Annalise Off To Flying Start at Delta Llloyd Regatta

26th May 2015

#sailDLR2015 – Ten Irish Laser sailors are fighting for two places at this year's Olympic test event in Rio in August but it is the London 2012 incumbents who are producing the results on a windy day one of an Irish trial, sailed as part of the massive 700–boat Delta Lloyd regatta in Holland.

Dun Laoghaire's Annalise Murphy, sailing in her optimum conditions, opened her Dutch account with a first and a third to be fourth overall, putting down a marker to would be rivals Aisling Keller, Aoife Hopkins, Erica Ruigrok and Nicole Hemeryck.

Belfast mens Laser ace James Espey had a solid first day on the Ijsselmeer with an eighth and an eighth scored to put him 12th overall. Next best to Espey is Schull's Fionn Lyden in 48th. Chris Russell, Finn Lynch and Darragh O'Sullivan are also racing.

The selection rules say the Irish sailor ranked the highest at the conclusion of this week shall be recommended for Aqueece Rio in August.

Full results here

It was a strong-wind opening day for the 700 boats competing at the Delta Lloyd Regatta in Medemblik, Holland.

Poland's world-class windsurfing squad has always enjoyed the strong breeze, and Pawel Tarnoski leads the RSX men's windsurfer division after a perfect day of three race victories. Zofia Noceti-Klepacka leads the RSX women's division with scores of 2,1,2.
In the women's skiff, the 49er FX, Dutch team Annemieke Bekkering and Annette Duetz blasted around the course with incredible consistency, racking up 3,3,3 to lead the regatta, although the Aussie team in 2nd place, Tess Lloyd and Caitlin Elks, also sit on 9 points with scores of 1,4,4.
It's a similar tie-break story at the top of the men's 49er leaderboard; New Zealand's young team of Marcus Hansen and Josh Porebski hold the lead in the men's skiff fleet, but on equal points in 2nd place is Australia's Joel Turner and Lewis Brake. Near the back of the fleet, but not surprising after their first day ever of competition in the highly challenging 49er, is the team from Oman, Musab Al Hadi and Hashim Al Rashdi. "If we can get round the course, and not crash into anyone, we'll be happy," said Al Hadi, although he was disappointed to finish outside the time limit of the final of their three heats, after multiple capsizes on the last leg of the race.
Part of the challenge of racing on the IJsselmeer is that the shallow 5-6m waters generate a short choppy wave pattern that makes it very easy to stick the nose of a fast boat like the 49er into the back of the wave, resulting in pitchpoles and capsizes. It's a similar problem for the high-speed catamaran, the Nacra 17. However this didn't upset the World No.1s from France, Billy Besson and Marie Riou who dominated the multihull fleet with 1,3,1 scores, sitting 10 points in front of Great Britain's Ben Saxton and Nicola Groves in 2nd place just ahead of Olympic medallists from Australia, Darren Bundock and Nina Curtis.

Annalise in race winning form on Day one of Delta Lloyd regatta in Holland. Photo: Sander van der Borch

Matthew Wearn from Australia did well in his side of the three-way draw in the 162-boat Laser qualifying fleet, with scores of 1,2 leaving him well placed after day one. Rutger van Schaardenburg is the top Dutch sailor in a very competitive home fleet, lying 2nd overall with a 4,1 score. In the women's singlehander, the Laser Radial, Annalise hammered home her traditional big-breeze advantage to win the first race of her qualifying group. On the other side of the draw, Olympic silver medallist Marit Bouwmeester from the Netherlands won her race at a canter, easily justifying her early selection to the Olympic team for Rio 2016.
In the three-person Paralympic keelboat, Colin Harrison's team from Australia tops the 12-boat Sonar fleet. In the SKUD doublehanders, Great Britain's Alex Rickham and Niki Birrell hold a one-point lead over the Netherlands' Rolf Schrama and Sandra Nap. France's Damien Seguin enjoyed a perfect day in the 2.4mR singlehander keelboat, winning both races.
In the 470 divisions, Finland's Niki Blassar and Mikaela Wulff lead the women's fleet, and Korea's Kim Chang-Ju and Kim Ji-Hoon lead the men. Pieter-Jan Postma didn't have it all his own way in the Finn singlehander, although the Dutchman still looked impressive on home waters to lead with scores of 3,1. "When it's windy and shifty like that, and with the waves on the IJsselmeer, it can be tricky for sailors visiting here, but they are learning quickly," he smiled. "I won't be sharing any local secrets with them, they are working it out already!"

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Irish Olympic Sailing FAQs

How long has Ireland been sailing at the Olympics?

Ireland’s representation in sailing at the Olympics dates back to 1948, when a team consisting of Jimmy Mooney (Firefly), Alf Delany and Hugh Allen (Swallow) competed in that year’s Summer Games in London (sailing off Torquay). Except for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Ireland has sent at least one sailor to every Summer Games since then.

Who has sailed for Ireland at the Olympics, and when?

How many Olympic medals has Ireland won in sailing?

Ireland has won two Olympics medals in sailing events, both silver: David Wilkins, Jamie Wilkinson in the Flying Dutchman at Moscow 1980, and Annalise Murphy in the Laser Radial at Rio 2016.

Who is on the current Irish Sailing Olympic team?

The current team, as of December 2020, consists of Laser sailors Finn Lynch, Liam Glynn and Ewan McMahon, 49er pairs Ryan Seaton and Seafra Guilfoyle, and Sean Waddilove and Robert Dickson, as well as Laser Radial sailors Annalise Murphy and Aoife Hopkins.

What is the National Governing Body for sailing in Ireland?

Irish Sailing is the National Governing Body for sailing in Ireland.

Who is responsible for selecting Ireland’s Olympic sailors?

Irish Sailing’s Performance division is responsible for selecting and nurturing Olympic contenders as part of its Performance Pathway.

What is the Performance Pathway?

The Performance Pathway is Irish Sailing’s Olympic talent pipeline. The Performance Pathway counts over 70 sailors from 11 years up in its programme.The Performance Pathway is made up of Junior, Youth, Academy, Development and Olympic squads. It provides young, talented and ambitious Irish sailors with opportunities to move up through the ranks from an early age. With up to 100 young athletes training with the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway, every aspect of their performance is planned and closely monitored while strong relationships are simultaneously built with the sailors and their families

Who is the Irish Sailing Performance head coach?

Rory Fitzpatrick is the head coach of Irish Sailing Performance. He is a graduate of University College Dublin and was an Athens 2004 Olympian in the Laser class.

Who is Irish Sailing’s Performance Director?

The Performance Director of Irish Sailing is James O’Callaghan. Since 2006 James has been responsible for the development and delivery of athlete-focused, coach-led, performance-measured programmes across the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway. A Business & Economics graduate of Trinity College Dublin, he is a Level 3 Qualified Coach and Level 2 Coach Tutor. He has coached at five Olympic Games and numerous European and World Championship events across multiple Olympic classes. He is also a member of the Irish Sailing Foundation board.

Who is the most famous Irish Olympic sailor?

Annalise Murphy is by far and away the biggest Irish sailing star. Her fourth in London 2012 when she came so agonisingly close to a bronze medal followed by her superb silver medal performance four years later at Rio won the hearts of Ireland. Murphy is aiming to go one better in Tokyo 2021.

Who are the Irish Sailing Performance coaching staff?

Under head coach Rory Fitzpatrick, the coaching staff consists of Laser Radial Academy coach Sean Evans, Olympic Laser coach Vasilij Zbogar and 49er team coach Matt McGovern.

How is performance sailing in Ireland funded?

The Irish Government provides funding to Irish Sailing. These funds are exclusively for the benefit of the Performance Pathway. However, this falls short of the amount required to fund the Performance Pathway in order to allow Ireland compete at the highest level. As a result the Performance Pathway programme currently receives around €850,000 per annum from Sport Ireland and €150,000 from sponsorship. A further €2 million per annum is needed to have a major impact at the highest level. The Irish Sailing Foundation was established to bridge the financial gap through securing philanthropic donations, corporate giving and sponsorship.

What is the Irish Sailing Foundation?

The vision of the Irish Sailing Foundation is to generate the required financial resources for Ireland to scale-up and execute its world-class sailing programme. Irish Sailing works tirelessly to promote sailing in Ireland and abroad and has been successful in securing funding of 1 million euro from Sport Ireland. However, to compete on a par with other nations, a further €2 million is required annually to realise the ambitions of our talented sailors. For this reason, the Irish Sailing Foundation was formed to seek philanthropic donations. Led by a Board of Directors and Head of Development Kathryn Grace, the foundation lads a campaign to bridge the financial gap to provide the Performance Pathway with the funds necessary to increase coaching hours, upgrade equipment and provide world class sport science support to a greater number of high-potential Irish sailors.

How are the funds raised for the Performance Pathway spent?

The Senior and Academy teams of the Performance Pathway are supported with the provision of a coach, vehicle, coach boat and boats. Even with this level of subsidy there is still a large financial burden on individual families due to travel costs, entry fees and accommodation. There are often compromises made on the amount of days a coach can be hired for and on many occasions it is necessary to opt out of major competitions outside Europe due to cost. Money raised by the Irish Sailing Foundation will go towards increased quality coaching time, world-class equipment, and subsiding entry fees and travel-related costs. It also goes towards broadening the base of talented sailors that can consider campaigning by removing financial hurdles, and the Performance HQ in Dublin to increase efficiency and reduce logistical issues.

What is the organisation structure of the Performance Pathway?

The ethos of the Performance Pathway is progression. At each stage international performance benchmarks are utilised to ensure the sailors are meeting expectations set. The size of a sailor will generally dictate which boat they sail. The classes selected on the pathway have been identified as the best feeder classes for progression. Currently the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway consists of the following groups: * Pathway (U15) Optimist and Topper * Youth Academy (U19) Laser 4.7, Laser Radial and 420 * Development Academy (U23) Laser, Laser Radial, 49er, 49erFX * Team IRL (direct-funded athletes) Laser, Laser Radial, 49er, 49erFX

What is the governance structure for performance sailing?

The Irish Sailing performance director produces a detailed annual budget for the programme which is presented to Sport Ireland, Irish Sailing and the Foundation for detailed discussion and analysis of the programme, where each item of expenditure is reviewed and approved. Each year, the performance director drafts a Performance Plan and Budget designed to meet the objectives of Irish Performance Sailing based on an annual review of the Pathway Programmes from Junior to Olympic level. The plan is then presented to the Olympic Steering Group (OSG) where it is independently assessed and the budget is agreed. The OSG closely monitors the delivery of the plan ensuring it meets the agreed strategy, is within budget and in line with operational plans. The performance director communicates on an ongoing basis with the OSG throughout the year, reporting formally on a quarterly basis.

What is the Olympic Steering Group?

Due to the specialised nature of Performance Sport, Irish Sailing established an expert sub-committee which is referred to as the Olympic Steering Group (OSG). The OSG is chaired by Patrick Coveney and its objective is centred around winning Olympic medals so it oversees the delivery of the Irish Sailing’s Performance plan.

How is progress monitored on the Performance Pathway? Who decides when sailors are selected or dropped?

At Junior level (U15) sailors learn not only to be a sailor but also an athlete. They develop the discipline required to keep a training log while undertaking fitness programmes, attending coaching sessions and travelling to competitions. During the winter Regional Squads take place and then in spring the National Squads are selected for Summer Competitions. As sailors move into Youth level (U19) there is an exhaustive selection matrix used when considering a sailor for entry into the Performance Academy. Completion of club training programmes, attendance at the performance seminars, physical suitability and also progress at Junior and Youth competitions are assessed and reviewed. Once invited in to the Performance Academy, sailors are given a six-month trial before a final decision is made on their selection. Sailors in the Academy are very closely monitored and engage in a very well planned out sailing, training and competition programme. There are also defined international benchmarks which these sailors are required to meet by a certain age. Biannual reviews are conducted transparently with the sailors so they know exactly where they are performing well and they are made aware of where they may need to improve before the next review.