#LASER RADIAL WORLDS – Annalise Murphy's 64th and 33rd scored yesterday in the penultimate day of racing at the Laser Radial World Championships in Germany put her 16th overall with overall scores tighenting significantly at the top of the table.

This season's most consistent sailor, with three World Cup wins under her belt Lijia Xu (CHN) had her worst day of this Boltenhagen regatta with light winds saddling her with a 14th and 12th, these are now her two discards.

However Xu is still ahead of Gintare Scheidt (LTU) in the overall results due to her 12–point lead with which she went into today's races.

The final rounds will be sailed today and there is no medal race in this world championship format.

Yesterday's first start at the Audi Laser World Championship 2012 was postponed for three hours as there was barely any wind. Around 1pm a sea breeze came in and there were six to eight knots for the first race and ten to twelve knots for the second. A small current on the Wohlenberger Wiek kept the sailors in line and there was neither a general recall nor a single early starter during any of the starts.

Although for Lijia Xu (CHN) the racing did not go as smoothly as on previous days she is still ahead of Gintare Scheidt (LTU) in the overall results due to her 12 point lead with which she went into today's races. Scheidt convinced in the first race where she was second but had to discard the sixteenth place from the second race as her worst result in the final series so far. With the second discard after ten races Alison Young (GBR) only adds one point to her overall score and moves back up into third place.

Sari Multala (FIN) slips to fourth place but with only eleven points separating her and Lijia Xu in first place there is still the possibility for some major changes in the overall rankings. Defending World Champion Marit Bouwmeester (NED) is keeping steady in fifth place overall with two ninth places. 18-year-old newcomer Erika Reineke (USA) scored spectacular results in gold fleet today, achieving a third and a first place ahead of fellow countrywoman Paige Railey who finished 20th and ninth.

Reineke is still ahead in the U21 rankings as well, having established a 69 point lead on Brenda Bowskill (CAN) in second place. Michelle Broekhuizen (NED) is in third place.

#MISS NORTHERN IRELAND – Royal North of Ireland YC dinghy sailor Tiffany Brien is on her way to the Miss World Competition in China having won the 2012 Miss Northern Ireland competition in Belfast this week. One of Ireland's top Laser Radial sailors, Tiffany was crowned at a 'glittering' ceremony at the Europa Hotel in Belfast on Monday night.

Tiffany jets off to the Miss World final in China on Saturday August 18, more or less the same time as she had been planning to represent Ireland at the Olympics until Dublin's Annalise Murphy took the top Irish slot. The Belfast Telegraph has more on the story here. But Tiffany is still sailing though and as well as national Laser Radial honours Miss Northern Ireland will be sailing across the Irish sea to help fellow sailor, blind adventurer Mark Pollock who is recovering from a fall. The pair are to sail across the Irish sea together for a number of charities.

Tiffany, daughter of well know Belfast lough sailor Simon Brien, will compete against over 100 girls from round the world, including, Miss Ireland, Rebecca Maguire, who is also from Belfast.

More photos of Tiffany's Miss Northern Ireland success here.

#OLYMPIC SAILING – London Olympic debutante Annalise Murphy (22) who the Irish Sailing Association (ISA) say can be an Olympic medal winner in Weymouth this summer has had a 'difficult start' to her Laser Radial World Championships in Germany today as extremely shifty winds that increased from eight to twenty knots during the afternoon made racing difficult. Writing on her facebook page last night the UCD Science student told friends: "Tough first day on the water today. #onlyupfromhere!"

In the first race of the Audi sponsored event there was little or no beating in the first leg as the massive 133-boat fleet negotiated big wind shifts. Annalise finished 65th and  more problems followed in race two when a collision forced the Dun Laoghaire sailor into a 720 degree penalty turn leaving her 33rd and 103rd overall.

Results sheet is downloadable below as a PDF.

Both starting line and race course had to be repositioned several times and mixed results for the entire fleet reflected the tricky conditions.

Cecilia Carranza Saroli from Argentina achieved the most consistent results with a fifth and a first place. In second place after two qualifying races is Tatiana Drozdovskaya from Belarus with a sixth and a second place. She is followed by Finland's Sari Multala who won the first race and placed eighth in the second.

Favourites Marit Bouwmeester (NED) and Gintare Scheidt (LTU) are in tenth and twelfth place respectively. Vice champion from last year Paige Railey (USA) ended the races on her birthday in 30th place overall. Alison Young (GBR) who won the blue fleet's second race but she finished 31st overall due to a heavy 39 points in the first race.

Leading the Under 21's is Marie Bolou from France with a two point lead over Svenja Weger (GER) and Oren Jacob (ISR), both with 26 points.

#OLYMPIC SAILING – Belfast Lough is sending a second boat to the Olympic regatta in July following James Espey's Olympic qualification result in Germany today.

After four days of racing at the Laser World Championships in Germany, Espey from Ballyholme Yacht Club achieved Olympic qualification when he made the Gold fleet in Day four of the event.

Light winds were again prevailing today on day four of the Laser Standard Worlds at the Baltic Sea. In abating winds, two races were sailed, and Tom Slingsby AUS extended his lead with another race win to 9 points.

Espey scored 7, (29), 3, 20, 18, 17 ,22,19 to make the gold fleet. He now lies in 30th position overall and is second from nations who have not already qualified. By virtue of the fact there are only 6 unqualified nations in Gold fleet and there are 12 places on offer at this event Espey can be satisfied with a job well done.

Espey is the fourth Irish sailing campaign to qualify for Ireland. The other three teams Annalise Murphy (Laser Radial), Peter O'Leary and David Burrows (Star) and Belfast club mates Ryan Seaton & Matt McGovern (49er) qualified at the World Championships in Perth, Australia in December 2011.

A further two campaigns, Gerbil Owens and Scot Flanigan (470) and Ross Hamilton in the Finn dinghy are also targeting Olympic qualification this month.

#BOATS FOR SALE –The seller of this Laser Pico sailing dinghy could not have picked a better time to put the 12 foot boat up for sale because April is the time of year when Mums and Dads are looking for boats for junior sailing courses. The Laser Pico is a fun, durable, confidence-inspiring, boat that can be sailed by everyone. It's ideal for entry-level sailors and this one has not been used for the past two years.

The rotomoulded Pico is popular at so many sailing schools around the country we don't see this boat for sale for long.

It comes with a launching trailer and the advertiser says it is in great condition, complete with rudder and dagger board. There is a brand new jib. Ideal for beginners or children, easy to manage.

The full Pico advert is here.

See all our dinghies for sale on the Afloat Boats for Sales site here.

#LASER - A pair of British sailors are set to embark on an intrepid crossing of the Irish Sea using just two single-handed Laser dingies.

David Summerville and Steve Cockerill had originally planned to make the crossing in September last year, but those plans were scuppered by 50-knot gale force winds and a 12-foot tidal swell, according to Incentive Travel.

But the duo is now planning to try again, with the backing of the Ramada Plaza Southport.

“David and Steve will be covering 115 nautical miles during the challenge," said Ramada Plaza general manager Enda Rylands. "They will set off from my own home town of Dublin and finish in Southport, aiming to raise £50,000 for mental health charity Mind and the John Merricks Sailing Trust."

Summerville, a 53-year-old grandfather of two who runs a boat repair business, said the date of the challenge would again depend on weather and tidal conditions, and that the pair is ready to depart any time from mid-April to mid-September.

It's not the first time that an Irish Sea crossing has been done in a Laser as Tiffany Brien achieved the feat in 2010, sailing single-handedly the 30 miles from Portpatrick in Scotland to Belfast Lough.

But Summerville and Cockerill's ambitious undertaking, at more than three times that distance, would surely get them a place in the record books - provided the weather goes their way!

#LASER – The single handed Laser dinghy made a welcome return to Dublin Bay racing last year with up to 20 boats racing on a Tuesday evening as part of the regular Dublin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) season.

And for 2012 it looks like the renewed interest is set to continue with the introduction of the the '2012 Dublin Bay Regatta League' for Lasers.

To encourage participation and bigger fleets Local sailors Paul Keane and Richard Tate have organised the league and participation in the league is free and the winner will have their class Nationals entry fee paid.

The league will work on the ranking system used by the Laser Class with each regatta result counting towards the overall placing.

This year the regatta season runs over 6 consecutive weeks starting with the regatta in the DMYC on the 2nd June, the RAYC on the 16th June, the NYC on 23rd June, the RIYC on the 30th June and finally the RStGYC on the 7th of July.

After an absence of 8 years The Laser Nationals return to Dublin Bay in August 2012. The event will be hosted by the NYC and with strong local fleets a big turnout can be expected.

Click here to find out more.

#OLYMPIC – Ballyholme and Royal Ulster Yacht Club sailor, James Espey has been campaigning to go to the Olympics in Weymouth this summer. As part of his campaign he is hosting a Fundraising Day on Saturday 18 February at BYC. This will include a day of coaching and racing, then and an evening party. The coaching will be taken by James himself and a guest coach. Top Laser sailors will be racing – come along and pace yourself against the best Laser sailors in the Northern Ireland.

In the evening there is a great party planned – Dinner and Cocktails, an Olympic auction and entertainment with music. Come along to support 'Bapsy' and send him on his Olympic journey.

James will be competing in Germany at the Laser Worlds and this is the event he is anticipating to qualify for the Games.

Saturday, 18 February

Laser Coaching 1130-1300hrs

Lunch 1300-1400 (Soup & Rolls)

Laser Racing 1400 – 3 races

Dinner & Cocktails 1900hrs

Auction @ 2030

Tickets for the full day are £30, £15 for the evening dinner and entertainment

#LASER – All Master Laser sailors are invited to compete in the second running of the Laser Inter-club Masters' Challenge being held by Howth Yacht Club on Saturday 10th March as the finale to the Laser Frostbite Series.

All Masters Laser sailors are invited to enter teams (3 minimum) to compete for the trophy. The event consists of 3 races (two windward-leewards, each approx 40 mins. duration, and the Round the Island Race), with the first race starting at 10:55. The best three Masters sailors from each club will count for the trophy.

The famous Howth Laser Lunch and prize-giving will follow straight after racing. The Ireland V Scotland game will be shown on big screens after the lunch in the club bar.

More details from Howth Yacht Club.

#MOCR – A place in this weekend's medal race is the likley prize for Olympic Star keelboat pair Peter O'Leary and David Burrows who have scored top ten results for the third day in a row at the Miami Olympic Classes Regatta. The Cork–Dublin duo, now in seventh overall after a seventh and a sixth scored yesterday, need to continue the consistent performance into today's final round of fleet racing to secure a top ten placing overall.

Dun Laoghaire's single-hander Annalise Murphy in the Laser Radial now in ninth overall is also set for a place in Saturday's medal race having discarded her worst result of  27th, scored yesterday afternoon on Biscayne Bay.

The Irish Paralympic team in the Sonar class had their best day so far of the championship with two fifth places. A protest yesterday evening resulted in their disqualifcation from yesterday's final race but that didn't prevent them from moving up one place on the leader board to seventh overall.

Laser sailor James Espey from Belfast Lough slipped to 22nd overall following two 35th places.

Additional reporting by organisers:

Miami, Florida, USA: A final showdown awaits three Paralympic classes tomorrow and ten Olympic classes on Saturday at US Sailing's Rolex Miami OCR, which has, thus far, gifted sailors with four days of sublime sunshine and satisfying winds. The event is the only one of seven ISAF Sailing World Cup events to grace a shore on this continent and has attracted 529 sailors from 41 countries from as close as Canada and as far away as New Zealand and China.
"It's looking pretty exciting," said Brazil's Star sailor Robert Scheidt, who with crew Bruno Prada has perhaps one of the most impressive sailing records here. (Together, they are two-time Olympic medalists and just off their second straight title win at the Star World Championships). "Some of the guys who have already got a spot in the Olympics are here and they are really sailing well."
No one has been proving that theory better than Sweden's Fredrik Loof/Max Salminen who yesterday trailed Scheidt/Prada by two points and today tied on points with the Brazilians after finishing 6-2 to their 3-7. With both teams posting 26 points, Norway's Eivind Melleby/ Petter Moerland Pedersen are nipping at their heels with only 29 points.
As will happen at the Olympics, only the top-ten boats after tomorrow's racing will be allowed to progress to Saturday's single medal race, which will determine gold, silver and bronze medals.
For the Paralympic sailors here, tomorrow will be the final day of racing (two races each scheduled for Skud-18, Sonar and 2.4mR classes) and determine who takes home medals. (This is the same format that will be followed at their Games.)
Top three podium positions:
Sonar, 10 boats, - 8 races
1. Jourden Bruno / Vimont Vicary Nicolas / Flageul Eric, FRA, 19 points
2. Udo Hessels / Marcel van de Veen / Mischa Rossen, NED, 20
2. John Robertson / Hannah Stodel / Steve Thomas, GBR, 22
Star, 29 boats, - 8 races
1. Robert Scheidt / Bruno Prada, BRA, 26
2. Fredrik Loof / Max Salminen, SWE, 26
3. Eivind Melleby / Petter Moerland Pedersen, NOR, 29
49er, 23 boats, - 12 races
1. Nico Luca Marc Delle Karth / Nikolaus Resch, AUT, 29
2. Erik Storck / Trevor Moore, USA, 33
3. Allan Norregaard / Peter Lang, DEN, 61
Skud-18, 6 boats, - 8 races
1. Daniel Fitzgibbon / Liesl Tesch, AUS, 13
2. Alexandra Rickham / Niki Birrell, GBR, 13
3. Jennifer French / Jean-Paul Creignou, USA, 20
2.4mR, 25 boats, - 8 races
1. Damien Seguin, FRA, 13
2. Paul Tingley, CAN, 33
3. Megan Pascoe, GBR, 39
Laser Radial, 60 boats, - 8 races
1. Lijia Xu, CHN, 19
2. Marit Bouwmeester, NED, 25
3. Evi Van Acker, BEL, 38
470 Men, 22 boats, - 8 races
1. Mathew Belcher / Malcolm Page, AUS, 20
2. Sven Coster / Kalle Coster, NED, 24
3. Lucas Calabrese / Juan Maria de la Fuente, ARG, 32
470 Women, 15 boats, - 8 races
1. Lisa Westerhof / Lobke Berkhout, NED, 22
2. Hannah Mills / Saskia Clark, GBR, 23
3. Maria Fernanda Sesto / Consuelo Monsegur, ARG, 31
Laser, Gold,, 37 boats,- 8 races
1. Paul Goodison, GBR, 15
2. David Wright, CAN, 17
3. Bruno Fontes, BRA, 18
Laser, Silver,, 37 boats,- 8 races
1. Marcin Rudawski, POL, 100
2. Ricardo Montemayor, MEX, 103
3. Matthew Ryder, CAN, 114
Finn, 25 boats, - 8 races
1. Zach Railey, USA, 9
2. Jonas Hogh Christensen, DEN, 19
3. Brendan Casey, AUS, 25
RS: X Men, 14 boats, - 8 races
1. Nick Dempsey, GBR, 7
2. Elliot Carney, GBR, 19
3. Mariano Reutemann, ARG, 20
RS: X Women, 12 boats, - 6 races
1. Demita Vega De Lille, MEX, 10
2. Carolina Mendelblatt, POR, 21
3. Farrah Hall, Annapolis, Md., USA, 22
Women's Match Racing
TOP FOUR ADVANCING TO SEMIFINALS
Sally Barkow / Alana O'Reilly / Elizabeth Kratzig-Burnham, USA, 3 wins- 0 losses
Silja Lehtinen / Silja Kanerva / Mikaela Wulff, FIN, 3 wins- 0 losses
Olivia Price / Nina Curtis / Lucinda Whitty, AUS, 3 wins- 0 losses
Lucy Macgregor / Annie Lush / Kate Macgregor, GBR, 3 wins- 2 losses