Displaying items by tag: Laser
Ten Irish Sign up for Torquay SB3 World Champs
But top ranked Irish performer Ben Duncan, who races from Howth Yacht Club is entered under his native New Zealand flag.
Seriously Bonkers (Martin Cuppage), Bad Kilcullen (Jerry Dowling) and Cathy MacAleavey's Bluebird are among Dun Laoghaire boats to enter so far. The full entry list is here.
The event will be hosted by the Royal Torbay Yacht Club, UK from 16 – 20 May 2011.
Representatives from fourteen nations will compete in the World Championships. The host nation field an entry of over seventy boats. Entries come from as far afield as Australia and South Africa. Ireland, France, The Netherlands, Portugal, Greece, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Ukraine and Russia will all be represented in Torquay in May.
The three Laser SB3 World Champions, Geoff Carveth (2008 Champion, Dun Laoghaire), Craig Burlton (2009 Champion, Cascais) and Jerry Hill (2010 Champion, Torbole) will all compete for the 2011 Championship title.
Carveth, Burlton and Hill are all British and so far the Laser SB3 World Championship has not been won by another nation. Will 2011 see the trophy slip from the Brits grip?
Australian sailing man of the moment, Nathan Outteridge, will compete with Laser SB3 Class President, Dave Cheyne in Torquay in May. Outteridge is twice 49er World Champion, current Moth World Champion and recent winner of the Audi King of Docklands and Audi Victoria Week in the Laser SB3. Fellow Australian Glenn Bourke returns to the class for the Championship.
South Africa’s Roger Hudson will compete in his fourth Laser SB3 World Championship and will no doubt be determined to better his current hatric of second places. Hudson has sailed each of the previous World Championships with a different helm; 2008 David Hudson (father), 2009 Taariq Jacobs and 2010 Iain Ainslie. It is yet to be announced which members of the Race Ahead Foundation will sail with Hudson in 2011.
In preparation for the World Championships, the Royal Torbay Yacht Club will host the Torbay Open, 30 April – 2 May and the Pre World Championship 12 – 13 May. These two events will provide a great opportunity for a number of keen teams from across Europe to travel to the UK and sail on the waters of Tor Bay prior to the World Championships.
“We’re really looking forward to hosting the event at the Club, I sail in the fleet so it’s great to be involved in delivering this event. We’re delighted with the size and quality of the entry list and look forward to extending the entry if necessary,” explained Event Organiser Adrian Peach.
The Laser SB3 Class is proud to be one of the most tightly restricted one design keelboat classes in the world with little variation from the builder’s final product permitted. With minimal maintenance, easy to trail and low campaign costs, the class thrives on its philosophy of providing inclusive, high intensity, great fun and easily attainable, quality racing for its members.
Further news and developments can be followed HERE.
Keller Leads Kinsale Radials
With the predicted South-South Westerly winds arriving on schedule for the 11.55 First Gun, PRO Bruce Mathews and team laid a windward- leeward course across the harbour from Money Point to Charles Fort. The moderately difficult conditions, which were dominated by a variable force three to four, were at times exacerbated by persistent gusts sweeping the length of the course. By the end of the first race an unexpected squall left several capsized boats in its wake. With an ebb tide affecting the left side of the course in particular and strengthening as the racing progressed, the competing fleets were challenged with typical Kinsale Frostbite conditions. As five races have now been successfully completed, the first discard in the league series came into play.
First fleet off was the 4.7 Lasers, immediately followed by the combined Laser Radial and Standard rigs, and finally by the combined Squib and Mixed Dinghy classes. The slightly amended running order resulted in a quick and efficient programme which allowed for three races on the day and all crews safely ashore within three hours.
Cian Byrne (KYC/RCYC) although scoring a fourth, a third and a second in the Laser 4.7 races just managed to retain his leading position by a single point. He is closely followed by Darragh O'Sullivan (KYC) a current member of the ISA Laser 4.7 Squad, who scored a first and a fourth, while discarding an unfortunate protest-related penalty from the first week. Dara O'Shea's (KYC) overall third remains secure after scoring a fine first in the first race followed by two fourths. Séafra Guilfoyle (RCYC), another ISA Squad member, turned in the best results of the day as he scored his first points in the series with two seconds and a first in the last race.
Eoin Keller (LDYC) continued his unbeatable form in the Laser Radials, as he completed a clean sweep of all races. His unblemished record of five straight bullets puts him in a commanding position at the head of the fleet. Colm Regan, with two fourths and a second retains second place overall, as Eoghan Cudmore (RCYC/KYC) showing consistent form with two thirds and a second moves up one place to third overall.
In a much depleted Laser Standard fleet this week, Rob Howe (RCYC) took full advantage of the opportunity as he coasted home with three straight wins. His excellent performance moved him up two places to lead the field overall displacing Dave Kenefick (RCYC) who had two seconds on the day.
Marcus and Meagan Hutchinson in 'Sensation' (KYC) convincingly shot to the top of the Squib fleet, from their previous third place with three straight wins as they dominated the day's racing and went on to shake up the leader-board. Previous pace-setter Paul McCarthy in 'Mack' (KYC) having an inconsistent day, slipped down into second overall three points behind as he scored a third, a fourth, and a second in the final race. Also down one place, Victor and Ruth Fusco in 'Gemini' (KYC) scored two fourths and a seventh leaving them four points behind McCarthy. Showing much improved form, Colm Dunne and Mark Buckley (KYC) had a very successful day with a second and two thirds and moved up several places to take fourth overall.
In the Mixed Dinghy Fleet, the 505 of Brian Jones and Gary Frost (MBSC) lead the David Marshall and Rob Scandrett owned Feva (RCYC), followed by Fiona Lynch's Feva and Shane Dwyer's Topaz Uno Plus. Individual results were not available at the time of writing.
The ASM Frostbite League at KYC continues over the next two Sundays, finishing on 27th February 2011. The Sailing Instructions allow for twelve races to complete the series, with a possible three discards to apply. First Gun is at 11.55 a.m.
Sheridan Leads Dolan at Howth Yacht Club Lasers
Annalise Murphy is Miami Medal Prospect
The strong Dun Laoghaire girl relished the prospects of the big winds that blew at times on Biscayne Bay this week. Consistent results of 5, 15, 2, 2, 5, 6 11,9, (21) and 5 never saw her out of the top five.
Tuesday saw her bag two second places in a fleet of 58. It was a turning point in a regatta that she crashed out of last year only to return wth grit to be Ireland's only medal hope today.
Last night's move up to fourth overall on the scoreboard is another confidence boost, heightening the prospect of a place on this evening's podium. Conditions in Miami today are forcast to be light, probably not the conditions the National Yacht club girl would have hoped for.
In the Star Peter O'Leary and his crew for his London 2012 bid David Burrows finished with a strong fifth place yesterday but it was not enough to make today's final. They finished 13th overall after counting a black flag disqualification on day two of the event. See all results HERE.
Rival to Annalise, Tiffany Brien from Belfast Lough finished 21st overall.
Her club mate Jame Espey was 49th out of 52 after 7 races in the Laser gold fleet.
More from Miami organisers below:
Waking to a brisk northwesterly breeze, sailors at US SAILING’s Rolex Miami OCR yesterday made up for races lost to light air Wednesday. The conditions, though chilly by Florida standards, played out perfectly for medals to be determined in three Paralympic classes, while 10 Olympic classes fought their final battles for the right to compete in tomorrow’s medal races, which are comprised of top-ten “sail-offs” for Finn, 49er, Men’s 470, Women’s 470, Laser, Laser Radial, Men’s RS:X, Women’s RS:X and Star classes, and Finals and Petit Finals for Elliott 6m (women’s match racing). The regatta, which began Monday for 716 sailors from 53 nations, prepares Olympic and Paralympic sailing aspirants for the 2012 Games and is the second of seven stops on the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Sailing World Cup circuit.
For France’s Damien Seguin, a two-time 2.4mR IFDS World Champion who is currently ranked #1 in the world, winning gold in the Paralympic 2.4mR class was looking good from day two when he assumed the lead over his 30-boat fleet. Clinching today, however, was not as straightforward as today’s scores seemed to reflect. Following seven boat lengths behind leader USA’s John Ruf (Pewaukee, Wis.) at the finish in race one, Seguin was determined the actual winner when Ruf was disqualified for starting the race prematurely and neglecting to exonerate himself. “After that, for my next two races, my score was such that I needed only to loosely cover Thierry Schmitter (NED),” said Seguin, further explaining that only if he finished worse than sixth would he foil his own plot. Schmitter, another IFDS World Champion, took the Silver Medal, finishing fourth in the first race and winning the next two, each time with Seguin behind in second.
“There were many different winds here,” said Damien about the practice this provides for his run for a spot on the French national team. “We started in strong wind, then there was light wind and today medium-strong. I am very happy for that and for the competition.”
Taking bronze was Canada’s Allan Leibel, who is able-bodied and allowed to compete here, since the class is declared “open” for this event.
The Gold Medal taking in the Paralympic Sonar class by GBR’s John Robertson/Hannah Stodel/Steve Thomas came with an intriguing twist today. With two races completed, the Dutch team of Udo Hessels/Mischa Rossen/Marcel van de Veen were in the lead, and surprisingly, they did not sail the third and final race.
“There were two points between us and the Dutch, so no one will ever know how it would have played out on the water,” said Robertson, explaining that he understands Hessel’s middle crew Rossen, a single-arm amputee, had been having problems with his opposite shoulder and the team had decided beforehand to race no more than two races today.
Robertson’s team, which took the Silver here last year, posted a final score of 30 to the 36 points posted by silver medalists Bruon Jourdren/Eric Flageul/Nicolas Vimont Vicary (FRA). The Dutch team, with 37 points, is going home with the Bronze.
As for his team’s overall strategy here, Robertson said, “We tried to sail our own race and not get hung up with the other guys. Hanna did a fantastic job calling tactics, especially today, as the wind was up and down and all over the place, with 40-50 degree shifts.”
The Australian Paralympic SKUD 18 team of Daniel Fitzgibbon/Liesl Tesch has led their fleet since day one and boasted six victories in their nine-race score line to take the Gold medal. Today they finished 1-1-2.
“We didn’t walk away with it, really, but we were comfortably ahead,” said Fitzgibbon, who won a Paralympic Silver Medal (with a different crew) in Qingdao. "We didn’t expect to have done so well with such a new combination,” he added, noting that he and Tesch, who gave up Paralympic basketball (she is a two-time medalist) for her new-found love of sailing, have only been together on the SKUD 18 for a few weeks. “It’s a new challenge for her and a breath of fresh air for everybody.”
Taking Silver was US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics’ Scott Whitman/Julia Dorsett (USA), with Alexandra Rickham/Niki Birrell (GBR) taking the Bronze.
Medal Races Tomorrow
Top-ten finishers from today in each of nine Olympic classes will get only one chance--a 30- to 40-minute race—to make or break their claim to a podium position. Emulating the Olympic format, the medal race counts double points and cannot be counted as the one allowed discard race when it is added to a sailor’s score line from the rest of the series.
In women’s match racing, US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics members Anna Tunnicliffe(/Molly Vandemoer/Debbie Capozzi (Plantation, Fla., USA/Redwood City, Calif./Bayport, N.Y., USA) will meet Claire Leroy/ Elodie Bertrand/Marie Riou (FRA) in a first-to-three points Finals match tomorrow to determine Gold and Silver medalists. Lucy Macgregor/Mary Rook/ Kate Macgregor (GBR) and Sally Barkow (Nashotah, WI., USA)/ Alana O’Reilly (Charleston SC, USA)/ Elizabeth Kratzig-Burnham (Miami Beach FL, USA) will be fighting for bronze in the Petit Finals.
Match racing starts on its own course at 9:30 tomorrow, with fleet racing starting at 11:00 am on two additional courses. Fleet races are planned to be approximately 30 minutes in length and started 40 minutes apart. No racing will start after 1:40 p.m., so it will be an early day.
US SAILING has partnered with the city of Miami to provide world-class venues for competition. Additional hosts for the event include Coral Reef Yacht Club, Key Biscayne 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.
In addition to title sponsor Rolex Watch U.S.A., US SAILING’s 2011 Rolex Miami OCR is also sponsored by AlphaGraphics, Gowrie Group, Chubb Insurance, Sperry Top-Sider, Harken McLube, Trinity Yachts, University of Miami Hospital and Kattack.
A complete roster of competitors can be viewed at the event website, RMOCR.ussailing.org, where real-time racecourse blogging, commentary and fan interaction, regatta results, photos and news updates will be integrated into a live coverage platform once racing begins. Video highlights produced by Gary Jobson and presented by Rolex air daily and are available on-demand on the event website. Fans can also follow the event on Facebook/RolexMiamiOCR and Twitter/RolexMiamiOCR.
More in our Olympics 2012 category HERE
Murphy Moves into Third in Miami
Two seconds in today's Laser Radial racing on Biscayne Bay give Dun Laoghaire's Annalise Murphy third overall at Miami Olympic Classes Regatta but the news in the Star class is not as good after Ireland's Peter O'Leary and David Burrows nosedive after a Black Flag Disqualification in race four.
Single hander Murphy, from the National YC, is racing in a highly competitive 58-boat fleet that is led by Belgium's Evi Van Acker. Winds over 16 knots ideally suited the National YC sailor wh now counts a 5, 15 and the two second places. Results HERE.
O'Leary and Burrows dropped from fourth to 23rd after counting a 28th and the Black Flag result today in their 56-boat fleet. Results HERE.
Annalise to leeward in a start in great conditions in Miami. Photo: Daniel Forster/Rolex
Sheridan Wins HYC Laser Race
HOWTH YACHT CLUB. LASER FROSTBITE SPRING (O'ALL) 23/01/2011 LASER STANDARD: 1, Daragh Sheridan HYC (16.00); 2, Evan Dolan NYC (18.00); 3, David Quinn HYC (19.00); LASER STANDARD APPRENTICE: 1, Conor Murphy HYC (6.00); 2, Darach Dineen HYC (12.00); 3, Conor Hopkins HYC (17.00); LASER STANDARD MASTER: 1, Evan Dolan NYC (12.00); 2, David Quinn HYC (12.00); 3, Daragh Kelleher SSC (13.00); LASER STANDARD GRAND MASTER: 1, Daragh Sheridan HYC (5.00); 2, Robin Hegarty HYC (11.00); 3, Conor Costello MYC (19.00); LASER RADIAL: 1, Robert Ferris HYC (8.00); 2, Vincent Varley MYC (8.00); 3, Ciaran Costello MYC (23.00)
Dolan Beats McMahon in Howth Yacht Club Laser Race
Greagsbey Wins in Howth
Nicholas O'Leary is Afloat's November Sailor of the Month
Nicholas "Nin" O'Leary of Cork has re-written the Irish sailing records, and he's only 24. The new All Ireland Champion Helm is clear winner of the Afloat.ie/Irish Independent "Sailor of the Month" award for November after a nail-biting finale in difficult conditions off Kinsale, making it three-in-a-row for this junior skipper who was winning major titles with impressive scorelines well before he was out of his teens.
The wind was drawing from the east for the 20th November shootout in the ISA's SailFleet of J/80s. But the challenge lay in the fact that, after a week of strong winds up to gale force, a massive swell was rolling in past the Bulman Buoy to provide sea conditions which were out of sync with the strength of the breeze.
Yet the three top Royal Cork helms showed they were up to the challenge. In fact, it was Neil Kenefick, in the championship through being tops in the ICRA series in 2010, who best got to grips with the racing in the early stages, posting two wins with Anthony O'Leary second in the first race, while son Nicholas was second in the next one.
But the junior O'Leary moved nearer to retaining the title by winning the third, though his father was right there with a second, while James Espey from the Lasers posted a third. However, Kenefick was in touch with a fourth, but that became his discount as he nailed a couple of thirds in the two concluding races.
Going into the fifth and final race, the three Crosshaven helms were neck-and-neck on points, but O'Leary Junior put it neatly away by slicing in ahead of his father, with Kenefick third. The Corkmen were out on their own, as next in line was Puppeteer 22 Champion Garret May, but he concluded with 18 net points, while Neil Kenefick was on 8, Anthony O'Leary on 7, and Nicholas O'Leary the supreme champion on 6. And making a bit of history while he was at it - the first three-in-a-row in the All Ireland's 64 years.
Greagsbey in Front at Howth Laser Frostbtes
