#sailoroftheyear - You followed her impressive exploits right here on Afloat.ie throughout the year, and your votes counted. So it's only right that our Olympic sailing hero Annalise Murphy should receive the honour of being named Afloat.ie Sailor of the Year for 2012.

The young sailor was recognised for a remarkable 12 months of incredible achievement, capped off by her stirring performance at the London Olympics - and topped a shortlist that featured fellow Olympic challengers Peter O'Leary and David Burrows, and such up-and-coming talents as Sophie Browne, Finn Lynch and Fionn Lyden.

Murphy's simply outstanding fourth-place finish in the Laser Radial at the London Games was Ireland's best Olympic result in 30 years in any class. Despite the heartbreak of so narrowly missing out on Olympic bronze in the medal race, her accomplishment was appreciated far beyond the Irish sailing community, and raised the profile of the sport in Ireland immeasurably.

The then 22-year-old, who sails for the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire, had the entire country on edge last August as she battled with what Afloat's own WM Nixon described as the "fierce challenge" of being top of the Women's Laser Radial class, in stature as well as performance.

At 6ft 1in, the woman they call 'The Irish Lever' was undoubtedly the tallest in her 41-boat fleet at London 2012, and some British yachting pundits were quick to put down her early regatta wins purely to her larger frame.

But Murphy - who headed to the Olympics with confidence after a podium finish at the Skandia Sail for Gold, and a medal at Weymouth the previous year - proved that her success was no fluke, holding the gold medal position for almost half the regatta and entering the last race in third place overall.

 

Facing unbelievable pressure as the regatta reached its final stages on the Nothe course in Weymouth, in tricky conditions that would spread wide the times of most club racers, it's to Murphy's estimable credit that she was able to keep so tight with the front-runners, and it was only in the last few seconds - and last few metres - that she was knocked out of the bronze position.

 

We'll never forget the tears she shed after the medal race's conclusion - the whole of Ireland shared in her heartbreak. But we also shared the belief that that was but one setback in a world-class sailing career that's only just beginning.

Considering the talented and dedicated NYC sailor and UCD student is still only 23, there's clearly plenty of sailing success awaiting in her future, and she starts 2013 on her 'Road to Rio' aiming to clinch a medal at the 2016 Olympic Games.

In spite of losing out on a podium finish at the ISAF Sailing World Cup in Miami earlier this month, the fact that she came so close - and led the charge in the early stages - proves that she can stand proudly with the elite in her class. And she'll have another chance to prove herself in the next round of the ISAF World Cup in Palma de Mallorca on 30 March.

The Sailor of the Year honour is the very least the amazing Annalise Murphy deserves for doing Ireland so proud in 2012.

#ISA -  Supporters of Irish sailing are asked to come together for a night of celebration and pay tribute to some of the outstanding contributors to sailing across six categories including the Mitsubishi Motors Club of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, Instructor of the Year and Training Centre of the Year.

Irish sailing's stars of tomorrow - such as ISAF Youth Worlds silver medallist Finn Lynch - are also in the running for the title of Youth Sailor of the Year.

Last year was an incredibly successful year for Irish sailing: 11 sailors represented Ireland at both the London Olympic and Paralympic Games, dozens of medals were claimed at events around the world and we played host to such high profile events as the ISAF Youth Worlds, the Volvo Ocean Race finale, the Tall Ships Race and the MOD 70s, to name but a few.

The ISA Awards Ball is the occasion to celebrate 12 months of successes and also launch the 2013 season in style. Tickets for the ball are €65 per person and must be booked by Friday 22 February 2013. Full details can be found at the ISA website HERE.

#sailor of the month – Annalise Murphy of the National YC in Dun Laoghaire is the Irish Afloat.ie/Irish Independent "Sailor of the Month" for August following her outstanding performance in the London Olympics. The talented and dedicated 22-year-old had the entire country in thrall as she battled with the fierce challenge of being top of the Women's Laser Radial class, and her fourth place overall, shy of a medal by fractions of a second, is the best Irish Olympic Sailing Result for thirty years.

Merely to describe her result as fourth overall fails completely to capture the essence of Murphy's performance. For about half of the regatta, she was in the Gold Medal slot. Then having slipped down to bronze rankings, she regained the top place with only one race to sail.

At this level of sailing, being top leaves a helm open to all sorts of joint challenges by those nearest in rankings. Like it or not, this is the way it is in sailing. Because there are ten boats involved, and with the wind being the motive power, the opportunities to block off a clear breeze or create other distractions for those heading the points table are there for the taking. When a leader is slowed back by one boat, two or three others can climb up the rankings at the previous leader's expense.

With four of the world's top women sailors in contention for the Gold going into that final race, the pressure was unbelievable. And with the race being staged in the fluky breezes close in off the Nothe at Weymouth, tiny gains could suddenly become significant gaps through vagaries of the wind.

It tells us everything about the stratospheric level of sailing in the Olympics that despite conditions which would have seen club racers spread over a wide time band, the Women's Laser Radials were finishing in tight order. But within that order, it was the Irish girl who - after leading for most of the series - lost out in the final leg.

But despite the outcome, throughout Ireland - maybe for the first time - people fully appreciated what is involved. Through her achievements and popular appeal, Annalise Murphy did more to raise the profile of our sport than any other Irish sailor in this extraordinary year, or indeed for many years.

#roadtorio – 'A bit disastrously' is how Annalise Murphy describes the outcome of Saturday's three short medal races in Florida where the Irish one time leader of the USA Olympic classes regatta went from first to fourth overall, denying her a place on the podium in her first event on the road to Rio 2016.

'So things didn't go to plan today. Actually they went a bit disastrously...but I had a good week, learned a lot and felt like I really improved, the top Irish sailor concluded last night on her facebook page.

The video above from race organisers shows yesterday's medal race finals with the Laser radial action, inlcuding Annalise's start in the final race at 8:18 on the timeline and some upwinds shots of Annalise at 8:25.

The medal race results were in stark contrast to last Friday when Murphy stormed back to regain the overall lead with two race wins to go in to yesterday's medal races as the top sailor after a week long battle of 13 races in her 29-boat Laser Radial fleet.

Sparkling conditions on Biscayne Bay and 20-knot winds had given Ireland's 'Breeze Queen' the perfect opportunity to strike home her heavy air advantage.

But on Saturday Murphy who celebrated her 23rd birthday on Friday suffered against American rival Paige Railey as winds that had offered up steady breeze of 15-20 knots all week dropped as low as eight knots and were very shifty for the medal race finale.

In the second medal race, Annalise was leading into the finish line but along with a Canadaian sailor received a yellow flag penalty.

Last night there was annoyance expressed in the Irish camp with ISAFs complex new scoring system trialled at Miami for the first time. The contention is that the new system is unfair because Annalise was one of the most consistent throughout the week yet ended up losing out only in the final very short medal race rounds.

It is likely team management will focus now on improving Annalise's performances outside of the big wind conditions in which she clearly dominates.

Railey, the Florida local was outstanding in the medal rounds. The 2012 Olympian and 2006 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year was the most consistent sailor. She won the first two races of the day and placed fourth in race 15. She won by 14 points over World #5 Tuula Tenkanen (FIN), who won silver. Canadian Isabella Bertold secured the bronze medal. She won race 15. Murphy had to make do with scores of 10,16,14 in the double counting, no discardable three medal races pushing her into fourth. The final score in the new format competition is the six race series plus the medal race scores.

Murphy who was racing for Ireland's first ever World Cup win in the Laser Radial class, a feat that would have been a terrific boost on her road to Rio 2016 will get another chance on March 30 at the next round of the ISAF World Cup in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

Eight Olympic class events raced for medals on Saturday's finale of the 2013 ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami. Once again, conditions on the emerald waters of Biscayne Bay mixed with the high level of competition and medal race urgency, allowed these sailors to evaluate their abilities and determine where they rank among the world's best.

Sarah Newberry and John Casey (USA) capped a fantastic regatta in the intriguing Nacra 17 event. For nearly the entire week, Newberry and Casey were at the top of the leaderboard. They were fifth in today's medal race and won the gold medal by five points. Finishing with silver was Sarah Streater and Matthew Whitehead (USA). Taylor Reiss and Sarah Lihan (USA) won bronze.

"Throughout the event we were focused on communication," said Newberry. "What carried us through was communicating about what was happening on the boat immediately on the race course, and in the end the ability to explain the situation. I'm sure at the highest end of sailing, especially when you're a woman and a man you don't always speak the same language."

"It was such a tough medal race. One minute we thought we were dead last and had to crawl back. In the end John told me we won, but I needed a minute to take it in," said Newberry.

Making another serious run at her fifth Olympic Games is Women's 470 sailor Fernanda Oliveira. The Brazilian skipper is a 2008 Olympic bronze medalist. Oliveira and Ana Luiza Barbachuan captured gold here in Miami this week. They finished second in today's medal race and won by 15 points. The Chinese teams performed well in the Women's 470. Xiaoli Wang and Xufeng Huang won the silver medal and Xiaomei Xu and Chunyan Yu will take home bronze.

Like so many Brazilian sailors, Oliveira is eager to compete for Olympic gold in her home country in Rio 2016. "This is different for me because I did four Games, each time with a different crew, but now I'm with the same crew," she explained. "It starts easier for us, but we don't live in Rio, so we need to go there often to train and we have a lot of work to do. It's a difficult place to race and the conditions are special."

Americans Stuart McNay and David Hughes finished strong in the Men's 470 medal race. Their second place result granted them the gold medal. McNay and Hughes won by a five point margin over medal race winners and silver medalists Matthias Schmid and Floran Reichstaedter (AUT). Another Austrian team reached the podium, as David Bargehr and Lucas Maher claimed the bronze.

"The bottom line was that we were trying to stay close to the Austrians today," said McNay. "We got a good start on the pin, but they still had an early lead. Some tacking ensued that drove the action back into the fleet, so we had to fight for our regatta win."

The top six teams in the 49er and 49er FX events advanced to Saturday's respective medal races. The medal races were conducted using a unique format and challenging course. The theater style course included two enclosed parallel lanes approximately 400 meters long and 220 meters wide. The first boat to win two races wins the regatta. Teams entering the medal races with the lead from the fleet series will begin this stage with a win.

In a compelling medal race series, Fred Strammer and Zach Brown (USA) edged Ryan Pesch and Trevor Burd (USA) for the gold medal. Strammer and Brown entered the medal races with a carryover win from their first place fleet racing series. Pesch and Burd finished just ahead of Strammer and Brown to win the first medal race. They finished first and second again in the second medal race, with Strammer and Brown prevailing. Sebastian Ostling and Kalle Torlen (SWE) joined the Americans on the podium as bronze medalists.

The 49er FX medal race series lasted just one race. Fleet series leaders Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze won the first medal race, which put an end to an impressive run this week by the Brazilians. They totaled seven wins this week. Anna Tunnicliffe and Molly Vandemoer were third today and won the silver medal. Finishing second today and earning the bronze was Kristen Lane and Molly Carapiet (USA).

It was a tremendous week for Finn sailor Caleb Paine (USA). He won today's first medal race to seal the gold medal by 14 points. Canadian Greg Douglas won the silver medal and was third today. Jorge Zarif (BRA) finished third overall for bronze. He got off to a great start this week by winning four of his first seven races.

It was a great three-race medal series today for Estonia's Lasor sailor Karl-Martin Rammo who won two of three races and finished second in race 14. However, Sweden's Jesper Stalheim collected gold medal honors. Rammo earned the silver and Charlie Buckingham (USA) garnered bronze medal honors.

"Miami is really shifty," said Stalheim. "There was a bit more breeze in Miami than usual, so there was a lot of hiking. I was super fast on the downwind so that was great. It felt like the last day was super important, maybe a bit too much."

For the final standings, visit the results section of the event website.

Final top three by class

2.4
1. Megan Pascoe, GBR, 18 points
2. Allan Leibel, CAN, 21
3. Bruce Millar, CAN, 22
49er
1. Strammer / Brown, USA, 4.0 points
2. Pesch / Burd, USA, 5.0
3. Oestling / Torlen, SWE, 10.0
470
1. Stuart McNay / David Hughes, USA, 22
2. Matthias Schmid / FLorian Reichstaedter, AUS, 27
3. David Bargehr / Lukas Mahr, AUS, 57
Finn
1. Caleb Paine, USA, 20
2. Greg Douglas, CAN, 34
3. Jorge Zarif, BRA, 43
49er FX
1. Martine Soffiatti / Kahena Kunze, BRA, 2.0
2. Anna Tunnicliffe / Molly Vandemoer, USA, 5.0
3. Kristen Lane / Molly Carapiet, USA, 8.0
Laser
1. Jesper Stalheim, SWE, 46
2. Karl-Martin Rammo, EST, 50
3. Charlie Buckingham, USA, 54
Laser Radial
1. Paige Railey, USA, 20
2. Tuula Tenkanen, FIN, 34
3. Isabella Bertold, CAN, 40
Nacra17
1. Sarah Newberry / John Casey, USA, 22
2. Sarah Streater / Matthew Whitehead, USA, 27
3. Taylor Reiss / Sarah Lihan, USA, 35
RSX Men
1. Ivan Pastor, ESP
2. Nick Dempsey, GBR
3. Dorian Van Rijssbelberghe, NED
RSX Women
1. Maayan Davidovich, ISR
2. Tuuli Petaja-Siren, FIN
3. BLannca Mancon Dominguez, ESP
Sonar
1. Wang-Hansen / Solberg / Kristiansen, NOR, 19
2. Fisher / Hersey / Levinson, USA, 28
3. Doerr / Kendell / Freund, USA, 29

#road to rio – Annalise Murphy lost her overall lead at the Miami Olympic classes regatta in Florida this afternoon but the Irish solo sailor stays very much in contention as the competition enters its final stage.

American Olympian Paige Railey, sailing on home waters, now has an overall edge of two points going into Friday's final two races before Saturday's Laser Radial Medal Race on Biscayne Bay.

In the above video (from three minutes 28 seconds) there are some clips of Annalise leading, then hitting a weather mark in the final race yesterday afternoon.

Biscayne Bay was surrounded by overcast conditions on Thursday. Wind speed fluctuated throughout the day and ranged from as light as four knots to as high as 15

The Laser Radials started a new series on Thursday.

Paige Railey (USA) asserted herself by winning the two of three races. She has won three of the last four races to take a two point lead. Her discard is a six. Finishing second twice today was Murphy. She started the new series with a lead. The World #5 Tuula Tenkanen won race seven.

It was a critical day of racing for the ten Olympic and two Paralympic classes at the 2013 ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami. As the fleet series winds down for these events and in some cases new racing formats go into motion, the time is now for sailors to make a run at the leaderboard.

The regatta's largest event this year is the Laser, which features 70-boats in gold and silver fleets. Sweden's Jesper Stalheim finished the first series, which concluded yesterday, with the lead and he finished today on top of the leaderboard in the new series. He was third and second today, while Charlie Buckingham (USA) overtook second place after winning race nine in the new series. The World #3 Bruno Fontes is in third.

"With the new carryover system and the bonus points for wins they have here for scoring, I'm not sure what will happen. It should be interesting," said Stalheim. "Yesterday, everything fell into place. I'm here to work on my starts and I did well with that. It's a really good fleet this week, especially a year after the Olympics." Stalheim finished third at the Laser European Championship (France) in June and won the Laser Europa Cup (Denmark) in September.

Fontes finished #13th at the Olympics and second last year at World Cup Miami. "Keeping the clean starts with good speed has helped me a lot this week," said Fontes. "I'm a smaller guy so to be good in strong wind I need to work a lot in the gym. Now I need to improve a bit more in light wind because the main goal is Olympics, and Rio is light wind. For me, Rio is the highest goal in my life. With the Olympics in my home country, I am excited to work hard to be ready and do my best to get a medal."

The Finns wrapped up another competitive day of racing and Caleb Paine (USA) extended his lead to seven points. The Finn U.S. National Champion won race seven and was third in race eight. World #1 and ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne Champion Brendan Casey (AUS) is in second. He was third and second today. Casey is impressed with the new wave of talent in the Finn class.

"I've come to Miami to race against the world's best that are currently sailing to see where I stack up," said Casey. "I'm 35 years of age now, so I'm probably at the tail end of my sailing, but I'm still very competitive. The younger guys like Caleb Paine are at the start of their sailing journey and Greg Douglas too. Those are the two guys to watch out for in the future."

In the Men's 470, Matthias Schmid and Floran Reichstaedter (AUS) had a disappointing day on the water and American's Stuart McNay and David Hughes catapulted to an 11-point lead. McNay and Hughes were second and first in today's races, while Schmid and Reichstaedter were 10th and 11th. The 11 becomes their discard and the 10 applies to their score.

In the Women's 470, Brazil's Fernanda Oliveira and Ana Luiza Barbachan are pulling away. Their win in race seven and fifth in race eight put them in the lead by 12 points over China's Xiaomei Xu and Chunyan Yu.

Dorian Van Rijssbelberghe (NED) excelled in Thursday's quarterfinal series by finishing first, second and third today in the Men's RS:X event. Finland's Tuuli Petäjä took control of the Women's RS:X event by winning two of three races this afternoon in the quarterfinals. Both events conducted quarterfinal repechage rounds. For a detailed explanation of the Laser and Laser Radial scoring format, see the section at the bottom of the recap.

Despite a tenth place finish in race eight, Fred Strammer and Zach Brown (USA) maintain a six point lead in the 49er event. They posted third place results in race seven and nine. Ryan Pesch and Trevor Burd (USA) moved into second place.

Brazil's Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze held ground on Thursday in the 49er FX. They lead Anna Tunnicliffe and Molly Vandemoer (USA) by five points. Grael and Kunze won race 12, while Tunnicliffe and Vandemoer won race 10. Both teams have a six as their discard.

Sarah Newberry and John Casey (USA) are sailing away from the entire fleet. They have an impressive 11-point lead through four days of racing in the Nacra 17 event. The won race eight to cap another outstanding performance. The duo has won six of eight races this week.

It will be a four way race for the 2.4 mR title on Friday's final day of racing. Bruce Millar (CAN) and Megan Pascoe (GBR) each have 16 points through eight races, while Allan Leibel (CAN) and Bjornar Erikstad (NOR) are close behind with 17 points. Millar led by four coming into today and he sustained a DNC in race eight.

Aleksander Wang-Hansen, Marie Solberg and Per Eugen Kristiansen of Norway expanded their lead from four to five, despite posting a seven in race eight, which now stands as their discard. They are followed by Ireland's John Twomey, Ian Costelloe and Brad Johnson. Racing in the Sonar event concludes on Friday.

#annalisemurphy – Annalise Murphy has extended her lead at the ISAF Sailing World Cup series yesterday, winnning two of the last three races in medium to fresh conditions.

Murphy now has a three point lead over America's Paige Railey, a former world champion, both sailors won a race in the 29-boat Laser Radial class but the Dun Laoghaire sailor took a third in the last race to extend an overall lead she established on Tuesday.

Once again, Biscayne Bay was graced with strong winds that reached 20 knots by the afternoon and significant chop. The weather included mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the high 70s to low 80s.

The Laser Radials are using experimental scoring this week. Sailors will receive a bonus point for each race they win, another boost for the sole Irish competitor. Their first fleet series standings will translate into a single race score for each competitor. Five more races will be sailed in a new series starting today (Thursday) through Friday. Following the five races and six total scores, the top ten will advance to medal race on Saturday. There will be one discard after the second race.  Top three results overall are below.

In a further boost for the Irish team John Twomey/Ian Costelloe/Bradley Johnson lie six points off the lead in second place overall in the Paralympic Sonar keelboat.

The stage is set for mixed multihull racing at Rio 2016. As one of two new Olympic events, the Nacra 17 is making its first appearance in the ISAF Sailing World Cup series this week in Miami.

These doublehanded teams are sorting out new strategies and techniques as they become more comfortable with this fast, light catamaran and its featured curved dagger boards. Many of the sailors competing in the Nacra 17 are making the adjustment from another boat or class. In some cases, sailors are getting acquainted with new teammates as well.

Perhaps no team has made a smoother transition than Sarah Newberry and John Casey (USA). The duo has been dominant through three days of racing on Biscayne Bay. They have won five of the six races, including the last five. Sarah Streater and Matthew Whitehead (USA) have four second-place finishes and trail by four points.

"We've done a lot of training in the F16 and F18, and we're finding the Nacra 17 to fit in terms of power, but not in terms of how the boat actually sails," explained Newberry. "It's a whole new game with the curved foils."

"We worked really hard to find good settings for the breeze. The real challenge for the whole fleet has been dealing with the boats in bigger chop, which is more than what we see when training in the inner bay. When going downwind, the lift in the boat with the chop has made it challenging," she added.

Newberry and Casey have their sights set on the 2013 Nacra 17 World Championship this July in The Netherlands, which will serve as the selection event for US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider.

Puerto Rico's three-time Olympian, Enrique Figueroa, is ecstatic about the fact that multihull racing is back as an Olympic event. "I think it is one of the most exciting events in the Olympics, so having the catamaran come back was good for everybody especially as the sailing world nowadays has a big focus on catamarans," he said.

Figueroa is planning an Olympic campaign with wife Carla Malatrasi. He is making the switch from the Tornado to the Nacra 17. "Getting back into a spinnaker boat was a challenge, especially with a new crew and she's not used to the spinnaker and all it entails. It's been a learning experience for both of us. The Nacra is very physical. The curved boards and the way the boat is going to be sailed eventually is going to require a lot of balance and strength, so of course you've got to hit the gym hard," explained Figueroa.

Fred Strammer and Zach Brown (USA) extended their lead on Wednesday. A DNF in race nine halted their win streak at four. They lead the 49er fleet by nine points over Sweden's Sebastian Oestling and Kalle Torlen and American's Ryan Pesch and Trevor Burd.

Strammer commented on how please he is at the progress the team is making so far in their training. "Our big goal for 2013 was to focus on improving our speed and we've seen already, that our four months of hard work towards that goal has paid off this week. We had more speed yesterday than we really knew what to do with, so it was fantastic," explained Strammer.

"We are planning on racing the other World Cup events his year. Our training includes the World Championships in September and some training in San Francisco with the America's Cup.  We're just trying to work on our fitness and gain some weight. One of the other goals is to do some other sailing, like team racing in the summer and other dinghy sailing," he said.

Brazil's Kahena Kunze and Martine Grael surged into the lead with a tremendous afternoon of racing in the 49er FX event. They finished second in race seven and won races eight and nine to take a four point lead. Anna Tunnicliffe and Molly O'Bryan Vandemoer (USA) also made a run today with third- and second-place finishes. Tunnicliffe, a 2008 Olympic gold medalist in the Laser is also one of the top Women's Match Racers in the world. Tunnicliffe and Vandemoer are in second place.

The World #7 Stuart McNay and his crew David Hughes continue to challenge in the Men's 470. The Americans hold an edge over World #13 Matthias Schmid and Floran Reichstaedter (AUS). McNay and Hughes won the second of two races to take the lead. These two teams are pulling away from the rest of the fleet.

In the Women's 470, Brazil's Fernanda Oliveira and Ana Luiza Barbachan hold a seven point lead over China's Xiaomei Xu and Chunyan Yu.

The 2012 Olympic gold medalist Dorian Van Rijssbelberghe of The Netherlands continued his dominant ways today in the Men's RS:X. He captured first place in both races and has tallied four consecutive wins to take a seven point lead over Brazil's Ricardo Santos.

Defending champion Demita Vega of Mexico held on to the lead with her third place finishes. Today's top women's board sailor was Great Britain's Bryony Shaw. The 2012 Olympian won race five and trails Vega by a point.

Sweden's Jesper Stalheim pulled into the lead with a pair of wins in the Laser event. He took the lead over World #3 Bruno Fontes (BRA). Both Stalheim and Fontes have three wins in six races this week. Stalheim holds a close tie-breaker edge over Fontes. Jean-Baptiste Bernaz (FRA) is just one point behind the leaders. He won race five today.

Caleb Paine (USA) has maintained his lead in the Finn event by six points. He was fourth and second today. Paine has won three of the six races. World #1 Brendan Casey (AUS) is in second place.

The 2012 Paralympic bronze medalists Aleksander Wang-Hansen, Marie Solberg and Per Eugen Kristiansen of Norway expanded their lead from two to four points on Wednesday in the Sonar event. Their day featured a win in race five.

Canadian Bruce Millar won race six to cap another strong performance in the 2.4 mR event. He leads fellow countryman Alan Leibel (CAN) by four.

For the most updated standings, visit the results section of the event website at http://mocr.ussailing.org/index.php/results/.

Regatta Headquarters is located at the US Sailing Center Miami, an official Olympic training center, in the Coconut Grove section of Miami, Fla. Event organizers have partnered with the city of Miami to provide world-class venues for competition. Additional hosts for the event include Coral Reef Yacht Club, Coconut Grove Sailing Club, Miami Rowing Club and Shake-a-Leg Miami. These sailing organizations host classes onshore, as well as help run the on-the-water racing. The Coral Reef Yacht Club also hosts the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

Overall after day 3

Radial Top 3:

1. Annalise Murphy (IRL), 5-[6]-2-0-0-3:10

2. Paige Railey (USA), 4-3-[5]-3-3-0:13

3. Tuula Tenkanen (FIN), 2-2-3-[6]-2-5:14

Sonar Top 3:

1. Aleksander Wang-Hansen/Marie Solberg/Per Eugen Kristiansen (NOR), 1-1-[4]-3-1-2:8

2. John Twomey/Ian Costelloe/Bradley Johnson (IRL), 3-5-2-2-2-[6]:14

3. Rick Doerr/Brad Kendell/Hugh Feierd (USA), 4-3-5-1-[6]-3:16

49er Top 3:

1. Frederick Strammer/Zach Brown (USA), 2-5-4-2-1-1-1-1-[17/DNF]:17

2. Sebastian Oestling/Kalle Torlen (SWE), 1-3-2-3-3-2-8-4-[9]:26

3. Ryan Pesch/Trevor Burd (USA), 3-4-5-1-2-[6]-5-2-4:26

470 Men Top 3:

1. Stuart McNay/David Hughes (USA), 3-1-[4]-2-3-1:10

2. Matthias Schmid/Florian Reichstaedter (AUT), 2-[4]-3-1-2-2: 10

3. David Bargehr/Lukas Mähr (AUT), 4-5-2-[20/BFD]-5-4: 20

470 Women Top 3:

1. Fernanda Oliveira/Ana Luiza Barbachan (BRA), 5-2-1-[20/BFD]-7-7: 22

2. Xiaomei Xu/Chunyan Yu (CHN), 1-11-6-2-[20/DNF]-8: 29

3. Renata Decnop/Isabel Swan (BRA), 12-3-7-8-4-[13]: 34

Laser Top 3:

1.Jesper Stalheim (SWE), 0-[6]-2-3-0-0:5

2. Bruno Fontes (BRA), 3-[4]-0-0-2-0:5

3. Jean-Baptiste Bernaz (FRA), 2-2-0-[4]-0-2:6

Nacra17 Top 3:

1. Sarah Newberry/John Casey (USA), [3]-1-1-1-1-1:5

2. Sarah Streater/Matthew Whitehead (USA), 1-[3]-2-2-2-2:9

3. Taylor Reiss/Sarah Lihan (USA), 2-[6]-3-3-6-3:17

RS:X Men Top 3:

1. Dorian van Rijssbelberghe (NED), [3]-2-1-1-1-1:6

2. Ricardo Santos (BRA), 1-3-3-2-[8]-4:13

3.Nick Dempsey (GBR), 2-1-4-[8]-5-5:17

RS:X Women Top 3:

1. Demita Vega (MEX), 3-[7]-2-1-3-3:12

2. Bryony Shaw (GBR), 2-[5]-5-3-1-2:13

3. Maayan Davidovich (ISR), 6-4-4-2-2-[7]:18

 

2.4mR Top 3:

1. Bruce Millar (CAN), 2-3-1-1-[5]-1:8

2. Allan Leibel (CAN), 1-4-[5]-3-1-3:12

3. Megan Pascoe (GBR), [18/BFD]-2-2-4-2-2:12

Finn Top 3:

1. Caleb Paine (USA), [7]-1-1-1-4-2:9

2. Brendan Casey (AUS), 2-[14]-4-2-2-5:15

3. Jorge Zarif (BRA), 6-[8]-3-3-1-3:16

49erFX Top 3:

1. Martine Soffiatti/Kahena Kunze (BRA), 2-1-3-3-2-[4]-2-1-1:15

2. Anna Tunnicliffe/Molly Vandemoer (USA), 3-2-5-[6]-1-2-1-3-2:19

3. Giulia Conti/Francesca Clapcich (ITA), 1-[5]-2-1-5-1-3-5-3:21

#mocr – Annalise Murphy shot to the top of the leaderboard in Florida today after four races sailed in the Miami Olympic classes regatta. Murphy who was placed eighth going into today's second day of racing in the Laser Radial class took a second and a well earned win in race four in her 29-boat fleet. The Dun Laoghaire sailor now has the same points as world number five, Finnish sailor Tuula Tenkanen but takes the edge under the tie break rule. Canada’s Isabella Bertold trails by just a point. Racing continues tomorrow. Results below.

Similar to Monday, breezes were relatively consistent and strong at 13 to 15 knots throughout the day. Sunny skies were accompanied with temperatures in the high 70s.

A strong contingency of the top sailors in the world are in Miami testing themselves against familiar rivals and incoming talent from a new generation of racers. The RS:X Men's and Women's events are back in Miami for 2013 ISAF Sailing World Cup and these two fleets feature the best of the best in an early season clash of Olympic medalists and new challengers.

Most elite board sailors enjoyed some much needed time off following their intense Olympic campaigns for London 2012. However, a quick turn around and immediate focus is in order with the RS:X World Championships in Brazil this February. Up and comers are looking to assert themselves in the class this week in Miami, while other more seasoned veterans are trying to re-capture the magic they sustained in their successful performances in Weymouth.

The 2012 Olympic gold medalist Dorian Van Rijssbelberghe of The Netherlands surged ahead of the fleet with two wins today to take a two point lead over Brazil's Ricardo Santos. Great Britain's Nick Dempsey dropped two spots from Monday, and is in third. The 2012 Olympic silver medalist and 2004 bronze medalist commented on the upcoming schedule and training for Rio 2016. "Following the World Championships in February and March, it will be about focusing on the Olympic campaign for Rio 2016," said Dempsey. "I'm just trying to get back out on the water now and get as fit as possible for the World Championships."

Dempsey is intrigued about the venue in Rio. "If you look at Rio as a light wind venue, as windsurfers we're going to have to be light, strong, fit, and technically good. It's going to be a difficult venue. There is a lot of current and with it being light winds it's going to be very physical. I like to mix up my training, because it can be a bit monotonous. Anything you can do to keep it interesting and different to keep you inspired."

Van Rijssbelberghe, the three-time ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami Champion, was reserved, yet focused on the new challenge. "There is some great build up for these events, but I want to keep it fun," said Van Rijssbelberghe. "Miami is such a great place to sail. It has always been one of my favorite destinations. We've got some breeze going on and it's quite tricky out there. "I do a lot of cross training and it's great to get on that mountain bike and start ripping some trails."

Defending RS:X Women's Champion Demita Vega of Mexico is out to defend her crown against the world's best this year. She won race four and finished second in race three to take a one point lead. 2012 Olympic silver medalist Tuuli Petaja-Siren of Finland has won two of four races, including race three. She trails Vega by a point.

Petaja-Siren has had a surreal offseason following her outstanding performance in Weymouth. She was honored as the Finnish Athlete of the Year. "My name and face is now in a lot of newspapers and TV channels," said Petaja-Siren. "Not many people thought a windsurfer could get that much publicity in Finland, which is more about the winter sports."

"I didn't surprise myself that much. I knew from the training I did earlier in the summer in Weymouth I was capable of racing with the very best girls. The first goal this year is to compete in the World Championships, so that's going to be my first visit there and I don't know much about Rio yet."

Spain's gold medalist and World #5 Marina Alabau, who has won the ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami event in 2011, 2010, 2009 and 2007, is currently in sixth place. "My goal is to qualify for the Olympics, but it's not easy in my country to qualify," said Alabau. "So this is really good motivation to keep going. I'll be spending a lot of time training in Rio."  Spain also features board sailing standout Blanca Manchon.

Alabau prefers participating in other sports and activities as a source of training. "I like to play other sports like kite sailing, cycling, and swimming. I'm not going to the gym much, because it is boring to me. I'm just trying to do fun activities, because when you have fun you don't realize how much you are pushing yourself and that's how I enjoy training."

World #13 and 2012 Olympians from Austria, Matthias Schmid and Floran Reichstaedter had a big day in the Men's 470 event. They evened up with Monday's leaders Stuart McNay and David Hughes of the U.S. by winning race four and finishing third in race three.

Despite sustaining a Black Flag in race four, Brazil's Fernanda Oliveira and Ana Luiza Barbachan of the Women's 470 event hold a two point lead over China's Xiaomei Xu and Chunyan Yu, who finished sixth and third today. Oliveira and Barbachuan won race three.

Giulia Conti and Francesca Clapcich of Italy won two of three races in the 49er FX event are clinging to a one point advantage over Brazil's Kahena Kunze and Martine Grael. Four teams are within three points of each other atop the leaderboard.

Caleb Paine (USA) has caught fire in the Finn event. He won both races today and has come out on top in three of four races. He leads World #1 Brendan Casey (AUS) by five points and Star legend Bruno Prada (BRA) by six. Paine has been ranked as high as #4 in the world. He won the U.S. Finn National Championship in October and the Delta Lloyd Regatta World Cup event in May. He's looking to improve on his fifth place finish last year in Miami.

Fred Strammer and Zach Brown (USA) leaped into first place by finishing strong on Tuesday in the 49er event. They won races five and six to take a one point lead over Sebastian Oestling and Kalle Torlen (SWE).

World #3 Bruno Fontes (BRA) won both races today in Laser action to take the lead. He has a slight edge over France's Jean-Baptiste Bernaz who had a lead after three races. American Charlie Buckingham and Sweden's Jesper Stalheim are one point behind the leader.

The Lasers and Laser Radials are using experimental scoring this week. Sailors will receive a bonus point for each race they win. For all events, discards are in effect after two races.

Sarah Newberry and John Casey (USA) continued their success from Monday with two more wins in the Nacra 17 event. They have won the last three races, including three of four. Americans Sarah Streater and Matthew Whitehead remain close and just two points back. They were second in both races.

The 2012 Paralympic bronze medalists Aleksander Wang-Hansen, Marie Solberg and Per Eugen Kristiansen of Norway kept their status as the leaders through Tuesday. After winning both races on Monday, they were fourth and third on Tuesday to hold on to a two point lead.

Canadian Bruce Millar moved into the lead by posting a pair of bullets in the 2.4 mR racing today. Millar was seventh at the 2.4 mR World Championship in September. He leads World #4 Byornar Erikstad of Norway by two points and Alan Leibel (CAN) by four.

1	9417/ 199417	MURPHY, Annalise	IRL	5	[6]	2	0	7.00	1
2	8219/ 198219	TENKANEN, Tuula	FIN	2	2	3	[6]	7.00	2
3	0605/ 200605	BERTOLD, Isabella	CAN	0	[8]	6	2	8.00	3
4	7111/ 197111	RAILEY, Paige	USA	4	3	[5]	3	10.00	4
5	1831/ 201831	DONERTAS, Cagla	TUR	7	0	4	[9]	11.00	5
6	4454/ 184454	REINEKE, Erika	USA	3	[11]	7	5	15.00	6
7	6986/ 196986	DROZDOVSKAYA, Tatiana	BLR	[30/BFD]	12	0	4	16.00	7
8	2669/ 202669	TENKANEN, Heidi	FIN	6	4	[8]	8	18.00	8
9	4946/ 194946	CHAN, Victoria	SIN	11	5	[15]	7	23.00	9
10	2841/ 182841	DENNIS, Claire	USA	9	9	9	[10]	27.00	10
11	9535/ 199535	NEVILLE, Christine	USA	[15]	7	10	12	29.00	11
12	5913/ 195913	RAFUSE, Erin	CAN	8	10	[19]	17	35.00	12
13	6755/ 186755	YIN, Elizabeth	SIN	12	[25]	12	11	35.00	13
14	1571/ 191571	BOWSKILL, Brenda	CAN	10	[19]	16	16	42.00	14
15	9929/ 199929	MONTEMAYOR, Natalia	MEX	17	18	11	[19]	46.00	15
16	6196/ 176196	ALDANA, Andrea	GUA	13	15	18	[23]	46.00	16
17	5591/ 195591	STAFFORD, Violet	CAN	[18]	16	17	13	46.00	17
18	0614/ 200614	OETLING RAMíREZ, Elena	MEX	19	13	[25]	15	47.00	18
19	4542/ 184542	ROLLER, Mayumi	ISV	16	[20]	13	18	47.00	19
20	2023/ 192023	MERRY, Ingrid	CAN	[30/BFD]	17	20	14	51.00	20
21	5628/ 195628	ABELSON, Rebecca	CAN	22	14	[26]	22	58.00	21
22	4521/ 194521	RICHARDSON, Bronwyn	CAN	14	23	22	[24]	59.00	22
23	4224/ 204224	WEAVER, Hanne	USA	[30/BFD]	22	14	25	61.00	23
24	0252/ 190252	REA, Samantha	CAN	20	[26]	23	20	63.00	24
25	5889/ 195889	SHANAHAN, Catherine	USA	21	21	21	[27]	63.00	25
26	1912/ 191912	NORWOOD, Rae-Anne	CAN	23	[27]	24	21	68.00	26
27	9400/ 199400	PERSSON, Christina	USA	24	24	27	[28]	75.00	27
28	4042	DEVAUX-LOVELL, Stephanie	LCA	[30/DNS]	30/DNS	28	26	84.00	28
29	2036/ 192036	LUNA, Andrea	VEN	[30/BFD]	28	29	29	86.00	29

#annalisemurphy – Irish Olympic solo sailor Annalise Murphy of Dun Laoghaire lies eighth overall from a fleet of 29 after two races of the Laser radial class in today's opening round of the Miami Olympic classes regatta. The Irish 22-year -old took fifth in race one and a sixth in race two. Winds that started out at 14 knots on Biscayne bay dropped to ten knots as the day progressed. Turkish sailor Cagla Donertas has an early lead, followed by Isabella Bertold (CAN) and World #5 Tuula Tenkanen (FIN). Radial day one Results below.

The 311 sailors representing 37 countries were greeted with spectacular, yet challenging conditions for the first of six days of racing at the ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami. Sailors from five racecourses on Biscayne Bay welcomed sunny skies with temperatures in the mid-70s and moderate to strong winds.

Making their second appearance on the ISAF World Cup series is the 49er FX event. Olympians Giulia Conti and Francesca Clapcich of Italy teamed up in the 49er FX and were rejuvenated to be on the racecourse today with a new challenge. Conti is making the switch from the 470 and Clapcich is transitioning from the Laser Radial.

"We've been training on Lake Garda in this type of wind and probably stronger," said Conti. They finished first, fifth and second in today's three races. They have a narrow lead over Brazilians Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze in the eight boat fleet.

"After two Olympic campaigns in the 470 we wanted to try something else," explained Conti. "Francesca and I feel reborn in this class. "We couldn't get off to a good start in the second race, but we maneuvered well around the course today in general."

Swedish 470 Olympian Sebastian Ostling, who is now making a shift to the 49er, has teamed with Kalle Torlen this week and the duo are in first place through three races. They posted first, third and second results to take a slight lead over Canadians John Ladha and Daniel Inkpen. Americans Fred Strammer and Zach Brown are surging into the 49er scene as well. They sailed well on Monday and are in third place. The 49er FX and 49er fleets sailed in 9 to 12 knots for most of the day.

The Nacra 17, a mixed multihull event, made their official ISAF Sailing World Cup debut this afternoon with seven competitive teams looking to make their mark on the new Olympic class. Two American teams comprised of Sarah Newberry and John Casey are tied atop the leaderboard with Sarah Streater and Matthew Whitehead.

The Men's and Women's 470 fleets got the day started this morning in 15 to 18 knots. World #7 and 2012 Olympian Stuart McNay (USA) just missed out on the medal stand last year in Miami. He and David Hughes rushed out to an early lead in the 11 team fleet, by finishing third and first.

There are two Austrian teams competing in the Men's 470. World #13 and 2012 Olympians from Austria, Matthias Schmid and Floran Reichstaedter are fresh off a win at the 470 North American Championship here in Biscayne Bay. They finished second and fourth today.

"We've had a long break, and this is our first real world cup and regatta since Olympics," said Schmid. "We are just trying to get back into racing mode and put our first foot forward for the next Olympic campaign."

Winning today's first race in the nine team Women's 470 event was China's Xiaomei Xu and Chunyan Yu. Brazil's Fernanda Oliveira and Ana Luiza Barbachan were fifth and second today. They finished sixth at the Summer Games in Weymouth/Portland. Oliveira won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics with Isabel Swan as crew. Swan is racing this week with skipper Renata Decnop and are looking ahead to Rio 2016. After struggling in race one, Decnop and Swan placed third in race two.

"This is the first international event we have sailed together, so we are getting used to being a team. We have only been sailing for three months, but have practiced in Rio a lot and have known each other for a long time," explained Decnop. "We had a good start in our first race, but most importantly, we didn't get to the right shift. The second race was much better. On the second upwind leg we got to our right shift."

Great Britain's Nick Dempsey made a statement on the Men's RS:X course today. The 2012 Olympic silver medalist and defending ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami Champion was second and first today to take a one point lead over Brazilian Olympian Ricardo Santos. The 2012 Olympic gold medalist Dorian Van Rijssbelberghe of The Netherlands is currently third in the fleet of 23.

The Women's RS:X course is also stacked with talent. Finland's 2012 Olympic silver medalist Tuuli Petäjä won race two this afternoon. She will be dueling this week with two standout Spanish board sailors Marina Alabau and Blanca Manchon. The World's #5 Alabau is a four-time ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami Champion and is in third place. Blanca Manchon, the 2010 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year, won race two today.

Charlie Buckingham (USA) came out on top of the 73-boat Laser fleet in race two and he placed fourth in race one to take early control. He is closely followed by Olympian David Wright (CAN) and World #11 Jesper Stalheim (SWE).

Juan Ignacio Maegli is one of two Guatemalans racing this week. "Sailing isn't very big right now in Guatemala. There is only about 20 of us that sail back at home right now and I wish it would start growing," he said. "Hopefully, I can do my part in helping that. Rio 2016 has been the goal since I started sailing Lasers five years ago and I can't wait. There is so many good guys in the Laser fleet but I'm striving for the Rio podium and hopefully I'll achieve it." Maegli is currently in seventh place.

The Sonar and 2.4 mR events raced in strong winds that diminished throughout the day. Breezes this morning reached 15 knots and dropped below 10 by the end of racing. The 2012 Paralympic bronze medalists Aleksander Wang-Hansen, Marie Solberg and Per Eugen Kristiansen of Norway posted a pair of bullets in the highly competitive 10-boat Sonar Fleet.

World #4 Byornar Erikstad of Norway has asserted himself in the 18-boat 2.4 mR fleet. He finished third in race one and was victorious in race two. He is followed by Allan Leibel of Canada, who won the opening race.

Of the 311 sailors competing this week, 121 are representing the United States. There are 70 Canadians racing and Brazil has the third highest participation total with 19.

ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami, established in 1990 by US Sailing, is open to boats competing in events chosen for the Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Competitions. Most Olympic classes will count a five-day opening series (Monday-Friday) and a double-point medal race (Saturday). The RS:X Men and Women will have a three day opening series (Monday-Wednesday) followed by semifinal medal round on Thursday and final medal round on Friday. The top 10 finishers in the opening series of each class will advance to the medal race. Competitors in the Paralympic classes will have five days of fleet racing (Monday-Friday) and no medal race. Medals will be awarded to the top three boats in each Olympic and Paralympic class on Saturday, February 2.

Regatta Headquarters is located at the US Sailing Center Miami, an official Olympic training center, in the Coconut Grove section of Miami, Fla. Event organizers have partnered with the city of Miami to provide world-class venues for competition. Additional hosts for the event include Coral Reef Yacht Club, Coconut Grove Sailing Club, Miami Rowing Club and Shake-a-Leg Miami. These sailing organizations host classes onshore, as well as help run the on-the-water racing. The Coral Reef Yacht Club also hosts the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

Radial day one results

1	1831/ 201831	DONERTAS, cagla	[7]	1	1.00	1
2	0605/ 200605	BERTOLD, Isabella	1	[8]	1.00	2
3	8219/ 198219	TENKANEN, Tuula	[2]	2	2.00	3
4	7111/ 197111	RAILEY, paige	[4]	3	3.00	4
5	4454/ 184454	REINEKE, Erika	3	[11]	3.00	5
6	2669/ 202669	TENKANEN, Heidi	[6]	4	4.00	6
7	4946/ 194946	CHAN, Victoria	[11]	5	5.00	7
8	9417/ 199417	MURPHY, Annalise	5	[6]	5.00	8
9	9535/ 199535	NEVILLE, Christine	[15]	7	7.00	9
10	5913/ 195913	RAFUSE, Erin	8	[10]	8.00	10
11	2841/ 182841	DENNIS, Claire	[9]	9	9.00	11
12	1571/ 191571	BOWSKILL, brenda	10	[19]	10.00	12
13	6986/ 196986	DROZDOVSKAYA, Tatiana	[30/BFD]	12	12.00	13
14	6755/ 186755	YIN, Elizabeth	12	[25]	12.00	14
15	0614/ 200614	OETLING RAMíREZ, Elena	[19]	13	13.00	15
16	6196/ 176196	ALDANA, Andrea	13	[15]	13.00	16
17	5628/ 195628	ABELSON, rebecca	[22]	14	14.00	17
18	4521/ 194521	RICHARDSON, Bronwyn	14	[23]	14.00	18
19	5591/ 195591	STAFFORD, Violet	[18]	16	16.00	19
20	4542/ 184542	ROLLER, Mayumi	16	[20]	16.00	20
21	2023/ 192023	MERRY, Ingrid	[30/BFD]	17	17.00	21
22	9929/ 199929	MONTEMAYOR, Natalia	17	[18]	17.00	22
23	0252/ 190252	REA, Samantha	20	[26]	20.00	23
24	5889/ 195889	SHANAHAN, Catherine	[21]	21	21.00	24
25	4224/ 204224	WEAVER, Hanne	[30/BFD]	22	22.00	25
26	1912/ 191912	NORWOOD, Rae-Anne	23	[27]	23.00	26
27	9400/ 199400	PERSSON, Christina	[24]	24	24.00	27
28	2036/ 192036	LUNA, Andrea	[30/BFD]	28	28.00	28
29	4402/ 184402	DEVAUX-LOVELL, Stephanie	[30/BFD]	30/DNS	30.00	29

#olympicsailing – Annalise Murphy (22) embarks on her road to Rio on Monday in the USA for the second round of the International Sailing Federation's (ISAF) World Cup series off Miami.

The National Yacht Club (NYC) sailor is no stranger to Floridian waters having finished in the top ten on Biscayne Bay on both previous visits in the build up to London 2012. She was ninth in 2012 and fourth in 2011 as reported in the Irish Times Sailing Column.

Murphy came up just short of winning an Olympic medal this summer in the Laser Radial with her fourth place finish in Weymouth/Portland. Her quest for Rio 2016 begins in Miami. "I am just getting back into training after taking a long break," said Murphy. "All my plans for the next four years start here and it's great to do it in Miami."

Miami is the second of four regattas included in the 2012-2013 ISAF Sailing World Cup, the fifth edition of the annual series for Olympic sailing.

Although radial entries have been received from 11 countries there is no sign of any of the Weymouth medallists; Lijia from China, Marit Boumeester of Holland or Belgian Evi Van Ecker so it looks like the Dubliner, who lost out on a medal in the final moments of London 2012, will get 2013 off to a somewhat gentle start in warm waters.

A Florida local though, Paige Railey who is four times world champion and who took eighth at the Games is slated for competition and looks like Murphy's main competition for what would be her first win of an ISAF World Cup event.

Joining the fray in Miami from Ireland is Wexford's Philip Doran. As 2011 Irish National champion (and fellow NYC sailor) Philip Doran – who recently celebrated success at the U19 Europe Cup Regatta - is competing in the Laser full rig, a build up no doubt to the Laser Europeans championships on Dublin Bay in September.

Ten time paralympic sailor John Twomey from Kinsale, the new President of the International Association for Disabled Sailing (IFDS), is also back in Florida in the Sonar keelboat. He is joined by fellow 2012 Paralympic teammate Ian Costello from Co. Kerry and American sailor Bradley Johnson in the three-man boat.

For the 24th time in ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami history, excellence in Olympic and Paralympic class racing will take place on the emerald waters of Biscayne Bay. This six-day regatta gets underway on Monday, with over 300 of the best sailors in the World representing 35 countries. The regatta marks the second of four stops on the 2012-2013 ISAF Sailing World Cup series.

Coconut Grove was energized on Sunday in anticipation of the start of racing, as sailors finalized registration details, toured the event's five sailing venues, fine tuned their equipment, and acclimated to the conditions on Biscayne Bay with some practice. Sunday's Miami Marathon added to the electric scene at "The Grove" in celebration of fitness and athleticism.

The ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami provides an opportunity for U.S. and international Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls to begin their campaign for Rio 2016. Olympians, World Champions, and a cast of rising stars will be tested.

All eyes are on the Nacra 17 (mixed multihull) and 49er FX (women's skiff) as the two new Olympic class events. The Nacra 17 will be making its debut at the ISAF Sailing World Cup this week in Miami. The 49er FX made its first appearance on the international stage at ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne last December. Many of the sailors in each of these events are making the transition from another boat or class. ISAF World Cup Miami will provide the perfect opportunity for these sailors to build camaraderie with new teammates and make progress with their new boats.

The Nacra 17 fleet is headlined by Puerto Rico's Enrique Figueroa. Joining the three-time Olympian as crew will be his wife Carla Malatrasi. "My objective this week is to get as much time in the water as possible in order to learn as much as I can about the Nacra 17 and place well in the regatta," explained Figueroa. "We have only sailed the Nacra 17 for a few hours over the past couple weeks, but we are definitely getting better."

U.S. skippers Taylor Reiss and Matthew Whitehead will be making a move from the SL16 to the Nacra 17 this week. As a team, Reiss and Whitehead placed sixth at the 2011 ISAF Youth Worlds in Croatia. Reiss will be sailing with Sarah Lihan, who represented Team USA in the Women's 470 at the 2012 Olympic Games. Whitehead will be sailing with Sarah Streater. Also competing in this intriguing fleet will be Canada's Luke Ramsey and Nikola Girke. Ramsey and Girke represented Team Canada at the 2012 Games in the Men's 470 and Women's RS:X, respectively. Another interesting tandem includes Women's Match Racing standout Elizabeth Kratzig (USA), who will be teamed up with Jonathan Farrar.

There are some familiar names in the 49er FX fleet, including 2008 Olympic gold medalist Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) in the Laser Radial. Tunnicliffe represented Team USA with teammate Molly O'Bryan Vandemoer in Women's Match Racing at the 2012 Games.

A pair of Italian Olympians Giulia Conti and Francesca Clapcich will be joining forces in the 49er FX. Conti is making the switch from the 470 and Clapcich transitions from the Laser Radial. Brazilians Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze are also strong contenders following their win at the 49er FX North American Championship.

Portuguese 49er Olympian Francisco Andrade and teammate Andre Fonseca will be a factor in the men's 49er. They recently won the 49er North American Championship earlier this month on Key Biscayne Bay. Swedish 470 Olympian Sebastian Ostling will be making a shift to the 49er, while teaming with Kalle Torlen.

Four-time Olympian Tatiana Drozdovskaya (BLR) is fully committed to make a run at Rio 2016. The 8th ranked Laser Radial sailor in the world won the gold medal at Kiel Week in Germany last June. 2012 Olympian Paige Railey (USA) will be on hand in the stacked Laser Radial fleet. Railey is ranked 7th in the world. Finland's Tuula Tenkanen is the highest ranked Laser Radial sailor competing this week at #5.

The Laser fleet is the event's largest with 72 boats. Guatemala's Juan Ignacio Maegli will be a legitimate contender. He is a two-time Olympian at just 24. World #3 Bruno Fontes (BRA) returns to ISAF World Cup Miami where he finished with a silver medal last year. He also represented Brazil at the 2012 Olympics.

The Finn fleet is led by World #1 Brendan Casey (AUS), who won the gold medal at ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne in December. He will be challenged by World #3 and defending ISAF World Cup Miami gold medalist Zach Railey (USA). Casey and Railey both represented their countries in Weymouth/Portland this past summer.

Another intriguing storyline in the Finn class includes Brazil's Bruno Prada. The 2011 Star World Champion and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist is making a shift to the Finn. Prada returned to the Finn three months ago and has been working hard to get re-adjusted to the heavyweight dinghy. "My objective in Miami is to hit the medal race and continue to improve," said Prada. "I'll be sailing all the big regattas this year, including the World Championship in Estonia."

There are two Austrian teams competing in the Men's 470. World #13 Matthias Schmid and Floran Reichstaedter are fresh off a win at the 470 North American Championship here in Biscayne Bay. Their Austrian counterparts David Bargehr and Lucas Mahr finished third. 2012 Olympian Stuart McNay (USA) will be teaming up with fellow American David Hughes. McNay is ranked #7 in the world and he narrowly missed the medal stand in last year's event with a fourth place finish.

Brazil's Fernanda Oliveira and Ana Luiza Barbachan performed admirably at the Summer Games in Weymouth/Portland with a sixth place finish, and have their sights set on gold in Miami. Oliveira won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics with Isabel Swan as crew. Swan is racing this week with Renata Decnop. 2012 Olympians Lara Vadlau of Austria and Jolanta Ogar of Poland have paired up as a new team representing Austria, and have won both events they contested together, including the 470 North Americans.

2012 Olympic gold medalist Dorian Van Rijssbelberghe of The Netherlands has arrived in Miami and is prepared to pick up where he left off in the RS:X. "The biggest thing for me this week is just getting back on the board," said Van Rijssbelberghe. "This is my first time racing since the Games." Van Rijssbelberghe is no stranger to success here at this event. He won three consecutive gold medals at ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami in 2011, 2010 and 2009.

The Men's RS:X fleet will feature several other Olympians, including Ricardo Santos (BRA), Zachary Plavsic (CAN), Ivan Pastor (ESP), David Mier y Teran (MEX) and Sebastian Wang-Hansen (NOR).

Olympic gold and silver medalists will duke it out along with a strong fleet of Windsurfers in the Women's RS:X. Finland's Tuuli Petäjä hopes to ride the momentum she gained by winning the silver medal Weymouth. She will face stiff competition against Spain's gold medalist and World #5 Marina Alabau, who has won the ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami event in 2011, 2010, 2009 and 2007 (No racing in 2008). Alabau recently won the RS:One World Championships in December. The 2010 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Blanca Manchon (ESP) will also be competing this week.

The 2.4mR (open) and Sonar (mixed) Paralympic classes will be racing this week in Miami. Nine Americans and nine Canadians make up the bulk of the 2.4mR fleet. However, Great Britain's Megan Pascoe is one of the fleet's strongest contenders. She finished third at the 2.4mR World Championship in September. World #4 Byornar Erikstad of Norway will also be making a bid for the crown. 2012 Paralympic bronze medalists Aleksander Wang-Hansen, Marie Solberg and Per Eugen Kristiansen of Norway lead a talented Sonar fleet.

ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami, established in 1990 by US Sailing, is open to boats competing in events chosen for the Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Competitions. Visit the event website for an updated competitor list at http://bit.ly/mocr13_competitors with complete ISAF bios for each sailor.

Six of the Olympic Classes, including RS:X men and women, Laser, Radial, 49er and 49er FX will test new racing formats under consideration for Rio 2016. The remaining Olympic classes will consist of a five-day opening series (Monday-Friday) and a double-point medal race (Saturday). The top 10 finishers in the opening series of each class will advance to the medal race. Competitors in the Paralympic classes will have five days of fleet racing (Monday-Friday) and no medal race. Medals will be awarded to the top three boats in each Olympic and Paralympic class on Saturday, February 2.

Regatta Headquarters will be located at the US Sailing Center Miami, an official Olympic training center, in the Coconut Grove section of Miami, Fla. Event organizers have partnered with the city of Miami to provide world-class venues for competition. Additional hosts for the event include Coral Reef Yacht Club, Coconut Grove Sailing Club, Miami Rowing Club and Shake-a-Leg Miami. These sailing organizations host classes onshore, as well as help run the on-the-water racing. The Coral Reef Yacht Club also hosts the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

The ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami organizing committee, headed by co-chairs Gary Bodie and Meredith Muller, with support from Carol Ewing, announced the International Jury: Chris Atkins (GBR), Bernard Bonneau (FRA), Pat Healy (USA), Elliot Levy (VEN), Ana Sanchez (ESP), Luiso Fernandez (ESP), Lynne Beal (CAN), Charlotte Greppe (SWE), Sandy Grovsenor (USA), Marianne Middlethon (NOR), Jim Capron (USA), National Jury Kai Masuda (JPN), Chris Petracco (USA), Marty Ottenhimer (USA), Bruce Martinson (USA) and Pat Sheehan (USA).

The event's  Principal Race Officer is Christophe Gaumont (FRA) assisted by Deputy International Race Officer Mark Murphy with International Race Officers Tom Duggan (USA, Laser Radial), Bruce Greene (USA, 49er, FX), John Craig (USA, RS:X), Peter Van Muyden (CAN, Paralympic classes),  Jim Tichenor (USA, 470, Finn, Nacra17). International Measurer is Barry Johnson (AUS), with Equipment Inspector Dina Kowalyshyn (USA).

#IRISH SAILING - Irish Sailing Association (ISA) chief executive Harry Hermon took time out from the ISAF annual conference in Dublin this week to talk to Sport for Business about the growth of sailing in Ireland.

“2012 has been in many ways a breakthrough year for the sport,” he said. “We hosted so many major events during the year, from the Volvo Ocean Race finale in Galway to the World Youth Championships on Dublin Bay and of course it was an Olympic year and we had our strongest performance for many years.”

Aside from building on commercial partnerships, Annalise Murphy's near-medal-winning performance at the London Olympics was a boon for the profile of sailing in the public's imagination, and Hermon intends for the ISA to capitalise on this in the years to come, both for the Rio Games in 2016 and beyond.

“20,000 young people are coming through certified courses each year and staying with the sport," he said. "In addition we are reaching out to tens of thousands more through multi-activity camps ‘on the water’ around the coastal and inland waterways that are such an attribute in Ireland.

“We have a sport that enables 18-year-olds to race alongside their grandparents and few can offer such a crossover appeal.”

Sport for Business has much more on the story HERE.