#olympicsailing – There appears to be little chance of a successful Irish defence of the women's Laser European radial title in Croatia this week. Annalise Murphy's scoresheet after five races places her in 60th overall from 92 competitors, relegating her to silver fleet competition for the rest of the event. 

Winds have been light and shifty, not the conditions favoured by Ireland's breeze queen who shot to European success on home waters in near gale conditions last September. 

A better breeze arrived for the third day of the Laser Europeans in Split yesterday. Still shifty, but the strength was better, 10 to 14 knots. Two races for all fleets, without waiting, a really great day, last day of the qualifiers. A summer storm forced the race committee to call it a day after two races, they had to send the fleet home.

Annalise ends the qualifiers with 35,32,19, 26 and 20 and can only look on at the consistency of  top performers Germany's Svenga Weger (1,4,2,1,4) and Holland's Marit Boumeester (2,2,2,3,2) first and second respectively.

Ireland's Erica Ruigrok lies near Murphy in 63rd. 

In the men's class Robert Scheidt (BRA) sits on the top of the leaderboard. Only one point seperates Scheidt and Tonci Stipanović (CRO) in the second place, who is the leader for the European title. Ireland's James Espey, the London 2012 representative, is 80th in a fleet of 132.

#annalisemurphy – After two days of competition, Annalise Murphy's defence of her European Laser title has got off to a poor start in Croatia. The Dubliner lies 65th overall after counting 35, 32 and a 19 in some very light wind sailing off the Croatian port of Split. 

Today there was only one race for all fleets, a second was not possible because of unstable winds. In the 92–boat Radial women fleet the top girls made no mistakes, however so there are not that many changes in the overall ranking. Murphy's arch rival Marit Bouwmeester (NED) however has found conditions very much to her liking and is still in the lead, with another great performance, a second today, followed by Svenja Weger (GER), who also finished second today. In third place is Chloe Martin (GBR).  Irish girl Erica Ruigrok is 33rd overall.

Results to date posted on a very basic event website here

#moth – Six wins for Rory Fitzpatrick of the National Yacht Club gave him the overall lead in the second round of the Irish Moth tour at Howth Yacht Club at the weekend. The Dubliner discarded a second in the penultimate round of the foiling class to be a clear winner ahead of club mate John Chambers who had three seconds and four thirds in the seven race series (video above). Third was Wexford's Ronan Wallace and fourth the National's Annalise Murphy. Results available to download below. 

#annalisemurphy – Annalise Murphy has won Eurosaf Gold again on Lake Garda this afternoon in a commanding display of heavy air sailing with five race wins in the past week. Twice in a fortnight the Irish Olympic Sailing team is returning home from an international regatta with a medal, a sign of good progress after some early 'rusty' performances this season.

Two weeks ago in France it was the 49er duo Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern but this afternoon it's was reigning European Laser Radial Champion Annalise Murphy's chance to shine.

Some on Lake Garda had come to an early decision about the winner in the Laser Radial fleet with Annalise winning twice on Saturday to give her a 16–point lead on Silvia Zennaro ITA going into today's final. In the end the National Yacht Club sailor easily defended her 2013 Italian Eurosaf crown, taking out Zennaro in a pre–start manoeuvre at the medal race. Later she would tweet: 'Medal race went to plan!'

Murphy shrugged off a first race 33rd result on Tuesday to overhaul her 39–boat fleet with a sizeable overall lead.The Dubliner won five of the eight races, admittedly in a fleet devoid of some of her fiercest Olympic rivals, but nevertheless a convincing performance that concluded with a sixth in today's final.

Delighted to win here at Lake Garda! Medal race went to plan! All packed up now just before the lightning storm! pic.twitter.com/7WCtPhtLUT

— Annalise Murphy (@Annalise_Murphy) May 11, 2014

Unfortunately, the Irish 49er (Afloat's Sailors of the month for April) duo were unable to make amends for a boat handling error yesterday as the 49er medal race was cancelled today leaving them in fourth overall at Italian Olympic week. 

Full results for all classes here

The next round of action for the Irish Olympic sailing team (and another medal?) is in a fortnight's time at Holland's Delta Lloyd regatta.

#olympicsailing – Annalise Murphy took another race win to make it three in a row for the Laser Radial European champion on Lake Garda yesterday but a 16th in race six yesterday evening may yet prove costly for the Dubliner who is defending her Eurosaf crown at Vela Garda Trentino, Italian Olympic week. She counts 23 points overall, just three points off overall leader, the Italian Silvia Zennaro.

Conditions were lighter than normal on the lake with the local Ora wind not as strong as had been forecast.

In the mens 49er, Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern dropped to fourth yesterday in their 23–boat fleet having previously held second overall.  

In the women's 49erfx Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey are 17th after nine races in their 28–boat fleet.

Full results here. Racing continues this morning.

#eurosaf – Two race wins moves Ireland's Annalise Murphy up seven places overall in the second day of Italian Olympic week on Lake Garda. The Laser Radial European champion made it a clean sweep in races three and four to lie 14 points off the overall lead held by Amelie Riou of France.

In the mens 49er class Ireland's Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern have also moved up to second overall after counting a 3 and 4 in today's races.

In the women's 49erfx class Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey are 18th after four races sailed. 

Results and regatta site here.

Racing continues tomorrow.

#olympicsailing – Dublin's Annalise Murphy lies 15th overall from 39 starters after the first day of Italy's only round of the Eurosaf sailing cup. The National Yacht Club sailors is counting a 33 and a 4. Belfast lough team mates Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern, Afloat's Sailors of the Month for April, are 11th in the mens 23–boat 49er fleet.

The Lasers began the Olympic Week on Lake Garda with three races sailed in a moderate 12–knot 'Ora' wind. In the mens division, Robert Scheidt BRA took the lead in the good-qualitiy Laser Standard fleet ahead of Nick Thompson GBR.

In the Lasers Radial, Anne-Marie Rindom DEN has taken the lead after two races, in front of Silvia Zennaro ITA and Amélie Riou FRA. 

In the womens 49erfx class, Dun Laoghaire pairing Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey are 21 from 28 competing.

Results here.

#swchyeres – In a significant boost to their campaign for Rio 2016, Irish Olympic skiff sailors Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern from Belfast Lough are medal contenders at the final day of the ISAF World Cup regatta in France tomorrow. The 49er duo finished five days of fleet racing this afternoon in third place overall. Of 80 teams competing, only the top 10 will now sail a further three races on Saturday – each worth double points – to determine the medals. Although 23 points separate the NI pair from Kiwi leaders Peter Burling and Blair Tuke the gold is still within reach.

Laser radial sailor Annalise Murphy will also be competing in a medal race tomorrow. The Laser Radial class will only have one double points race before the gold, silver and bronze are awarded. Murphy is currently lying in eighth place but separated from the top three by 36 points.

Three other Irish teams also competing at the event finished racing today. In the Paralympic Sonar class John Twomey, Ian Costelloe and Austin O'Carroll finished in seventh place overall. Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey finished 16th out of 42.  James Espey was sailing in the men's Laser Standard fleet of 123 and finished 71st.

swchyeres – Irish Olympic sailing team chances of medals at the closing round of the ISAF world cup in France were boosted again last night when Annalise Murphy broke into the top ten of the 79–boat Laser Radial fleet. It adds to the breakthrough performance of the Irish 49er of Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern who, barring a disaster in today's penultimate rounds in Hyeres look assured of a place – if not a medal – in tomorrow's three race medal finals. Seaton and McGovern who have a string of consistent results after 15 races lie second overall as reported in this morning's Irish Times Sailing Column. 

Lying second after the opening races Murphy dropped to fifteenth after a start line infringement but has steadily improved, moving up to 12th on Wednesday, 11th after race eight yesterday and now in seventh for the last two fleet races ahead of tomorrow's medal climax.

A gold fleet finish for Royal Irish newcomers Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey is also progress in the women's 49erfx class.

There is disappointment for London 2012's James Espey who lies 71st in the mens Laser fleet having made the gold fleet in Mallorca three weeks ago. 

#swchyeres – Sailing a consistent series that counts no result out of the top ten after nine races (3 7 7 6 2 8 (10) 3 3), has put Ireland's Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern into  second overall at the ISAF World Cup in Hyeres. Now  just 11 points off the overall lead the Irish skiff duo's result thus far is a stand–out performance in the 80–boat fleet.

The Irish pair finished a disappointing 35th at ISAF Sailing World Cup Mallorca but impressed in the gold fleet today with a discarded tenth and two thirds. After racing Seaton said, "It's the second regatta for us this year and we're just getting back into it.

"It was a pretty solid day. We really wanted to get good starts and try to be consistent and it turned out to be quite a good day. It was very tricky with the fleet really close and the racing's really good. Everybody's trying to get prepared in the build-up to the Santander Worlds and the fleet is getting more competitive."

See short interview with Ryan Seaton in the above ISAF vid.

With a full complement of races completed thus far the leader boards are shaping up nicely with fine margins between the world's top sailing talents.

After a short morning postponement the 1,111 sailors were greeted with an increasing 13-17 knot westerly breeze as well as a smooth sea state. Racing kicked off shortly after 12:00 local time.

After seven races in the Laser Radial class, Annalise Murphy has also moved up from 15th to 12th overall with a gold fleet win in race seven this afternoon to bring her to within six points of the top ten in her 79–boat fleet.

But It's now a familiar picture in the Laser Radial with Evi Van Acker (BEL) and Marit Bouwmeester (NED) battling it like old times.

A second and a third apiece ensures Van Acker leads on nine points with Bouwmeester on 11 points.

Tatiana Drozdovskaya (BLR) holds on to third overall following a ninth and a fifth.

Belfast's James Espey is 75th in his 123–boat  mens Laser fleet after six races.

Ireland's new women's skiff combination have retained their teens position, Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey lie 17th from 42 after nine races in the 49erfx Olympic debutante class.

Racing commences at 11:00 local time on Thursday 24 April as the sailors enter a critical point of the regatta.