#annalisemurphy – Two weeks, two Eurosaf events, two golds .A 53 second winning margin in a thrilling medal race final this morning has given Annalise Murphy her second EUROSAF Gold Medal in a fortnight.

The National Yacht Club sailor beat the London 2012 Olympic champion and silver medallist to win the prestigious Dutch Delta Lloyd regatta with amazing composure. It's another significant campaign boost for the 23-year-old Dun Laoghaire girl who won the Italian Olympic week regatta only a fortnight ago.

After attending Delta Lloyd for five years in a row and taking ninth twice before Annalise knew a lot about the venue. She spotted stronger breeze on the right hand side of the course just before the medal race start and decided to go for it even though her original plan was to stay left.

Living up to last week's praise from Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Michael Ring she needed 'nerves of steel' again today in the shifting breeze. Playing the shifts in the ten - 15 knots that prevailed also proved crucial after a nice clean start.

At one point on the beat it appeared her separation from the other five competitors may have proved costly.  She looked to be in last place for a time but strong breeze on the right duly arrived and gave Annalise a 50–metre lead at the first weather mark.

By the end of the race she had opened up a 200–metre lead. 

There was a close finish between local Marit Boumeester, the London Silver medallist and one time regatta leader Alison Young of Britain for third with just 4 seconds between them.

London 2012 Gold medallist Lijia Xu (CHN) had to settle with sixth place.

Annalise has put in an extremely consistent performance in Medemblik all week sharing the lead with Young in the penultimate rounds and never falling out of the top three overall.

Speaking afterwards, a sporting Annalise praised Ali Young who she said 'sailed the best' all week.

“I knew i had to give it all going into the Medal race, Alison and Marit are very strong and like me are good in these conditions'.

In spite of the win Annalise repeated her criticism of the new ISAF format. "Of course I am happy with my victory but I don’t think this format is very fair on the sailors. It is good to experiment but this is not the way to go.”

Annalise's next event is in Weymouth, the venue where she came so close to Ireland's first Olympic sailing medal in 32 years at London 2012.

The new format experienced in the Eurosaf Champions Sailing Cup with the emphasis put on the last medal race created the expected thrill and drama in Medemblik.

Five of the earlier leaders have lost top place during the Medal race which have opened the field for the top six boats.

After winning seven races and dominating the RS:X fleet all week, Dorian van Rijsselberge (NED) suffered from a shift at the start of the Medal Race to fall behind the fleet and off the podium.

Pawel Tarnowski wins the RS:X men event after a second place in the Medal race. "I am very happy with my first victory in a RS:X senior event. This is my first season on the senior circuit and hope I can continue doing well at the European next summer. I won over great sailors here, Worlds champions, Gold medallists, this new system allows for all six sailors in the final to win and for me it worked well."

Second is Byron Kokalanis from Greece and third place goes to Julien Bontemps (FRA).

After consistent sailing all week, Flavia Tartaglini (ITA) wins the RSX women event in the Delta Lloyd Regatta. "I came in the Medal race with a first place. For the Medal race we had a nice breeze, it was also tricky as close to shore with gusts and shifts. I manage to get a good start and lead for most of the race. In the end a third place was enough for me to keep the lead and win the title!"

Annalise celebrates her latest Laser medal win in Medemblick with mens winner Rutger van Schaardenburg . Photo: Courtesy Delta Lloyd Regatta

Mayaan Davidovich (ISR) takes the Silver medal after finishing second in the Medal race. A victory in the Medal race for Blanca Manchon (ESP) brings her from 6th place to 3rd place.

Further in the day, the Laser Medal race continued to provide the drama expected from the new format. Early leader and World number 1 Tom Burton (AUS) lost his lead after a difficult medal race. This is the second time in a row that the Australian loses a regatta with this format, the first time in Garda. Taking the medal race was what needed Ruger van Schaardenburg to keep the title he had won last year in Medemblik. " I am very happy with my results and with the format. The medal race keeps opportunities opened for the top six, and for me it was a great opportunity."
Young Australian Matthew Wearn places second in the Medal race and takes Silver while Andy Maloney (NZL) goes down to third overall.

Mark Andrews wins his first major Finn event after an heart braking medal race where the overall lead changed hands several times. "It was down to the wire! I was able to make up some places using the guts and in the end it turned my way. It was very closed and I am very happy to have won this event!".
Piet-Jan Postma lost top place but is securing Silver. "I was not aggressive enough in this race!" said Postma. "I should have followed my own line without worrying about the other sailors."
Andrew Mills (GBR) won the Medal race with an impressive lead and narrowly takes the last place on the podium.

London Gold Medallists win the 470 in both the women and the men events. Early regatta leaders Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie (NZL) won the Medal race to take their second event in the season after winning the Garda Eurosaf event. "We had a big rest after London and only raced at home for Sail Auckland. We are happy with the way we are going but there are lots of new faces and we will know where we are at when we race at the Worlds in July."
Anne Haeger and Briana Provancha (USA) and Tina Mrak with Veronika Macarol (SLO) take Silver and Bronze.
Mat Belcher and Will Ryan (AUS) have added the 2013 Delta Lloyd Regatta to their undefeated regatta series: "It was tricky today with lots of pressure and three laps. We are really concentrating on our performance and staying focussed and it is working well for us."
The New Zealanders Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Willcox win the Medal Race and take second place in front of Croatian team of Sime Fantela an Igor Marenic.

The Delta Lloyd regatta provided drama until the last moment. Nacra fleet favourites, Mandy Mulder and Thijs Visser (NED) had ended the opening series with an impressive lead. The Medal race seemed to go according to plan until a capsize on the last leg ended the Dutch podium chances!

"We have raced really well all week and know we are the best out there. Our capsize was unfortunate and still a "mystery"! We need to work out on what happened, so we can learn from it." explains Mulder.

The situation suited the French teams who have been fighting for top place with the Dutch since the start of the season. They take the top two places with Moana Vaireaux and Manon Audinet winning Gold and Audrey Augereau and Mathieu Vandame the Silver medal. Renee Groeneveld and Karel Begeman (NED) are in third position.

"We had a great week with lots of wind. We are tired but happy to win. It is a pity for Mandy and Thijs, they have dominated all week and deserve a better place than that! The Nacra is a great boat, very fast and when we will have a carbon mast it will be the fastest boat around." explained Moana Vaireaux.

The paralympic classes sailed two more races today. Megan Pascoe won the 2.4 title after wining the Miami OCR and placing in the top three in Palma and Hyères. "It was a tough regatta with lots of boats and great competition. It is good and more fun to race in a big fleet in the 2.4. I am used to sail in a shifty place so today it really helps. I could position well and take advantage of all the shifts." Helena Lucas (GBR) takes Silver and Barend Kol (NED) the Bronze.

The French team of Bruno Jourdren finishes the week on a high. They have defended their Delta Lloyd regatta title on the last day after scoring top two results. The fleet was small but of high quality with the top 5 in the London Paralympics competing.

The Eurosaf Champions Sailing Cup heads now to Great Britain for the Sail for Gold regatta.

Delta Lloyd Regatta is the second regatta in the Eurosaf series. In total five regattas will be sailed over the summer months with the next regatta, Sail for Gold, Weymouth UK 09 – 13 June followed by Kieler Woche, Germany later in June and finally Semaine Olympique Francaise in La Rochelle in the autumn. 

#dlr2013 – Annalise Murphy shares the lead with Britain's Alison Young after eight races in the Laser Radial class which means today is an action packed last day of finals racing in the Delta Lloyd regatta in Holland before the top six medal race tomorrow.

Murphy told supporters last night: 'Luckily I didn't have to race during the hailstones today! Managed a 3rd and a 2nd followed by a not so hot 16th'

The Dun Laoghaire sailor will be pushing to ensure a top position for the medal race cut in a forecast of medium winds on the Ijsselmeer.  It looks lke a tricky day for the sailors with a shallow low pressure tracking south over the North Sea providing a decreasing and backing wind from South south west to east. And it's raining!

More from David O'Brien in the Irish Times this morning here.

The Dutch teams made the most of the day at the Delta Lloyd Regatta in Medemblik. At the end of the third day of racing, there is a Dutch boat in the top three of all classes at the exception of the 49er were Holland is not represented.

Pieter Jan Postma in the Finn and the Sonar team of Udo Essel took it all in the three races sailed in freezing conditions. They are now in the lead.

PJ Postma who enjoyed the breeze yesterday was pleased with his day: "It finally all came together! The feeling is right as well as the fitness and the tactics. I am pleased with the way I go and it surely gives me confidence for the regattas ahead." Early leader Andrew Mills (GBR) collected a disqualification at the start and drops to the seventh position overall.

Paralympic champions Udo Essel, Mischa Rossens and Marel van de Veen proved today with three victories in the Sonar that they trully deserve their Gold medal. "We took a long break after London, so it is great to see that we are still up to it. It gives confidence for the future."

The Dutch sailors are conserving their lead in the Nacra and the RS:X Men.

Mandy Mulder and Thijs Visser (NED) increase their lead after two bullets in the Nacra. The french and Swedish teams have close results with Moana Vaireaux and Manon Audinet (FRA) in second overall.

Dorian van Rijsselberge (NED) in the RS:X class is flying away with a win and two second places. Przemyslaw Miarczynski (POL) and Julien Bontemps (FRA) remains second and third.

The result is very tight in the RS:X women, with the top five within five points. Hei Man Hayley Victoria Chan (HKG) conserves a narrow lead from Moana Delle (GER). Third place is taken by Dutch windsurfer Lilian de Geus.

The Danish are again proving their domination in the skiff with Jonas Warrer and Peter Lang enjoying a 14 points lead over French Julien D'ortoli and Noe Delpech in the 49er.

Palma SWC winners, Ida Marie Baad Nielsen and Marie Olsen (DEN) take a narrow two points lead in the FX over Germans Tina Lutz and Susan Beucke. Early leaders Annemiek Bekkering and Claire Blom (NED) are now in third position.

The dual at the top continues between Laser World number 1, Australian Tom Burton and Palma winner Andy Maloney (NZL). They place first and second in the first day of the Laser final with the top 25 boats. In the women, Alison Young (GBR) shares the lead on equal points with Irish Annalise Murphy.

World #1 Matt Belcher and Will Ryan (AUS) are back in the lead in the 470 class after two wins and a third place. In the women, Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie (NZL) are increasing their lead after top two places and a win. The other two races were taken by Dutch team of Afrodite Kyranakou and Anneloes van Veen (NED) who climb in third position.

It is a close score in the 2.4 after three more races sailed in freezing conditions. The top three win a race each with Megan Pascoe (GBR) leading from Barend Kol (NED) and Helena Lucas (GBR).

Tomorrow will see the last day of the final stage and the last chances to qualify for the top 8 in the skiffs and the medal races scheduled for Friday night, and the top six in the other Olympic classes who will race their medal race on Saturday.

The forecast on Friday is from medium winds.

#DLR2013–Gusting to 30–knots Ireland's 'Breeze Queen' Annalise Murphy took a third in race four and a runaway win in race five to close the gap to just two points on the overall leader in the Laser Radial fleet before racing was cancelled at the Delta Llyod regatta today.

Annalise powered away downwind in race five to establish a long lead in what turned out to be the final race of the day. Significantly though overall regatta leader GBR's Alison Young was able to match Annalise's heavy air upwind speed in this morning's first race. The Briton now counts three firsts in her four race tally so far. Overall Annalise is on 7 points and stays second to Young on 5 points with local helm Marit Boumeester third on 11.

Lijia Xu, the Olympic champion is down the rankings in the strong conditions encountered so far and placed ninth in the 47–boat fleet.

The second day of racing in the Delta Lloyd Regatta tested sailor's fitnessand the equipment. Wind averaging 25 knots and picking at 30, throughout the day made for physical racing.

Only the Nacra and the 49er FX were cancelled. The Finn and Laser radial were the first to hit the water in the morning, followed by the RS:X men and women. The remaining fleets were kept to shore waiting for the wind to decrease.

Hyères Sailing World Cup winner, Andrew Mills (GBR) has taken the lead from Greg Douglas (CAN) in the Finn class after three races sailed this morning. Mills is discarding a disqualification at the start of race two to count only top five places. The day's races win went to Miami SWC winner Caleb Paine (USA) and PJ Postma (NED) who place second and third overall.

The Laser Radial completed two races on the three scheduled. Alison Young (GBR) keeps the lead with a bullet in the first race. While the second race was taken by Annalise Murphy (IRL) who is renowned to show her best in the heavy winds. The Irish places second overall in front of Marit Bouwmeester (NED) consistent with two second places.

Hei Man Hayley Victoria Chan (HKG) enjoyed the waves and planning conditions to still the lead from Moana Delle in the RS:X with top three placings. However with a victory and two second places, Hélène Noesmoen (FRA) scored the best results on the water and climbs to sixth overall.

Dorian van Rijsselberge (NED) conserves top position in the RS:X men but Przemyslaw Miarczynski (POL), winner of the SWC in Hyères is closing the gap with two first places and a second. 2012 World Champion Julien Bontemps (FRA) wins the third race to remain in third overall.

The race committees had a very long day on the water. After the completion of racing in the Finn, Radial and RS:X, the remaining classes were kept ashore waiting for the wind to calm down. At 5PM the warning signal was finally given for the 470 and Lasers and racing cancelled for the 49ers, 2.4 and Sonar.

Soon after 7pm, the 470 and Lasers came back to shore after two races in 20 knots.

Olympic Champions Joe Aleh and Polly Powrie (NZL) continued on their impressive performance to add another two victories to their score to comfort their lead over the 470 fleets.

Croatians are taking the lead in two classes.

In the Men, Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic (CRO) won the first race and placed second in the last to take a narrow lead over the Australians Matt Belcher and Will Ryan.

The Lasers were last to reach the shore, the windy races were dominated by the Australians and New-Zealanders, however consistent results from Croatian Tonci Stipanovic (3-4) place him in the lead after five races.

Today saw the end of the qualification stages for the Laser, Radial and RS:X. They will be split in Gold and Silver for the next two days with the top 25 in each class qualifying for the Gold fleet.

#DeltaLloydRegat  – Annalise Murphy has got off to a strong start in the opening rounds of the Olympic classes Delta Lloyd regatta in Medemblik, Holland today after a short delay waiting for wind to settle on the ijsselmeer. The Irish Laser Radial champion outwitted local star Marit Boumeester on home waters scoring a 5,1,2 to end the day on eight points, five ahead of the Olympic silver medallist and four off overnight leader, the on form British sailor Alison Young who enjoyed two race wins.  Tomorrow's forecast is for stronger conditions ideally suiting Ireland's Breeze Queen.

Despite the rain and cold, the sailors put on all the warmest gear to start the first races of the 2013 Delta Lloyd regatta.

It was an intense day on the water with a tight programme. Olympic and Paralympic classes sailed three races apart from the 49ers and RS:X who had four races back to back. "We realise it is an intensive schedule, particularly for the RS:X in non-planing conditions, so we decided to lower their target time to 20 mins and optimise resting periods between races." explains regatta PRO Robert Lamb (GBR).

RS:X Gold medallist Dorian van Rijsselberge (NED) didn't mind the conditions, nor the intensive programme with four victories taken on the day:

"A perfect start here. Four wins. The circumstances were difficult today. Cold and rainy. People expect a lot of me, but winning stays difficult. The racing was nice. Four races on a day is not what we often do, in Garda we had that also. It's tough, especially when it is so cold as today. Lots of guys in the RS:X had problems with the cold. In these conditions it's important to sail smart, at least smarter than the other guys."

Dorian success story is an inspiration for the younger generation. Young Dutch windsurfer Kiran Badloe who has started the year with a podium in Palma found it harder today but managed to place 11th in a strong fleet:

"My races were unstable today. The wind turned a lot, that made it tough, besides the cold. It is nice to compete against Dorian, but today I didn't see him so much. He is so fast. Dorian is an inspiration for me. His success is very important for Dutch Sailing. My goal here is qualification for the top 25 in the Gold fleet."

Close score in the Women 470 with Olympic champions Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie (NZL) in first place, a point ahead of Sophie Weguelin and Eilidh Mcintyre (GBR).

There are no surprises in the Men 470. Mat Belcher and Will Ryan (AUS), undefeated since the start of the season, are taking the day with three wins.

The Danish shared the day in the 49er. Norregaard/Thomsen took the first two bullets while Warrer/Lang are leading the fleet after winning the last two races. In the women, Annemiek Bekkering and Claire Blom (NED) are taking first position after four races.

Canadian Finn sailor Greg Douglas leads the Finn fleet with Piotr Kula (POL) in second. With two SWC victories in Melbourne and Hyères and a second place in Palma, Laser class favourite Tom Burton (AUS) takes top place in the Laser.

Mandy Mulder and Thijs Vissel (NED) have taken the first two races to lead the small but strong Nacra fleet.

Moana Delle (GER) is continuing on her good form in the RS:X women in front of a deep field. There are twelve countries in the top 15 and some of the best sailors.

The British are dominating the Paralympic classes after three races. Megan Pascoe takes the command in the 2.4 fleet, while John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Steve Thomas (GBR) lead the Sonar on equal point with Hyères winners Bruno Jourdren, Eric Flageul and Nicolas Vimont-Vicary (FRA).

The forecast for the second day of racing is for strong winds.

On format:

The Eurosaf Champions Sailing Cup is innovating this year a new format across all the event of the circuit. After the first regatta in Garda, it is now the turn of the Delta Lloyd Regatta to test this new format. "The objective to have a competition understandable for the media and the public while being as fair as possible" explains Arjen Rahusen, Regatta Chairman.

In order to assess the changes and the impact on the regatta image, the DLR is conducting an online survey aimed at collecting comments from sailors, coaches and officials involved in the event. "We value the sailors opinion and encourage them to answer the survey." added Rahusen.

All classes will race between 12 and 16 races (for the 49ers, FX and RS:X) in an opening series. The opening series will include a qualifying stage and a final stage for the Laser split in two fleets. All other classes will race in one single fleet.

Only the RS:X men, the Laser and Radials will race a final stage with the top 25 boats.

The opening series overall result for the classes racing in a single fleet as well as the results from the finals will count as one race which will count in the Medal stage for the top six boats. On Saturday, a single point medal race for the top six will be added to the opening series placing, to decide the winner of the event.

The 49ers will keep experiencing their own format with three medal races for the top 8. Their Medal stage is scheduled on Friday evening.

 

After a sensational win at the first Eurosaf event in Italy a week ago Dun Laoghaire's Annalise Murphy has been buoyed up by Government congratulatons sent by Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Michael Ring TD.

"Annalise was tipped from the start as favourite and demonstrated nerves of steel in mixed weather conditions to persevere and clinch the gold" Minister Ring said in praise of Afloat's Sailor of the Year. Tomorrow morning Annalise will be hoping to do it all again at the first race of Delta Lloyd regatta in Medemblik, Holland.

Although the fleet size is similar Annalise will be well aware this morning's Dutch series is very different from Lake Garda because she will be up against a higher quality field. Significantly the Dutch fleet includes at least three arch rivals from London 2012 that were not competing in Italy.

Olympic champion Lijia Xu of China is competing in the 47–boat fleet and Olympic Silver medalist Marit Boumeester is on home waters.

Britian is sending on form Alison Young, March's Palma World Cup winner and the bronze medallist from Hyeres, France.

The last time Annalise met this trio was a month ago in Hyeres when the National Yacht Club sailor struggled in the light airs of the qualifying rounds. She finished the last round of the World cup in the silver fleet, a position she will be keen not to repeat.

Forecast for the week is for light to moderate winds on the ijsselmeer which will be a good test of the 23-year-old's return to form. Certainly Annalise will need those 'nerves of steel' which the Minister of Sport has praised her for.

Second stage of the Eurosaf Champions Sailing Cup, the Delta Lloyd Regatta has taken on the challenge to bring the event to a new dimension where media presentation is playing a big part.

For Event Director, Arjen Rahusen, this is the way forward " We are concentrating our efforts to take sailing closer to the public especially through social media. All the boats will be equipped with trackers with the help of Swiss Timing. We have two video teams, who will feed daily news via the social media network and highlights. We want to give the sailors the best exposure they deserve. It is vital for them and for us!"

Racing promises to be fierce with most of the top teams engaged in all classes. Among them six 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Gold medallists will take the start on Tuesday in Medemblik.

In the 470, Matt Belcher and Will Ryan (AUS) will try to continue on their undefeated record since the start of the season. In the women division, 2012 and 2008 Gold medallists, Aleh (NZL) and Rechichi (AUS) will fight it off in a compact and talented fleet.

In the Men, expectations are high on Robert Scheidt's (BRA) return to the Lasers, however the Olympic champion will have to deal with the "down under" sailors. Tom Burton who took the title in Hyères and placed second in Palma, or Andy Maloney (NZL).

The 49ers will showcase great spectacle with strong teams from Denmark and Great Britain in the men and women divisions.

Olympic champion, Dorian van Rijsselberge (NED) and young Dutch talent Kiran Badloe are welcoming to their home event a talented fleet of windsurfers. The Polish team, French and Israeli will provide for tough competition. Moana Delle (GER), Flavia Tartaglini (ITA) or Bianca Manchon are among the favourites in the RS:X women.

In the Finn class, Hyères's winner Andrew Mills (GBR) will fight it off with PJ Postma as well as Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) and Piotr Kula (second and third in Garda).

The new Olympic multihull, the Nacra is continuing to attract teams and countries from around the world. The Australian are now present with four boats while the earlier favourites from Holland, France or Sweden are not missing any chance to keep their lead on the fleet.

The 2.4 is represented with a large and strong fleet including British sailors Helena Lucas and Megan Pascoe (GBR), or Barend Kol (NED). Among the nine countries represented, Malaysia is participating with three sailors.

The team of Bruno Jourdren (FRA) has made a successful come back to the Sonar competition after a victory taken in Hyères. They are back in Medemblik and will face the three Sonar 2012 Paralympic medallists in a small but very strong fleet.

Sailing is scheduled from 11am on Tuesday 21st of May until Saturday 25th.

The weather for the first day of racing will be challenging going from no wind at the start of the day to strong breeze towards the end.

The Eurosaf Champions Sailing Cup is a series of five regattas in the Olympic and Paralympic Classes designed to complement the ISAF Sailing World Cup series. The Delta Lloyd Regatta (Medemblik, NED, 21-25 May) is followed by Sail for Gold Regatta (Weymouth and Portland, GBR, 9-13 June), Kiel Week (Kiel, GER, 22-26 June) and the Semaine Olympique Francaise (La Rochelle, FRA, 9-13 October).

How to follow the Delta Lloyd Regatta:

Tracking available daily for all boats on the event website.

Website; http://www.deltalloydregatta.org

A final race that counts for so much is not the future for sailing. That's according to Italian Olympic week champion, Ireland's Annalise Murphy who has spoken out against controversial new competition formats trialled by Olympic sailing organisers, ISAF.

'I don't think this format works. I don't think you should do nine races that only count towards one 20–minute race. I don't think that it makes for fair sailing,' Annalise said in a post race video interview (above) at Lake Garda, hours after winning Gold in the strongest winds of the Italian regatta.

In last place for the first part of the medal race, the  23–year–old Dubliner says she just 'didn't give up' and went on to win her six boat race.

 

 

 

 

A return to form for Annalise Murphy saw the Rathfarnham sailor win Gold today at the Italian Olympic Week 2013 on Lake Garda, the first round of the new Eurosaf sailing world cup.

The Dubliner, the Irish Sailor of the Year was sailed down the fleet on the first leg of the course in a tactical move by a medal race opponent but caught the leaders in the 6-boat fleet on the first downwind leg and then led the race in the blowy lake conditions.

Admittedly the win comes against a fleet not as strong as the recent world cup series but it will nevertheless boost her confidence for events later in the season including the Laser European Championships at her home club, the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire in September.

Italian Olympic Week is the first regatta in the Eurosaf series. In total five regattas will be sailed over the summer months with the next regatta, Delta Lloyd starting in just eight days in the Netherlands on 21 May, followed by Sail for Gold in Weymouth and Kieler Woche in June and finally Semaine Olympique Francaise in la Rochelle in the autumn.

A new format for the medal race was trialed this week at Italian Olympic Week whereby the fleet is divided in to Gold and Silver after two days with the top six boats in the Gold fleet progressing to the Medal Race on the final day. This new format will be officially adopted for Rio 2016.

Annalise Murphy finished four points clear at the top of the leaderboard at Italian Olympic week yesterday and will be today's six–boat medal race favourite at the inaugural Eurosaf sailing cup on Lake Garda. Strong local 'Ora' winds are blowing on the lake this morning suiting the Irish sailor.

The 23-year-old Dun Laoghaire single–hander counts a string of five first places in her 47-boat fleet to lead Croatian sailor Tina Mihelic. Third is Finn Tuula Tenkanen.

Annalise just missed the podium in last year's Games. The Croatian came 17th in London and Tenkanen two places in front of sister Heidi who came 5th.

Annalise hit form on Wednesday afternoon bouncing back from a ninth in race one to score a first and second with five more wins following, stamping her heavy air authority on the fleet.

She ended the qualifying rounds however with a 29 and 7 describing yesterday 'as a pretty crazy day' on the lake with winds blowing from zero to 20-knots.

This 47-boat affair is not at World cup level but it is nevertheless a strong fleet and one where the National Yacht Club single-hander is proving herself after crashing out of the gold fleet of the World Cup in Hyères a fortnight ago.

The new Eurosaf series concept has been designed to complement ISAF's world cup and this week is its first outing with some new style competition formats.

live streaming of the medal race will be on Afloat.ie when available from local broadcasters

Laser Radial Finalists
1)IRL Murphy
2)CRO Mihelic
3)FIN Tenkanen T.
4)BLR Drozdovskaya
5)FIN Tenkanen H.
6)TUR Donertas

Top ten qualifying round results below:

 

 

Muscle memory, tuning in to the wind and the waves, a rigorous daily schedule plus a pool of upcoming youth sailing talent is discussed by Annalise Murphy's coach Rory Fitzpatrick in this three minute vid aimed at promoting Irish Sports Council initiatives for Ireland's Olympic sailing future.