the 79 boat fleet after scoring 3,6 and 7. Results here.

ISAF Sailing World Cup Mallorca gold medallists Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze (BRA) got their week off to a strong start after picking up two race wins and discarding a 14th.

The Brazilians are in familiar company atop of the leader board with many of the leading 49erFX sailors trailing them by a narrow margin.

Ida Marie Baad Nielsen and Marie Thusgaard Olsen (DEN) sit two points behind the Brazilians whilst Charlotte Dobson and Sophie Ainsworth (GBR), who took the days other race win, occupy third.

2013 World Champions and defending Hyères champions Alex Maloney and Molly Meech (NZL) found their form after a disappointing week in Mallorca. Recording a second, a discarded 19th and a third they sit in fourth.

James Espey lies 70th from 123 starters in the mens Laser division. Results here. Jean Baptiste Bernaz (FRA) took two race wins in the Laser and is the early leader in the 123-boat fleet. The French racer took two bullets from the day's opening encounters and came through with a ninth in the third and final race of the opening day.

With two fleets the remaining race victories went the way of Robert Scheidt (BRA), Jesper Stalheim (SWE), Andy Maloney (NZL) and Matt Wearn (AUS).

Ireland's Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey are 17th from 42 in the womens 49erfx skiff. Results here.

#mothtour – The Irish Moth fleet planned a weekend away in Lough Ree for our third ever event! Ronan Wallace (moth newbie) and myself (Annalise) arrived down to Quigley's Marina in Killinure early on Friday afternoon which gave us time to set up our boats before easily launching off the pontoon (staying nice and dry!) and heading out into the main lake for a great sail up and down to Hudson Bay 2 or 3 times! By the time we got in Ryan Seaton had arrived guided by his tomtom on the scenic route from Belfast to Athlone and John Chambers arrived not to soon after! Both told stories of passers by asking what kind of airplane was on the roof of their cars! We all headed to Glasson Golf Club for dinner before going back to the Killinure Chalets where we had taken up residence in the 17 man house!

The sailing weekend was organised by Cathy MacAleavey and it was for both the most modern and ancient of classes; the Moths and Water Wags! Based from Quigleys Marina in Glasson, the event included a round of golf on Friday afternoon and dinner afterwards at the Glasson Country House Hotel and Golf Club and was supported by Lough Ree YC and the National YC who each supplied support ribs.

The next morning we all got rigged and changed, then had a short briefing where Con told us the plan for the day! The idea was to do 3 races off the marina before racing downwind to The Wineport Lodge for lunch, followed by another 3 races in front of the Wineport then a race home! After one rather traumatic race where nearly everyone manage to crash into each other or the rushes at some point we headed off downwind to the Wineport which turned out to be a real adventure sailing through small cuts and around islands! Once we arrived down to the area in front of the Wineport, we did another 2 races, Rory was in good form so far winning 3 out of 3!

We then headed in to the Wineport Lodge for lunch. We were treated like kings, and had an amazing selection of soup, sandwiches, chicken wings and chips all while in our wetsuits! After possibly a sandwich or five too many we headed back out on the water, Ryan and I now regretted our decision to park our boats in the forest as getting out through the thick reeds proved to be extremely difficult, after 15 minutes of swimming while towing my boat in the extremely chilly Lough Ree water I was back on the race course, Ryan however ended up abandoning this tactic and carried his boat around to the jetty at the Wineport!

Back for more racing and it had got a bit more patchy so looking for wind was what proved to be important (and not capsizing). In race 4 Rory crashed out meters from the finish line and watched Ryan, myself and John all speed by him. Race 5 was Ryan's race finishing close to a leg ahead of the rest of us! Race 6 was a quick upwind to the windward mark then a fast reach across to the cut then a 20 tack upwind back to Quigley's Marina. Rory, Ryan and I all managed to get through the cut in the rushes foiling and we then met up with Gavin who had chosen the more sensible route home! It was then a battle of fitness and boat handling all the way back to the marina. John and Ronan unfortunately hit a lull as they raced through the cut and spent quite a bit of time stuck in the rushes.

"what kind of airplane was on the roof of the car!"

After an exhausting day 1, moth newbie Neil O'Toole had a quick blast in John's boat before we all headed to the Killinure Chalets Pub for dinner. A mix of T-bone steaks and giant crispy ducks came out so we were all very well fed at the end of a long day!

Sunday started off looking like a nice medium day but by the time we were launching it was up to 20knots gusting 25 sometimes, so Con made the call to race us just of Quigley's marina again! All 7 of us got out on the water after Gavin fixed his main foil and Neil got his boat sorted too. In some of the gusts downwind we were hitting 25-28 knots and trying to turn up at that speed is extremely difficult but luckily we had a good incentive to get the turn ups right as if we didn't we would crash into the reeds at the side of the lake! Race 7, race 8 and race 9 were won by Rory with Ryan and John taking second in one each. Ronan and me were busy trying to get around the leeward mark in both these races! In the last race of the day Rory and I were neck and neck all the way around and after an out of control round up I managed to get just ahead of him to win by a boat length!

Rory retained the teapot trophy, with Ryan in second, John and Annalise finished on equal points and then Ronan, Gavin and Neil. We all had a great weekend and would like to thank Quigley's marina for letting us launch from there, The Killinure Chalets for the great house, The Wineport Lodge for the amazing lunch and letting us sit inside their restaurant in our wetsuits! The Wag class for showing us they are definitely the class who has the most craic! But particularily to Con for being OOD and Eddie and Dara for helping out on the committee boat! Clara for the photos and not getting irate over the amount of carbon chat that happened at the weekend, and last but not least Cathy for organizing everything! It really was a brilliant weekend!

#TrofeoSofia – Strong Spanish winds marked a return to form for Ireland's Annalise Murphy this afternoon with three straight wins in the silver fleet of the Laser Radial class at the Trofeo Princesa Sofia in Palma. The Laser European champion swept to three emphatic victories to move up from her lowly 86th berth yesterday in the 96–boat fleet to 52nd overall, just six places off the silver fleet lead.

At the top of the gold fleet double bullets from Evi Van Acker (BEL), one of Annalise's London 2012 Olympic rivals, moved her into third overall in the Laser Radial but long-time rival Marit Bouwmeester (NED) (interviewed in the above video) still holds the lead.

Bouwmeester has only finished out of the top three once and in a range of conditions has demonstrated her versatility. On her week so far Bouwmeester said, "We started off with light wind conditions and I was having a good regatta, I was not so sharp today but hopefully I can change that through the next few days.

"It has been a lot of fun racing, there are a lot of good girls here, it's good competition."

Van Acker added a sixth to her double bullets to move up nicely whilst Tuula Tenkanen (FIN) separates the Belgian and Dutch sailor in second.

World #1 Mathilde de Kerangat (FRA) took the final race win of the day.

Unfortunately, Ireland's only gold fleet participant Belfast's James Espey in the men's Laser class ended up counting a 34, 33 and a 41 undoing much of his earlier qualifying achievements (including three top ten results) and drops from 24th to 36th as the southerly breeze hit 27–knots.

French Nacra 17 World Champion Billy Besson described racing at ISAF Sailing World Cup Mallorca – Trofeo Princesa Sofia like riding a rodeo bull as 20-25 knots meant the limits of sailors' were tested.

Southerly breeze whipping up wild winds and five metre swells pushed the nine fleets that got out racing to the max.

Fleets in the 2.4mR, 49er, 49erFX, Finn, Laser, Laser Radial, Nacra 17 and Men's and Women's RS:X got out racing with only the 470 fleets unable to hit the race course.

Irish silver fleet results in the 49er, 49erfx and Finn classes are still being computed this evening. Check later here. 

The day's schedule was amended following the arrival of the US military air carrier 'Harry S Truman' in the bay of Palma. With a 1,000 meter exclusion zone and a 2,400 metre no-stopping zone, courses were moved and scheduled amended.

As winds grew stronger sailors (and surfers!) had to contend with big waves on the return to the beach after racing was over. As this facebook vid shows:

Racing resumes tomorrow as the medal race places are decided in all of the Olympic classes.

With almost 1.200 sailors representing 55 nations, the Trofeo Princesa Sofia is the Spanish event with the highest number of entries. It is the fourth stage of the ISAF Sailing World Cup, the prestigious Olympic World Cup that has already visited Qingdao (China), Melbourne (Australia) and Miami (United States). The last event of the circuit is Hyères (France) at the end of April.

#TrofeoSofia – The harsh reality of the mid week split hit home this morning as the Trofeo Princesa Sophia fleet was separated into gold and silver fleets for the next stage of the regatta, the finals series. Only Ireland's James Espey still has a chance of medal race participation come Saturday, for everyone else on the Irish Olympic Sailing Team it is time to salvage some honour in Palma's silver fleets.

But for both of Ireland's Laser sailors today's third day of racing never happened with the 2.4mR, Laser, Laser Radial and RS:X's unable to race due to light winds on their course. This left Ireland's Espey and Annalise Murphy ashore contemplating a truncated series tomorrow.

But London 2012 team–mates Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern did get to race  – and in breeze – the Belfast duo taking a second in the only race of the day for the 49er silver fleet to lie 44th from 79. At the top of this highly competitive skiff fleet, 2013 49er World Champions Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (NZL) have moved into the lead.

In the 49erfx class, Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey, also sailing in silver, lie 44th. 

Dublin Bay sailor Ross Hamilton is 65th overall in the Finn class. 

Full results here

#TrofeoSofia – James Espey is the only member of the Irish Olympic Sailing Team to qualify for this morning's gold fleet racing at the ISAF Sailing World Cup Trofeo Princesa Sofía in Palma. The Belfast dinghy sailor scored seventh in yesterday afternoon's race five to give him three top ten results to bring him up to 24th overall in his massive 144–boat fleet.

The results scored 10, 13, 8, 27 and 7 are all the more satisfying for the Royal Ulster sailor given they were produced in difficult light winds, conditions that have frustrated his Irish London 2012 team–mates and have consigned them to silver fleet participation for the rest of the regatta.

The shifty winds kept the sailors busy all day with bands of wind up to 14–knots then down to 6–knots coming down the course areas of the fourth ISAF World Cup event.

Fleets are now split into gold and silver for the final three days before the medal race on Saturday.

After four races Annalise Murphy counts 32, 46, 48 and a 31 to be placed 86 from 96. It's a big disappointment for the Irish Laser European champion especially given her light wind preparations at the Rio Olympic venue itself last season plus there are forecasted strong winds expected later this week, sailing conditions which the Dublin 'Breeze Queen' relishes.

One race in the split 96-boat Laser Radial fleet sees Murphy's long time rivals Marit Bouwmeester (NED) head into gold fleet racing two points clear of Great Britain's Chloe Martin.

Bouwmeester finished second in the yellow fleet whilst Martin took a third in the blue fleet as the top two spots remain unchanged.

"It was a nice day even though it was quite a long day on the water because we got a good race in and now we can do gold fleet racing," said Bouwmeester. "There are so many girls here and the racing is really good. It should be a fun three days in the gold fleet which will be nice."

Despite setting the early pace Bouwmeester isn't getting carried away, "I'm just trying to sail as best as I can, learn as much as I can and then if I win I would like that but if not then there has to be more work done."

The days race wins went to Daphne van der Vaart (NED) in the blue fleet and Anne Marie Rindom (DEN) in the yellow fleet.

Racing got off to a late start in the afternoon with a light morning breeze ensuring Palma Bay resembled a shiny pane of glass. When the first race got underway after 14:00 local time a moderate 5 knot breeze that picked up to 10 knots saw the light wind specialists continue their strong early form. 

On a separate course, with scores of 19, 31, 23, 22, 25, and 19, Belfast lough 49er duo Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern lie 51st from 79. 

Last night 49erfx Irish newcomers, Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey, who are making their Rio campaign debut in Palma reflected on their overall position of 44th from 50 on twitter: 

"Tough day for us at the office. A wee bit soul destroying when the things you can't control attack and you're left to fight back... Today was not our day. We have come away from it with the positives which were good speed and starts again. We will be competing in silver fleet for the rest of the regatta which will be an excellent opportunity to practice what we need to and take the most we can from the rest of the week. We got this ... Just need to give it time and have patience!

Unfortunately our result on the score board doesn't show how much our sailing has improved and how far we have come this winter but we are happy and feel like we are making gains and couldn't be prouder!"

The girl's Royal Irish club–mate Ross Hamilton is 72 from 92 in the Finn dinghy.

How to handle the super tricky conditions experienced so far in Palma are captured in this youtube account by British Finn sailors Andrew Mills and Giles Scott.

Racing begins this morning at 11am with an easterly wind of 5 knots shifting to a southerly position and increasing to 14 knots this afternoon and possibly more.

Full results here

#TrofeoSofia_en – In a light air day when risks ran high Annalise Murphy's arch rival Marit Bouwmeester (NED) picked up two race wins and leads the Laser Radial fleet. The Dubliner had to be content with a 32, 46 and 48 to place 88th out of 96 in what has been a disappointing opening day of racing for Ireland at the 2013-2014 ISAF Sailing World Cup regatta in Mallorca, Spain. 

Racing in the yellow fleet the Dutch sailor took two close victories over Chloe Martin (GBR) in Race 1 and Tina Mihelic (CRO) in Race 2. Bouwmeester finished second in the third race of the day to solidify her leading position. Martin got the better of Bouwmeester in the final race and sits second.

In the blue fleet, in which Annalise is drawn, race victories went to ISAF Sailing World Cup Qingdao gold medallist Dongshuang Zhang (CHN), China's Min Gu and Sweden's Josefin Olsson. The Swedish sailor sits on three points tied with Martin and Zhang.

But there are still seven races left to sail so the massive regatta that has over 1130 sailors competing in 11 classes is far from over with double races scheduled until Friday. Tomorrow is another qualification day for prized gold fleet places.

It appears conservative racing was order of the day but so far the light winds have not suited any of the seven competing Irish crews.

Best of the Irish was James Espey in the Laser class, the Belfast single–hander lies 30th after scoring a 10, 13 and 8 in his 144 boat fleet.

Espey's London 2012 team mates Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern are 57th from 79 after three races.

Newcomers Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey lie 39 from 50 and Royal Irish clubmate Ross Hamilton lies 82 from 92.

Full results are posted here. The forecast for Tuesday is for slightly more winds up to 11 knots.

#annalisemurphy – Ireland's sailing superstar Annalise Murphy prepares for battle at the second round of the International Sailing Federation's World Cup in Mallorca this morning and forecasts show that the massive Spanish competition is to get off to a decidedly light air start.  

Annalise appears to be on form finishing second at Andalusian Olympic week (pictured above), a Cadiz based training regatta ahead of today's major cup event.

In Cadiz, Annalise finished off the podium by three points as Belgium's Emma Plasschaert, tied with Amelie Riou (FRA) on 21 points, won gold by countback having won three of 11 races all sailed in testing 15 to 20–knot breezes.

Winds today, however are not expected to reach more than five to eight knots in Palma which will make for some long days and interesting results for all 96 Laser Radials that have signed up to race in Mallorca. All three Laser Radial gold medallists from the 2013-2014 Sailing World Cup registered.

The Dun Laoghaire sailors is scheduled to have three races this morning and will complete 11 by Friday ahead of Saturday's final medal race,  a cut she will most definitely be hoping to make given her slip at the first ISAF Cup event in Miami in February.

ISAF Sailing World Cup Qingdao victor Dongshuang Zhang (CHN), Melbourne gold medallist Tatiana Drozdovskaya (BLR) and Miami winner Paige Railey (USA) will all compete in Palma Bay.

They will be joined by 2013 Laser Radial World Champion Tina Mihelic (CRO) and London 2012 medallists Marit Bouwmeester (NED) and Evi Van Acker (BEL). Alison Young (GBR) returns to defend her title.

#rio – Six Irish sailors will benefit from today's 2014 International Carding Scheme announcement. Annalise Murphy is deemed a 'podium athlete' and awarded €40,000 for 2014, the halfway point in the build up to Rio 2016.

The Irish Sports Council today announced details of the scheme that sees €1.6m invested in 85 athletes from 15 sports.

The Irish sailors to benefit are:

Annalise Murphy Podium €40,000
Ryan Seaton World Class €20,000
Matthew McGovern World Class €20,000
James Espey International €12,000
John Twomey International €12,000
Ian Costelloe International €12,000

Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Michael Ring said "The substantial investment will support our most talented sports people who represented Ireland so well in 2012 and 2013.

In addition to the direct investment, athletes will be supported by the Performance Plans of their NGBs announced yesterday.

#rio – Buoyed up by the success of Annalise Murphy's Olympic performance (fourth overall) in Weymouth in 2012 and her Laser European title win in 2013, the Irish Sports Council (ISC) announced an investment plan for Olympic sailing for 2014, a critical year in the build up to the Rio Olympics.

Sailing received the third highest level of funding after boxing and athletics. This state investment included the allocation of €7m to 18 high performance sports including sailing.

Results from other Irish sailors also helped sailing cash in on government funding. Last year sailors won 13 medals, 8 of which were Gold at international events. Youth sailors did particularly well. For example, Finn Lynch took bronze in the Men's Radial Worlds, silver in the Europeans and Gold in the U21 category at the Laser European and World Championships in Dun Laoghaire. 

2014 is a key year in the Olympic cycle as the first Olympic qualifier will be held in Santander, Spain in September. The target for the Irish sailors is to qualify the nation in all classes that they participate in.

Commenting on the announcement ISA Performance Director James O'Callaghan stated "The level of funding received from the Irish Sports Council is a reflection of the success of our high performance athletes".

There are 102 sailors training as part of the ISA Performance Pathway Programme starting from the junior classes through to the Olympic classes. All these sailors are closely monitored and follow strength and conditioning programmes managed by Sports Med Ireland physiotherapist Mark McCabe in addition to receiving regular coaching from top international coaches.