#frostbites – Dun Laoghaire harbour was quite a soggy scene when a downpour hit the DMYC Frostbite fleet just before the scheduled start of proceedings and whatever wind there might have been was killed off shortly thereafter writes Cormac Bradley.
From a waterside location, just on the seaward side of the Dun Laoghaire marina, the committee boat started off at the mouth of the harbour and progressively moved inshore until it was just to the west of the gantry for the HSS ferry. A substantial fleet of Lasers, RSs, IDRAs and nine Fireballs floated around the committee boat until, just after 14:30, three blasts of the starter's horn brought proceedings to a close.
By that stage the atmosphere was starting to improve, the rain had disappeared off to sea but stillness descended to replace it. The air temperature wasn't bad at 10˚, but the fleet would have a long sail home.

#lasersailing – Fifteen knots of wind and bright sunshine welcomed 31 Laser dinghies on the first day of the 40th Laser Frostbites at Howth Yacht Club on Sunday morning. It was a baptism of fire for some, conservative downwind sailing for most, and plenty of off-wind planning and gybe mark capizes. Shifty breeze under the west pier made the upwind legs tricky at times, but our equally effective and efficient race committee (Liam Dinneen, Richard Kissane, John Doran and veteran of the first series David Jones) ran two 38 minute races with practiced presicion.

For the standard fleet, Race 1 kicked off promptly at 10:50, with reformed golfer Dave Quinn leading the fleet from the slightly biased pin followed closely by Daragh Kelleher, Daragh Sheridan and Ian McSweeney. Quinn held the lead around mark 1 and until second beat, Kelleher grabbing it then, with Ronan Cull taking advantage of the left and rounding the second windward mark in 3rd. Cull got inside Quinn downwind and rounded in 2nd - and this is how it would finish.

Further back there was more shifting of places: Daragh Sheridan, Stephen Quinn, Darrell Reamsbottom and Mike Evans battling for the next slots. Sheridan came out on top of the group finding his usual top 5 form after some first-day jitters and a capsize at the first leeward mark.

Wind: SW, 14-22 knots

Races sailed: 1 & 2, Olympic triangles

Race length: 38 min each

Leader, standard: Daragh Kelleher

Leader, radial: E McMahon

Leader, 4.7: N Staunton

First capsize of the season: Carla Fagan

Race 1 - Standard fleet:

1. Daragh Kelleher

2. Ronan Cull

3. Dave Quinn

4. Daragh Sheridan

5. Stephen Quinn

True to his pre-race briefing, no time was wasted by race officer Richard Kissane and only 50 seconds elapsed between the last finisher of race 1 and the start of race 2. The breeze was freshening, and those nearer the pin gained from a left-hand shift within the last minute. The first four around mark 1 were Kelleher, Dave Quinn, Evans and McSweeney all having gone left upwind, and this was the order of finishing, with Sheridan catching up to 5th. Ronan Cull was conspicuous by his absence having broken his boom immediately after the start. Again there was plenty of close sailing throughout the fleet - a good omen for some close racing over the next few months.

Race 2 - Standard fleet

1. Daragh Kelleher

2. Dave Quinn

3. Mike Evans

4. Ian McSweeney

5. Daragh Sheridan

#liffeylasers – If you thought all the Irish Laser action was in the south of France this week, you'd be wrong. Paul MacMahon (Strangford/Howth), a previous number one on the domestic full rig rankings, is among 18 Lasers now entered for the Saturday's Royal Alfred Laser Challenge on the River Liffey. Other competitors heading for the captial's waters are a mix of younger guys graduating up from the 'Radial' rig and some senior 'Masters' including Theo Lyttle, Rob Cahill and Sean Craig.  

As previously reported, the East Link Toll bridge lifts at 1015 for the Lasers, racing (as many races as possible) from 1100, bridge back up at 1500, then Poolbeg YC for the prizegiving.

#lasermasters – There's a strong contingent of Irish competing in the Laser Masters Worlds taking place from the 4th - 11th October in Hyeres, France this week.

The event has broken records for the number competing which topped out at an eye watering 499.

The logistics and challenges for the event organisers of dealing with a fleet this size both onshore and afloat are daunting but COYCH are managing.

Masters fleets are divided by age brackets. The youngest competitors are 35 in the apprentice fleet. At 45 these "young guns" graduate to Masters and so on as the bands continue up in blocks of 10 years.

The Irish team consists of Worlds stalwart and Great Grand Master Denis O'Sullivan. Chris Arrowsmith from RStGYC is in the Grand Master category. Ed Rice and Nick Walsh from Royal Cork YC along with Colin Galavan from RIYC and Kevin Currier from Ballyholme are in the Masters fleet. The team is rounded out by three Apprentice Masters, Dan O'Connell from RCYC, sailing coach Thomas Chaix and Paul Keane also from RIYC.

The weather has not played ball for the organisers who have been plagued by light airs and blue skies. Nice for the beach, of which there are plenty, but not for sailing. After two days of light racing some fleets have only two results but the Great Grand Masters have yet to finish a race.

After coming second in the Pre Worlds and winning the practice race Thomas Chaix was confident going into the first race but there is no quarter being given in the Apprentice fleet which includes 2 current and a very large percentage of ex Olmypians. The start line and contested mark roundings are not for the faint of heart.

The Masters fleet is around 130 boats so it's further split into Yellow and Red fleets. In the Red fleet Nick Walsh is on the hunt for some good results after a very successful domestic sailing season. Nick's sparring partner from home, Ed Rice is in the Yellow fleet and after a shaky first race put the demons behind him to score a decent result in the 2nd.

Well known RStGYC sailor Chris Arrowsmith had a middle of the road result in the first race but a strange abbreviation "PTSr" appeared beside his and others scores. This seemed to be "Penalty turns, retrospective" i.e. you're not whistled by the jury on the water but they take your number and penalise you after the race. An Australian team sailor was also penalised in this way and took the RC to the protest room where it seems to have been dropped. In the second race Chris scored a very respectable 11th. Onwards and upwards.

The forecast for the next few days is quite mixed. Last night a big rainstorm went through the area and there is a current "Orange" weather alert. Tomorrow the sun is due to come back and the wind is forecast in the 12-18kt range from a stable Easterly direction. This means waves in Hyeres Bay. Sun, Waves and Breeze for a Laser Sailor is better than a lotto win.

There is so much more to say about this event I could go on but I've just heard a gun and the AP is being lowered so I've got to go and get out on the water. For a very well observed flavour of the "internationality" of this event read USA team member Joe Berkeley's piece here 

Event photos are here and results here

The Royal Alfred Yacht Club will hold a river Liffey racing event for the Laser dinghy class on Saturday 11th October. Dublin's East Link bridge is being opened at 10.30am to allow the passage of the fleet up the river and racing is due to start at 11.00.

Royal Alfred Yacht Club Commodore Barry MacNeaney reports there will be continuous races with a short lunch break until 15.00 and the bridge will open again  at 14.30 to let the competitors return to the Poolbeg Yacht Club where refreshments will be available before the prize-giving. 'This format tests the skills of the sailors in an environment of narrow waters and changing winds and provides an extra dimension to the more normal sailing conditions they usually experience', says MacNeaney.

Entry forms are available for downloading on the Royal Alfred website from next Monday (29th September).

#Laser - Foiling Laser pioneer Peter Stephinson is currently on a tour of the UK to evangelise the potential of his easy add-on kit that can turn any Laser dinghy into a foiling rocket to give even the dedicated Moth a run for its money.

According to Sail World, Stephinson – who teamed with Moth class president Ian Ward to develop the concept in their native Australia, forming Glide Free Design – has kicked off his visit in Portsmouth, getting World Laser Masters champ Nick Harrison up to speed with a set of this company's Glide Free Foils.

Just over a year ago Afloat.ie reported on their foiling Laser kit going on sale, allowing Laser sailors to easily convert their vessels to foil across the water like the popular Moth class – reputed to be the fastest dinghy in the world – but without the expense such ultra-modern vessels entail.

Sadly Stephinson's itinerary doesn't seem to include a visit to Irish shores – though it's only a short trip to Britain for anyone who wants to see the remarkable foil conversion kit in action.

#isafsantander – The game will be wide open in the Laser and Laser Radial at the Santander 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championship with large numbers gunning for World Championship glory and a Rio 2016 Olympic place. Ireland takes its place on the Laser start line with newly crowned national champion James Espey and Finn Lynch seeking Rio qualification while Annalise Murphy is aiming for Laser Radial qualification in just under two weeks time.

Seventy two nations featuring 150 sailors will compete in the Laser fleet whilst 58 nations will sail in the 120-boat Laser Radial fleet. Both fleets will kick start racing in Santander on Friday 12 September.

Santander 2014 acts as the first qualification regatta for the Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition. Twenty three Laser and 19 Laser Radial nation spots are there for the taking which will make for tight and fierce competition on the Bay of Biscay.

Brazil's Robert Scheidt heads to Santander as the defending champion having taken his ninth Laser world title at the 2013 class World Championship in Al Mussanah, Oman. Since returning to the Laser in March 2013 Scheidt has picked up where he left off, racing at the front of the pack.

Throughout the 2013-2014 ISAF Sailing World Cup series Scheidt has continually been at the top of the leaderboard with silver in Miami, a ninth in Mallorca and a fourth in Hyeres to his name. With a tenth Laser world title in sight the Brazilian is excited to head onto the Santander race track, "It's going to be a huge regatta and I've never sailed there but I've heard it's very challenging with different courses with different conditions so I'm really looking forward to it.

"We know it's not going to be easy. The Laser is a very tough and demanding boat and there are a lot of good guys at the moment pushing very hard. I think I'll have my chances so I'll go there and play the game."

For the Brazilian sailors across the ten Olympic fleets the pressure to qualify for Rio 2016 is off with the host nation automatically receiving one spot in each event. For the Brazilian Laser sailors, Scheidt, Bruno Fontes and Alex Veeren it is a weight off their shoulders with all efforts and focus channelled towards top finishes, "We don't have to make a good result at the worlds but at the end of the day when you go to a regatta you always go to try and win regardless of the qualification system. A lot of the good guys already know that they're going to take a spot and do the best they can," concluded Scheidt.

Australia's Tom Burton heads into Santander as the man in form and the one to beat. Burton has amassed three consecutive race victories in highly competitive fields. He took ISAF Sailing World Cup Mallorca and Hyeres gold before winning on Rio 2016 Olympic waters at the first test event, Aquece Rio International Sailing Regatta 2014 in August.

After a ninth at the last World Championship Burton has his eyes on the prize in the Spanish city, "Going into Oman the goal was to win the Worlds and I was pretty disappointed with how I went and the result there. Santander, definitely, I want to win the worlds. A few years back I was thinking, 'yeah win the worlds that would be pretty good', I was young and time is moving on so it's now time to start winning."

Burton has five World Championship appearances under his belt, building up knowledge and experience and he knows that in the competitive field anyone, on their day, can strike gold, "Robert will always be tough to beat at the worlds. For myself the worlds is a step up and only happens once a year so it's tough to get the experience of that atmosphere but Robert's been there so many times, won it so many times it's probably a little bit more chilled for him.

"Tonci's [Stipanovic (CRO)] been the most on form this season and I think he's got his Olympic trials there so he's putting in a bit more effort into it. The usual guys will be up there. Tonci, Robert, Rutger [Van Schaardenburg (NED)] and the Kiwis but it depends who's on form throughout the week. Anyone in the top 20 in the world could be really having a good week and be at the front."

All of the world's top 25 sailors in the Laser will sail in Santander with World #1 Stipanovic, World #2 Nick Thompson (GBR) and World #3 Pavlos Kontides (CYP) coming in with good form and aiming to take gold.

Competition in the 120 boat Laser Radial fleet will be fierce with any sailor who brings their A-game capable of taking gold.

Throughout the 2013-2014 ISAF Sailing World Cup series there were separate winners' at all five regattas. Dongshuang Zhang (CHN) took gold on her home waters in Qingdao, Tatiana Drozdovskaya (BLR) claimed the Melbourne honours, Paige Railey (USA) defended her Miami title, Marit Bouwmeester (NED) dominated the Mallorca field and Evi Van Acker (BEL) stormed to Hyeres gold.

All will be in contention in Santander but several other contenders will be full to the brim with confidence and optimism ahead of racing inlcuding Ireland's Annalise, fourth in the 2012 Olympics and European champion in 2013.

Denmark's Anne-Marie Rindom has consistently been at the front of the pack in the Laser Radial over the last 12 months yet lacked a major title. Her breakthrough came at the Aquece Rio International Sailing Regatta 2014, the Rio 2016 Test Event, where she took gold in a world class field.

With Rio gold behind her Rindom is full of positivity going into Santander, "It's good to win before the World's next month," said the Dane after racing in Rio, "It's a good signal that you can sail at the Olympic venue.

"Top ten in Santander will be really good because then we will have funding for next year and that's the most important thing. Also it is important to get a national place for the Olympics, that will be really good but I'm also going for a medal now I know I can do it. I am looking forward to it."

At the Rio Test Event the Radial fleet were pushed to the max with big waves and plenty of breeze on the race courses outside of Guanabara Bay. The conditions were not too dissimilar to those expected on the race courses in Santander with the Bay of Biscay famous for big swell.

Ireland's Annalise Murphy thrived in the big conditions in Rio and goes into the ISAF Worlds eager, "I was in Santander training just before I came here [Rio Test Event] and it's a really nice place to sail. Again there's really big waves so maybe being here will help a little bit.

"I want to go and have a good event and qualify the country for the Olympics and try and race well. I'm looking forward to it, it's a big world championship and it's my goal of the year and I can't wait.

"If I can sail well and race well I want to try and be at the top of the fleet and kind of see how it goes. I've been pretty up and down this year but I'm going to try and do the simple stuff right and hopefully the results will come. It's going to be a really good event and really competitive."

Croatia's Tina Mihelic won gold at the 2013 Laser Radial World Championship in Rizhao, China and will aim to defend her title in Santander. Further contenders for the podium positions will be 2014 European Champion Svenja Weger (GER), Alison Young (GBR) and World #6 Tuula Tenkanen (FIN).

The Laser and Laser Radial fleets will be the first to commence racing in Santander and will take to the water on Friday 12 September for two races. The Qualification Series will conclude on 13 September with four races deciding the gold, silver and bronze fleets.

Final series racing will start on 14 September with 15 September a reserve day. Tuesday 16 and Wednesday 17 will see the Medal Race places decided before the finale on Thursday 18 September where the medallists will be decided.

#lasersailing – After three days of strong winds, the final day of the Zhik Laser National Championships was always forecast for light breeze before strengthening in the afternoon writes Mark Mackey. Race Officer Robin Gray attempted several early starts but the wind kept shifting from side to side and it was early afternoon before things settled down. It meant there was time for only one race as an early time limit jad been agreed so that people could get home.

James Espey again took the lead on the downwind in the Standards and led the way home. Fionn Lyden eventually overtook Finn Lynch in a close battle to take second place and also second place overall. Finn had to settle for third overall though also added 1st Irish Laser Youth to the World Under 19 title won two weeks ago. This was James Espey's fifth Irish National title matching the record of Bill O'Hara. Bill was also competing here coming 14th (3rd Master), before flying off tomorrow or get ready as Race Officer for the upcoming Volvo Round the World Race. Thomas Chaix was first Master.

In the Radial class, Cian Byrne won the final race from Annalise Murphy and with it second place overall. Annalise won overall (her second Nationals title) and was 1st Lady. Liam Glynn had been leading Cian overall coming into today although only by one point. Unfortunately a bad start and an early yellow flag for body pumping put paid to any chances of Liam catching Cian. Ross O'Sullivan had another consistent day to take 4th overall.

4.7 winner Johnny Durcan

Johnny Durcan continued to show his great form at the top of the Laser 4.7 fleet adding a second to his tally, finishing with only eight net points overall and ten points ahead of his nearest rival Rory Fekkes. Rory Caslin won the final race but this was still only good enough for 3rd overall with Scott Levie in 4th.

Ron Hutchieson was given a special award at the prize giving for 35 years of continuous service to the Laser class by event organiser Paddy Brow and ILA's Colin Leonard. Many thanks were given to the Race Officer Robin Gray, safety lead Ruth Mullan and the many volunteers for another great event.

Standard
1st James Espey Ballyholme YC/ RUYC (1),1,1,1,1,1
2nd Fionn Lyden Schull SC 2,(6),3,2,3,2
3rd Finn Lynch (1st Youth) National YC 3,2,(6),3,2,3
4th Darragh O'Sullivan Kinsale YC 7,5,2,4,4,(8)
5th Colin Leonard Ballyholme YC 4,3,4,6,(8),5

11th Thomas Chaix (1st Master) Kinsale YC 12,12,(13),7,13,12

Radial
1st Annalise Murphy (1st Lady) National YC 1,1,1,2,(3),2
2nd Cian Byrne Royal Cork YC 2,6,6,1,(7),1
3rd Liam Glynn Ballyholme YC (6),4,5,3,2,22
4th Ross O'Sullivan Kinsale YC (16),5,3,4,4,5
5th Conor O'Beirne Royal St George (11),7,2,7,5

4.7
1st Johnny Durcan Royal Cork YC 2,1,1,(13),2,2
2nd Rory Fekkes Ballyholme YC (8),2,4,1,4,7
3rd Rory Caslin National YC (9),4,2,4,8,1
4th Scott Levie Lough Derg YC 1,9,9,11,(40 BFD),3
5th Conor Sherriff Courtown SC 5,8,3,15,6,(16)

Annalise Murphy, Radial winner

James Espey, Standard winner

#lasersailing – After Friday's blowout in the Zhik Irish Laser National Championships, it was great to see the forecast hold true  on Belfast Lough yesterday with a sunny start to the morning and 12-15 knots with a few gusts and lulls along the way writes Mark Mackey. The wind stayed fairly true in direction all day with just the odd hole or squall to cope with.

Although only 2 races have been completed so far, the Laser organisation opted to stick to 3 one hour races rather than try to catch up on the schedule. James Espey in the Laser Standard again rose to the fore winning all three races and apart from the first race when Darragh O'Sullivan held him off till the first downwind, led the rest of the fleet around all the marks. Behind James, there has been great competition. Fionn "Stallion" Lyden has shown great speed downwind (or faster than Colin Leonard who came 4th in Race 1). Finn Lynch dropped out of the first group on Race 1 but cam back to score 3 and 2 on the next races and liers equal with Fionn going into the final day.

In the Radial fleet, Annalise Murphy lies first with only 5 nett point sbut had a more mixed day with some of the future young stars mixing it up. Last year's Topper World Champion and in his first year in Radials - Liam Glynn had a good day with 5,3,2 and lies in scond place overall from Cian Byrne. ISAF Youth Worlds silver medallist Seafra Guilfoyle had a worse day even with a bullet in the final race, scoring a DNF and BFD in Race 1 and 2 and drops down to 13th. Cian Byrne was the other beneficiary and moves up to 3rd overall with a win in Race 2 today.

Ballyholme's Sorcha Donnelly (who sails from Skerries but has always competed from BYC) led Race 2 but misread the earlier staring flags - one of the Irish Radial nuances is that they drop the "sausage" if there is a general recall. Race Officer Robin Gray, getting used to the tricks of some forcing general recalls so that they have shorter races, started using AP's instead 5 seconds before the start meaning they should have sailed the longer course. Sorcha led at the first mark and took a group of her fellow radials with her around the wrong course scoring RET in the end.

In the 4.7 fleet young Royal Cork's Johnny Durcan continues to set the bar with a 1 and 2, leading from Ballyholme's Rory Fekkes who won Race 2 today. Ronan Walsh, another Cork youngster, won the final race of the day

Overall:

Standards

1 James Espey 1,1,1,1,1,
2 Finn Lynch (Youth) 3,2,6,3,2
3 Fionn Lyden 2,6,3,2,3
4 Darragh O'Sullivan 7,5,2,4,4
5 Colin Leonard 4,3,4,6,8
9 Nick Walsh (Master) 14,4,11,16,12

Radials:

1 Annalise Murphy 1,1,1,2,3
2 Liam Glynn 6,4,5,3,2
3 Cian Byrne 2,6,6,1,7
4 Ross O'Sullivam 16,5,3,4,4
5 Conor O'Beirne 11,7,2,7,5

4.7

1. Johnny Durcan 2,1,1,13,2
2. Rory Fekkes 8,2,4,1,4
3. Rory Caslin 9,4,2,4,8
4. Conor Sheriff 5,8,3,15,6
5. Ronan Walsh 18,16,7,2,1

#laser – There was no racing today on Day 2 of Zhik Irish Laser National Championships on Belfast lough. Race Officer Robin Gray sent the three fleets totalling 130 boats afloat after a one hour postponement but after 30 minutes they were all sent home again after the breeze started to build. Racing starts again tomorrow at 10:55