Olympic silver medallist Annalise Murphy made an impressive return to ILCA competition by taking the overall lead after the opening day of the Grant Thornton ILCA Irish National Championships at the Royal St. George Yacht Club.

The National Yacht Club sailor, racing an ILCA for the first time in five years, won two of Friday's three races to finish the day on five points in the 44-boat ILCA 6 fleet.

The regatta is Murphy's final competitive warm-up ahead of September's ILCA 6 World Championship on Dublin Bay.

Smart Racing – ILCA competitors round one of the championship's GPS-controlled robotic inflatable marks during the opening day of the Grant Thornton ILCA Irish National Championships on Dublin Bay Photo: Con Murphy

Three races were completed across all fleets in testing conditions. A shifty 10–15-knot westerly and a short chop greeted competitors for the opening two races before the breeze eased to 5–10 knots for the third. The changing tide and lighter winds produced general recalls and black-flag starts in all three fleets.

ILCA Ireland chairman Sean Craig praised the opening day's racing.

"Great to complete three super races in classic, shifty Dublin Bay conditions," he said. "It was tricky out there, but the cream still rose to the top in all three rigs, with a great overall turnout of 94 sailors."

ILCA 7: McDonnell Makes Perfect Start

Fleet Focus – Roger Craig (left), Conrad Simpson (centre) and James Moore race in the ILCA 7 fleet during the opening day of the Grant Thornton ILCA Irish National Championships on Dublin Bay Photo: Afloat

The 25-boat ILCA 7 fleet is headed by Royal Irish Yacht Club's Fiachra McDonnell, who could hardly have asked for a better opening day.

McDonnell posted a flawless 1-1-1 scoreline to finish on three points, opening a four-point advantage over Canada's James Juhasz, whose 2-2-3 series leaves him on seven points.

East Antrim Boat Club's Tom Coulter sits third on 11 points after scores of 3-6-2, while Bobby Driscoll (BYC) is fourth on 18 points. Royal St. George Yacht Club's Matteo Valentini completes the top five on 21 points.

ILCA 6: Murphy Returns In Style

Murphy's return to championship racing could scarcely have gone better as she claimed victories in the opening and closing races, with a third place in between, for an overnight total of five points.

Murphy said the opening day demanded constant decision-making.

"We had three races in a variety of breeze, everything from two to 15 knots," she said. "It was a shifty westerly with oscillating shifts and pressure bands coming down the course. The main point of the day was to be on the lifted tack and also get into pressure. I went up the middle on every beat and tacked a lot, maybe 10 to 16 times on each upwind leg. Downwind was nice with small waves."

Spain's Liam Woods lies second on 14 points after consistent 5-4-5 finishes, while Sienna Wright (Howth YC) climbed to third overall with an excellent race win followed by second in the final race to finish on 18 points.

Home sailor Rory Brennan Hobbs (Royal St. George YC) is fourth on 19 points after improving through the day with scores of 9-7-3.

Another Royal St. George competitor, Jack Ives, rounds out the top five on 28 points, narrowly ahead of clubmate Marcus Shelley on countback.

ILCA 4: Spain Sets The Pace

Youth Charge – ILCA 4 leaders Amy Kieran (left), Kate Spain (centre) and Philippa Arthurs round the windward mark during the opening day of the Grant Thornton ILCA Irish National Championships at the Royal St. George Yacht Club

The 25-boat ILCA 4 fleet is led by Royal St. George Yacht Club's Kate Spain, who followed second place in the opening race with back-to-back victories to finish on four points.

Clubmate Amy Kieran shares eight points with Alex Butcher (SSBC/MYC), but takes second overall on countback after recording race scores of 1-4-3.

Butcher's consistent 3-3-2 series also totals eight points, leaving him third overall.

Royal St. George's Amy Shelley holds fourth on 15 points, with clubmate James Crawford fifth on 16 points after three races.

Racing continues on Saturday with a stronger breeze forecast on Dublin Bay.