#hyc –  Although the general forecast was for meteorological mayhem throughout Ireland on Sunday, Howth Yacht Club's Laser Frostbite Race Officer Liam Dineen reckoned that an expected but brief mid-morning patch of softer winds, coupled with the fact that it was low water to maximise shelter in the Sound inside Ireland's Eye, provided a small window of opportunity for some much-needed sport.

Admittedly, of the 43 regular entries in the Howth winter series (which has been a hardy annual since 1974), only eleven came to the line to challenge a shifty southerly which was 21 knots gusting 26, though it felt much stronger owing to the exceptional density of the mid-February air.

In fact, at one stage the breeze was recording as low as 16 knots. But most of the time it was a morning for screaming reaches, hairy gybes, and a couple of spectacular capsizes. At the front of the fleet, veteran Lasermen Mike Evans and Stephen Quinn had a head to head throughout the one race sailed before conditions closed down again, and at the finish it was Quinn in the lead with Evans still hounding him.

All agreed that with the weather we've had this winter, an hour of superb sailing in February sets you up every bit as well as a whole day of sunshine sport in high summer. The Howth fleet are looking forward to their final two weekends with this popular series, which attracts Laser frostbite enthusiasts from all along the east coast of Ireland.

They're anticipating a big turnout for their traditional concluding race round Ireland's Eye on Saturday March 15th, a highlight of the St Patrick's Weekend. It's an open event, and not restricted solely to those who have completed the Frostbite Series. The entry fee includes the legendary Laser Lunch which morphs seamlessly into the afternoon's rugby match. Details later this week on hyc.ie

#kinsale – Well it proved to be a Lose Lose day in Kinsale. Ireland lost in Rugby and the KYC Frostbite Series lost to the Gales!

The wind at 11.00 am was recorded at a mere 10 knots so the Committee boat headed out to set a course. However as the windward mark was about to be set some 30 minutes later, the wind reading had increased to 26 knots so racing was abandoned in the interests of safety.

Several Squibs and Lasers had launched so enjoyed a blast around the harbour before heading back to the Clubhouse for the presentation of prizes for the series.

Kinsale Yacht Club Commodore Finny O'Regan gave an opening address thanking Seamus McLaverty of ASM marine for his continuing support as sponsor for the Frostbites.

He also thanked Bruce Matthews for his involvement in and support of the Frostbites going back 25 years.

Thanks were also expressed for all the Club members who helped make the Frostbites possible, from the mark-layers and safety boat personnel to those ashore in particular Caroline Forde who did sterling work on the results and weekly race reports.

June Matthews (pictured below left) presented the prize winners in each class with their trophies.

June Matthews, Rob Gill , KYC Commodore Finny O'Regan, Colm Dunne. Rob Gill & Colm Dunne receiving 1st place prize in the Squib Fleet.

The Prize winners were as follows:
Squib Class:
1st Allegro, Colm Dunne & Rob Gill KYC 2nd Lazurus, Colm Daly & Marcus Hutchinson KYC 3rd Fagin, Colm & Finny O'Regan KYC

Laser Full Rig Class:
1st Sean Murphy KYC
2nd James Long, Inniscarra
3rd Ian Travers KYC

Laser 4.7 Rig Class:
1st Billy Duane RCYC
2nd Ben Hunt KYC
3rd Jamie Tingle RCYC

Laser Radial Class:
1st Sorcha Ni Shuilleabhain KYC
2nd Cliodhna O'Regan KYC
3rd Sean Gambier-Ross KYC

#laser – In the first of the day's two races the Laser start was rather congested at the pin end. Perhaps a few too many had watched Hugh Sheehy's OK Dinghy cross the fleet with a perfectly executed port end flyer and were tempted to try the same. However a right-hand shift mid-way up the first beat meant that Hodgins, who started safely in the middle of the line, was ahead at the first cross.

The right appeared to pay on the second half of the beat and Harding lead from Cahill at the first mark with Hodgins a close third. There were big gains and losses at the corners but Harding kept close tabs on Cahill whilst sticking to the middle of the race track to hang on for the win, with Cahill second, Hodgins third and Hudson fourth.

The second race started in similar fashion with a significant port end bias leading to some struggling to cross the line on starboard. With big shifts still dominating the middle seemed to be the safest place to be and Harding lead round the first mark again from Cahill and Hodgins. With plenty of traffic around, nerves across the fleet were frayed on the run as the wind dropped to around 5-6knts.

On the second beat, Hodgins gambled on the right hand side and started the second lap in the lead with Cahill having squeezed past Harding to remain second. As the leading two fought for clear air down the run, Harding was allowed to close up and the first three rounded the bottom mark in quick succession. All three tacked quickly and Harding led out to the left although Hodgins soon tacked right looking to repeat his gains of the previous lap. This time however the wind swung left giving Harding had a decent advantage at the final windward mark which he held to the finish with Cahill second followed by Hodgins. Malcolm (fourth) and Vedo (fifth) pushed Hudson down to 6th.

Hudson now leads the second series after six races with 22pts.

Race Report by Richard Harding

#kinsalesailing  – Wild conditions for the penultimate day's racing have will bring Kinsale Yacht Club's Frostbite Series to a fitting climax next Saturday.

Yestrerday, for the ASM sponsored series, the wind was steady South South West and varied in strength from 14 to 25 knots. The Race Committee reported that competitors were extremely eager on the start line resulting in several individual recalls.

Colm Dunne & Rob Gill (KYC) are runaway leaders in the Squib fleet in Allegro with a current total of a perfect 9 points for 9 races after discards are applied. The next closest Squib is Lazurus with Colm Daly & Marcus Hutchinson (KYC) on a total of 21 points. Finny and Colm O'Regan (KYC) are in third place with 24 points in Fagin. These 3 boats have broken away from the rest of the fleet with a gap of 19 points between the 3rd and 4th boats. The real battle at this stage is for 4th place with Breakaway (Julie Silfverberg & Liz Bond KYC) on 43 points, Espresso ( Ruth Ennis & Victor Fusco KYC) on 44 points and Pulpo ( Tom Roche & Bobby Nash KYC) also on 44 points.

A similar trend has emerged in the Full Laser fleet with KYC Sean Murphy taking a resounding lead on 12 points followed by Inniscarra James Long on 26 points. Ian Travers (KYC) is in third place with 29 points, Monkstown's Paul O'Sullivan is in 4th with 32 points which is some 30 points ahead of the 5th boat.
The Laser Radials competitors stayed at home today and only two 4.7's came to the race area. Despite not racing today, Billy Duane (RCYC) still holds first position on 10 points. Ben Hunt (KYC) is in second position on 17 points followed by Jamie Tingle (RCYC) on 41 points.
The series ends next Saturday with the final 3 races, there will be a prize giving in the Club House afterwards.

#kinsale – For the second Sunday in a row the gales obligingly passed over to allow racing to proceed in the ASM Frostbite Series. The Race Officers reported that the winds were between 14 and 20 knots and West South West. There were no shifts and the course remained unchanged for all 3 races.
The Laser fleet proved to be a little over enthusiastic in their first race with the OD issuing a general recall. The Kinsale harbour seal came to play at the start of the second race and caused a little excitement amongst the fleet.
Sean Murphy (KYC) is the runaway leader (13pts) in the Laser Full Rig class with 7 bullets out of a possible 9. James Long (Inniscarra) lies in second on 19 points followed closely by Ian Travers (KYC) on 20 pts.
The Laser Radials returned to the race course today with Sorcha Ni Shilleabhain (KYC) taking first place with 6 pts. Sorcha has just returned from Miami and the ISAF Olympic qualifiers where she put in a magnificent performance finishing 45th overall, undoubtedly a star in the making! Cliodna O'Regan (KYC) lies in second place on 11 points and Sean Gambier Ross (KYC) follows closely with 12 points.
Billy Duane (RCYC) has powered ahead in the Laser 4.7 fleet with 8 bullets out of a possible 9 giving him a total of 7 points after discards. Ben Hunt (KYC) lies in second on 17 points and Jamie Tingle (RCYC) is third with 25 points.
The Squibs had a small fleet on the water today with only 6 boats making the start line. However this remains a hotly contested class. Allegro (Colm Dunne & Rob Gill KYC) took the honours again with 3 bullets today giving them 8 points overall. Lazurus ( Colm Daly & Marcus Hutchinson KYC) lie in second place with 15 points. KYC Commodore Finny O'Regan and his son Colm are placed third in their Squib Fagin with 23 points.

#laser – Irish Laser London 2012 rep James Espey has taken a personal best of 31st overall at the Mens Laser worlds in Oman, an event that will be remembered for the return of Brazilian sailing legend Robert Scheidt to the top of world Laser sailing. Espey finished finished with his best race of the series in 12th to conclude his 2013 season, another step on the road to Rio 2016.

Scheidt was crowned 2013 Laser World Champion in Oman for the ninth time (and 18 years after his first victory) after winning the final race of the regatta then proclaimed this Laser World Championship title as his best so far.

The 40 year-old Brazilian sailor started the last race just one point ahead of rival Pavlos Kontides but put in a flawless performance to win by two boat lengths, raising the Brazilian flag as he crossed the line to a round of cheers and applause from spectators and other competitors.

"This feels more special than any of the other Laser Worlds I have won," said Scheidt, who returned to the Lasers after nine years in the Star class to compete at an Olympic Games in his home waters in Rio de Janeiro.

"I am at a different stage of my life – being a dad and being away from Laser sailing all these years makes it more special.

"I didn't know what to expect when I came back into the Lasers but winning the Worlds after a tough seven days means a lot.

"Rio is still a long way off and I shall have to see how my body holds up over the next few years but the next Olympic Games in Rio is definitely how I want to end my career."

Had there been no racing at Mussanah Beach, his one point lead overnight would have earned him the championship and with ten minutes to go before the 3pm cut off time, there was no sign of any racing due to the light and shifty breeze.

But at 2.56pm the start gun was fired and Scheidt, Kontides and third-placed Tonci Stipanovic from Croatia all made good starts

"I had a good start which was key," he explained

"Started in the middle and played the first shifts well which put me in the leading group at the top mark. I managed to get ahead and protected my position. It was a tense race because the breeze was very flukey going right and left and the race committee did well to wait for the breeze to stabilize. The moment we started we had the best breeze we'd had all day but it was still very shifty."

Kontides finished the race in 13th place to take the silver medal, trailing Scheidt by 13 points and while paying tribute to the Brazilian said he felt the odds were against him continuing to dominate in the way he had in Oman.

"He sailed a perfect race so well done to him," said the 23 year-old Cypriot who was completing his studies in Ship Science at the same time as preparing for the Worlds.

"But with some consistent training, I will be able to up my game and I know next season I will be much better. I am still learning and developing and Robert is at the peak of his game. Age wise he is 40 and at some stage will start to decline whereas I am 23 and on the up so the odds are against him.

"I decided the conditions were too tricky for any tactics – we have seen all week how the conditions demand proper sailing and a respect for the oscillating shifts so I thought the best thing to do was to do my best.

"I really wanted to taste the gold medal but I will be trying my hardest again next time."

Germany's Phillip Buhl won the bronze medal after finishing 10th in the final race which put him level on points with Rutger Schaardenburg from the Nederlands. Better results over the week gave him the advantage but it was bouncing back from being BFD in the final race on Friday that gave him most pleasure.

"I had a bad day on Friday so I'm very surprised to finish third," he said.

"I am not the best light winds sailor or at least I wasn't but I've improved and I am better now in all conditions. Having Robert Scheidt back in the fleet is good fun – beating him is more fun than beating anyone else and we can learn a lot from him. He really deserved to win here."

The prize-giving at the Al Mussanah Sports City where Scheidt, Kontides and Buhl were all presented with their medals, brought the curtain down on a tough but highly successful Laser World Championships, the first sailing championships to be hosted in Oman.

#laserworlds – Robert Scheidt sounded a warning to his Rio 2016 rivals today with an emphatic win at the 2013 Laser Standard World Championships in Oman, which moved him five places up the leaderboard into second place. Ireland's sole entry, James Espey lies 33rd overall.

Day 2 of the championships, which was also Oman's National Day, brought a change at the top after light winds at Mussanah Sports City caused postponements and frustration among competitors, resulting in ten disqualifications from four false starts in the only race of the day.

These included overnight leader Nick Thompson of Britain who dropped down to 34th place as well as former Laser World Champion Gustavo Lima from Portugal.

Croatian Tonci Stipanovic won his race in the Yellow fleet to take over the leader's yellow jersey while Pavlos Kontides from Cyprus maintained his consistent form to retain third overall. All three leaders are equal on 10 points each but Stipanovic's two outright wins in three races places him top.

Racing was postponed for three hours due to the breeze which was less than 5 knots when the first race was due to begin. But when the fleet finally got out onto the race course, the sea breeze had kicked in, remaining stable throughout a hot and sunny afternoon and building to around 13 knots.

Scheidt, eight times Laser World Champion, was delighted with his performance having led off the line and staying in front throughout. It confirmed that despite his nine year break from the Laser class and despite being 40 years old, he has a strong chance of qualifying for the Olympic Games on his home waters in Rio.

"To win a race at the Laser World Championships in this sort of breeze, you have to be fast and you have to be fit so I think I have my game back and I know it will be extremely hard but this makes me think I have a chance," he said.

"I had a good start, was clean off the line and managed to play the shifts well on the first upwind so was already in the lead at the first mark which made my life a lot easier.

"I managed to use my speed downwind and the second beat was more of a controlling race with the Croatian guy and the guy from Cyprus so I'm pretty happy. It is nice to win a race but the regatta has only just started."

The high number of disqualifications so early in the regatta was a result of frustration and the tricky conditions, Scheidt confirmed.

"It was a combination of people being aggressive and a little bit of current pushing them across the line – they didn't realize how close to the line they were which was why so many people got disqualified.

"It was tough to get a disqualification at the beginning of a regatta like that but I should think they will be a lot more careful from now on."

Thompson agreed he had taken a gamble that failed to pay off and was realistic about its implications.

"It was a close call but you couldn't call it bad luck or misfortune," admitted Thompson who has set his sights on winning the 2013 Laser World title, having missed out three times despite finishing on the podium.

"Of course I am disappointed because the black flag disqualification makes my life a lot harder from now."

Germany's Phillip Buhl staged a strong recovery after his disappointment of finishing 17th in Race 2 on Sunday with a third (yellow) in Race 3 but was frustrated when race officers cancelled the second race due the lack of time available.

"I am very happy with this result but I would have loved to have raced again because these are my favourite conditions and suit me well," he said.

He was lying second for most the race but fell to third just before the finish when Brazil's Bruno Fontes edged ahead with a surge of speed downwind.

"Hopefully in the long run it won't matter but the main thing was to be among the leaders because it was important for me to come back from finishing 17th on Sunday."

The qualifying races continue on Tuesday with two scheduled for each day until Wednesday. The finals series starts on Thursday with the last two showdowns set for Saturday.

#lasersailing – The return of Brazilian sailing legend Robert Scheidt to Laser competition after nine years in the Star class has raised the stakes among the 2016 Olympic Games contenders at the Laser Standard Men's World Championships 2013 starting in the Sultanate of Oman on Sunday November 17, organized and hosted by the Ministry of Sports Affairs and Oman Sail.

Having won eight world titles and three Olympic medals in the class, the 40 year-old Scheidt is the most successful Laser sailor of all time. With the dropping of the Star class from the Olympic rota, he has now returned to Lasers to qualify for the Olympics on his home waters in Rio de Janeiro and is currently ranked number 71 Laser sailor in the world.

In his sights for the 2013 Laser World Championship title will be Australian national champion Tom Burton, who has been number one in the Laser world rankings for more than a year and who showed a fondness for the conditions in Oman when he won 2013 Mussanah Race Week (MRW) back in March.

The two champions have met just once in the heat of international battle when Burton won gold to Scheidt's silver at the ISAF Sailing World Cup in Hyeres France in April 2013, paving the way for a tantalising rematch in what is a star-studded Laser fleet.

Of the 50 top ranked Laser sailors in the world, 46 of them will be on the start line at Mussanah Sports City in Oman, the world class sailing facility purpose built to Olympic standards, which is hosting its first ever sailing world championships.

Australia's formidable Laser squad, boasting five sailors in the world's top 20 are set for an intense week with Ryan Palk (5), Matthew Wearn (7) and Ashley Brunning (8) and Jared West (15) all at an advantage after finishing in the top 10 at MRW.

Britain, which since 2000 has produced two Olympic gold medal winners in Ben Ainslie and Paul Goodison, is also fielding a strong contingent with seven sailors in a team of eight ranked in the top 50 in the world. Both Alex Mills Barton (12) and Nick Thompson (17) will be keen to draw first blood at this early stage of their Olympic cycles.

Germany's Phillip Buhl, the 2012 European Laser Champion, won Kiel Week in June beating Scheidt into second place and will be looking to use the Laser Worlds to hoist himself up the rankings from his current 20th place.

Scheidt may have his sights set on being the best in the world but first he has to prove he is the best in Brazil by fighting off the challenge from countryman Bruno Fontes who recently rose from 9th to 3rd in the rankings after winning the Central & South American Laser Championships Higuerillas in Chile in September.

Fontes also finished 5th at the ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami and also in Palma and was 6th in Hyeres so the battle of the Brazilians will most certainly be one to watch in the steady breeze of Oman where conditions could be similar to Rio.

Sweden's Jesper Stalheim, ranked 4th, has had a stellar year, winning the recent ISAF Sailing World Cup Test Event in Santander, the ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami and the Laser Europa Cup while Croatian Tonci Stipanović, who shot up the rankings from 14th to 2nd after winning the ISAF Sailing World Cup Qingdao in China earlier this month is at the top of his game having come third in Hyeres and 4th in Palma.

Also in the running for the world title is Jean-Baptiste Bernaz who represented France at the Beijing and London Olympics, where he came tenth.

Closer to home, the exciting development of Oman's young sailors will be propelled onto the world stage with the Sultanate's only world ranked Laser sailor Hussain Al Jabri and team mates Ahmed Al Hassani and Ahmed Al Balushi all proudly flying the flag for Oman.

Under the tutelage of Oman Sail, their progress has been remarkable. Al Jabri, 25, who only learnt to sail in 2011 when he joined Oman Sail, was voted this year's winner of Oman's first ever Sailor of the Year Awards. Al Hassani sailed on board the Formula 18 (F18 catamaran) before joining Oman Sail's elite offshore crew on board Oman Air-Musandam (MOD70trimaran).

The 39th edition of the Laser World Championships is one of the largest dinghy sailing sporting events and the first sailing world championships ever held in the Sultanate of Oman. Over the course of seven weeks, Al Mussanah Sports City will play host to 390 of the world's best sailors from 51 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, North, South and Central America contesting for the highest honours.

#ballyholme – Northern Ireland's largest open dinghy series began on Belfast Lough today with 49 Lasers competing in Ballyhome's Icebreaker series.  Gareth Flannigan was the winner of today's first race with Hammy Baker second and Chris Boyd third in the standard class. Tim Brow was the radial winner and James Moore won the 4.7 fleet.

The series runs though to Sunday 30th March with 22 races.  This year an F18 Multihull fleet are gearing up for the F18 worlds at Ballyholme YC in June 2014. Adrian Allen won the first race. The results are here. 

#laser – National Champion Christopher Penney discusses his preparations for the recent Irish Laser Nationals at Royal Cork Yacht Club, and Colin Leonard, Irish Laser Association Honorary Treasurer, (and sixth at the Nationals) discusses the classes profile in Ireland.

Preparation for the event started in September 2012 after a relatively poor finish to the season in the Irish nationals. I identified fitness as my biggest weakness and getting up to optimum weight was my biggest priority. Over the winter I worked on this in the gym and gained the 4 kilograms I needed to be competitive.

Due to my coaching role with RYA NI most of my weekends were occupied coaching the up and coming laser sailors in Northern Ireland therefore I didn't get as much time in my Laser as I hoped. Not that I am complaining, coaching is very rewarding work and I enjoy every minute of it! Although I lacked hours on the water my mind was always engaged on the sport and coaching actually helped develop tactics, strategy and other important aspects of the sport.

In the lead up to the Nationals I competed in all 4 provincial championships. I finished fourth in the first two events of the season the Munsters in Baltimore and the Ulsters in Carlingford Lough Yacht Club. I went on to win the Leinster championships held in Wexford and the Connacht championships held in Lough Ree. This was a great confidence boost going into the nationals.

The Laser class has had a strong presence in Ireland since the beginnings of the class, with many Irish sailors also competing at the front of international competition. A trend continued today by the likes of Annalise Murphy, Finn Lynch, Robbie Gilmore and Fionn Lyden in the Radials, whilst James Espey represented Ireland in the Standard Rig at London 2012.

Closer to home the class has gone from strength to strength, and the decision for the Laser Radial to be both the boys and girls ISAF youth class has seen ever increasing numbers at our four regional events and over 150 competitors in Cork for the national championships. There are also many parents coming back to the class to join their children on the water. There is a Masters championship for these hardy characters to focus on their own results rather than keeping an eye on their children, and enjoy a more relaxed social event with their friends!

The recent European and World Championships at the National Yacht Club were a huge success, with athletes from all over the world praising the race management and logistics of the clubs. This publicity reflects well on Irish sailing as a whole and brings laser sailing in Ireland to the fore. Anyone wishing to try a laser should go to www.laser-ireland.com where contact details for regional representatives and committee members can be found, all of whom will happily point you in the direction of a club nearby for you or your family to join the biggest one design class in the world!