Hello and welcome aboard this week’s edition of your maritime programme Seascapes...this week we talk to Olympic sailor Annalise Murphy about her preparations for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and the condition of the waters on the Olympic Sailing Course; writer and broadcaster Hugh Oram on Athlone and its riverine heritage; World Shipping and how the global economy is having a major impact on what is known as the Baltic Dry Index and how some ships can now cost eight thousand dollars a day to run at sea...and we have the 2nd part of our profile of Captain Robert Halpin with his biographer Jim Rees...first here on Seascapes to Laser Radial sailor extraordinaire and Olympian Annalise Murphy, we talked to Annalise at the recent Irish Sailing Association/Afloat Awards she told us how her preparations are going for Rio in the third Olympic cycle for the Laser Radial...

Annalise Murphy talking exclusively to Seascapes, we wish her and all our other Olympians and Paralympian‘s all the very best later this year, you can hear our “SEASCAPES” podcast every week now on AFLOAT.IE as well as in all the usual haunts both online and on the RTE Player.....check out our webpage www.rte.ie/radio1/seascapes or visit us on the book of the face...

#AnnaliseMurphy - Annalise Murphy is clear about what she needs to do to have a shot at the Olympic podium in Rio this summer – sail better in lighter winds.

As the championship-calibre Laser Radial specialist tells The42 in a revealing interview, expectations of a guaranteed medal on Guanabara Bay after she narrowly missed out on bronze in London 2012 are unwarranted.

"To be honest, I haven’t been sailing as well as I could have over the past year and a half,” she tells The42's Paul Fennessy. “I think my training’s been going really well and my preparation’s been good. My racing hasn’t been at the standard that I’d like it to be at."

And the big weakness in Murphy's game is one long known to Afloat.ie's readers: her lacklustre performance in lighter winds.

While continuing to show strong form in challenging gusts, such as at Palma last March, the former European champion failed to defend her title in Croatia the year before due to the light and shifty breezes.

But the 26-year-old is candid about the need to "improve [her] confidence in the surfing conditions".

Indeed, that appears to be a much bigger priority for the Rathfarnham native and National Yacht Club stalwart than any concerns about pollution in the Olympic sailing venue – from floating debris to the risk of viral infection, not least the threat of the recent Zika outbreak.

The42 has much more on the story HERE.

Finn Lynch and Annalise Murphy continue to lead their respective Laser Irish Olympic Sailing Trials at the Copa de Vela Brasil in Rio this morning but Lynch has slipped back for four places after six races sailed in the overall rankings. Download full results below.

Lynch is now 36th from 48. Other Irish contestants are Fionn Lyden in 42nd and James Espey 43rd.  

In the women's Radial division, Murphy stays 13th, now 15 places ahead of Howth's Aoife Hopkins. 

There are four races left to sail in this, the first of three Irish Laser trials.

The Laser Radial Women’s World Championship, organised by Oman Sail, concluded today with Anne-Marie Rindom from Denmark securing the overall world championship title. After a difficult week Ireland's Annalise Murphy recovered to be fifth in the silver fleet.

The 24-year-old Scandinavian representing Horsens Sejlklub in Jutland, managed to stay cool on a somewhat frustrating day dominated by general recalls, and clinch the event from Marit Bouwmeester (NED). They both finished the day on equal points, but two first places in the overall rankings was enough to break the tie in Rindom’s favour.

Fresh from victory at Semaine Olympique Francaise La Rochelle in October, and a win at the Laser Europa Cup in Denmark in the summer, Rindom was on top form right from the start at this event. This former Optimist sailor who won the first race, and sailed a generally consistent series had to discard a 19th place from today.

“It is an amazing feeling to be confirmed world champion. I can hardly believe it. Thankfully I was able to discard today’s poor result!” she said as she stepped ashore.

There is little rest for the new world champion though. “I have one week at home then I am off to Rio for training, followed by Miami for the next World Cup so it is full on for me from now on.”

Rindom was enthusiastic about Al Mussanah as a world championship venue: "It is a perfect place for a championship, great launching and plenty of room for everybody and, most importantly, the conditions are great for sailing."

Light, shifty conditions and fleets eager to start resulted in a succession of general recalls in both Gold and Silver fleets. The Gold fleet managed just one race before the 15:00 time limit and Silver was unable to start at all.

Bouwmeester (NED), 2014 World Champion and 2012 Olympic silver medalist was naturally disappointed about losing her title but a fourth place in today’s race was enough to retain silver.

Evi Van Acker (BEL) representing the Royal Belgian Sailing Club, and ranked world number one, also had a less than satisfactory day.

“It was a frustrating day, I think I was on the wrong side on the first upwind and, although I caught up a lot on the first downwind, I then went up the right side of the beat, and the wind came completely from the left so I lost out there too.

“Overall though, it’s been a great week of sailing with a real mix of conditions which is perfect for this sort of regatta.”

As well as Rindom’s success of being crowned world champion, the star of the show in today’s sole race was reigning Olympic champion – Lijia Xu (CHN). This 28-year-old sailor from Shanghai, who has been off the racing scene for two years with back and knee injury, demonstrated her light wind skills by winning the final race.

From a pin-end of the line start, Xu read the shifts well and had a good first beat. She pulled up the fleet from 3rd on the final round and led fellow Chinese sailor and closest rival, Dongshuang Zhang, across the line.

“Today's conditions were perfect for me because that is what I am most into. I am glad that most of my feeling is still there. One month ago I wouldn't even have been able to finish one race in strong winds. The best I could manage was a club race in Weymouth with amateur sailors so I am glad to be where I am now,” said Xu.

"The fitness is just a matter of time and with eight months I am quite confident I can compete for a place at the Rio Olympics.”

The prize giving and closing ceremony, took place at Al Mussanah Sports City in the presence of Her Highness Dr. Muna bint Fahad Al Said – Assistant Vice Chancellor of International Cooperation at Sultan Qaboos University – and Her Excellency Maitha Al Mahrouqi – Undersecretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Chairwoman of Oman Sail.

Also present was David Graham, Oman Sail CEO, who, in his closing speech said that hosting major international events in the Sultanate helps to build the country’s profile and the effects of this championship will be visible in Oman for many years to come. “The quality of sailing on show has been incredible, with fierce competition every single day. It is an honour to have welcomed Olympic Champions, medallists, World Champions, the current world number one and many of the sailors who will be lining up in Rio next summer.”

Overall Results (top 10)

Gold

Anne-Marie Rindom (DEN) 40pts
Marit Bouwmeester (NED) 40pts
Evi Van Acker (BEL) 44pts
Tuula Tenkanen (FIN) 49pts
Josefin Olsson (SWE) 53pts
Lijia Xu (CHN) 84pts
Alison Young (GBR) 101pts
Manami Doi (JPN) 104pts
Maxime Jonker (NED) 110pts
Erika Reineke (USA) 110pts
Silver

Line Flem Høst (NOR) 81pts
Isabella Bertold (CAN) 108pts
Andrea Aldana (GUA) 109pts
Susannah Pyatt (NZL) 115pts
Annalise Murphy (IRL) 125pts
Odile Ginaid (BRA) 125pts
Lena Haverland (GER) 137pts
Anna Pohlak (EST) 141pts
Elena Vorobeva (RUS) 151pts
Kanako Hiruta (JPN) 154pts
As well as producing a new world champion, the Laser Radial Women’s World Championships at Millennium Resort in Mussanah acted as a country Olympic qualification event for the Laser Radial class.

After today's racing, a total of four countries have had their Olympic qualification confirmed.

Countries qualified for the Olympics are as follows:

Japan
Australia
Turkey
Argentina

After the first two races of the Laser Radial Women’s World Championship in Oman, Anne-Marie Rindom (DEN) leads the field overnight, with Marit Bouwmeester (NED) in second. Ireland's Annalise Murphy scored a 35 and a 33 to be placed 74th in the 100–boat fleet. Download the results sheet below. 

In winds that reached 9–knots the 100 competitors enjoyed an exciting start to the intense six-day event.

Number 2-ranked Rindom (25), from Aarhus, Denmark comes to the event fresh from a win at the Semaine Olympique Francaise, La Rochelle, France in October. She continues to sail impressively and in Blue group today, managed to hold off current reigning world champion Marit Bouwmeester (NED) who is in second place overnight.

Commenting on her win, Rindom said: “It was a really good day. I managed to have good speed, which is very important in this competitive fleet. In the coming days, I think it will be a fierce competition between today’s top 10, and I look forward to what lies ahead.”

Leader of Yellow group today and fifth overall in the overall rankings is Philipine Van Aanholt (ARU). Twenty-three-year-old Van Aanholt, posted a 10th and a 3rd to beat world ranked number one – Evi Van Acker (BEL), 30. Van Acker with a second and a 12th is lying 7th in the overall rankings. Commenting on today’s racing Van Aanholt said: “I think I made good decisions today and I am just really happy about it. The conditions are generally light and shifty which makes it really tactical, but I like it that way.”

One of the most impressive performances today came from Lijia Xu (CHN) – reigning Olympic champion. This 28-year old speed sailor who has spent the last two years recovering from back and knee pain, led both races in Blue group today and finished the day with a 1st and 10th, which leaves her in fourth place overall.

Commenting on her comeback, Xu said: “I am really pleased with my performance today after such a long time off. I had a forced break from sailing because I felt I could no longer sustain the heavy training and the intensive load of sailing the Laser Radial. I suffered a lot with lower back and knee pain so it is a bonus to sail here pain free. I am pleased to see my feeling is still there but obviously I need to practice more to get those boat handling skills, and fitness back.”

Another race winner today in Yellow group was Paige Railey. This high profile American Olympic sailor who has spent over a year recovering from a cycling accident is back on form again. She won the Pan American Games in Toronto in August and now looks set to challenge for a top place at this event.

Following a lavish, Laser Radial Women’s World Championship grand opening ceremony yesterday evening, which showcased the best of Omani cultural hospitality, and a tough day on the water today, the 100-strong fleet is taking time to relax this evening and prepare for day two of the regatta.

In his speech at the opening ceremony, David Graham (CEO Oman Sail) said this event will help to create a lasting legacy in Oman for female sailors: “Our Women’s Programme has created new career opportunities for Omani women in sailing, either as coaches or instructors, or as part of the region’s first all-female sailing team – regularly lining up alongside male teams and showing that sport can break down boundaries and provide equal footing on which to compete.”

It was evident from the sort of performance seen on the race course today that this women’s event is going to live up to its reputation. Jeff Martin, Executive Secretary of the International Laser Class Association, commented: “The 2015 Laser Radial Women’s World Championship is the largest and arguably the toughest of all the women’s Olympic sailing events. Here in Mussanah we have 100 of the world’s best women sailors from 48 countries across five continents.”

The second day of racing (races 3 and 4 of the Qualifying Series) continues tomorrow (Saturday). Once again the fleet will split into Yellow and Blue groups, with the first race scheduled for 1200 local time (CET +3).

The best female Laser sailors in the world including Ireland's Annalise Murphy will be sharpening their skills and tactics ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games when the 2015 Laser Radial Women’s World Championships get underway in Mussanah, Oman, later this month.

In their last major competition before Olympic sailing starts on 15 August 2016, and the final qualifying event of the cycle, the 100 top Laser Radial sailors including London 2012 gold medallist Lijia Xu from China and Evi Van Acker from Belgium who is ranked world number one, will be arriving at Al Mussanah Sports City determined to leave their mark on this fiercely competitive fleet.

In October, Mussanah played host to the hugely successful RS:X World Windsurfing Championships and the Rio-like conditions in the Gulf of Oman are similarly expected to produce new rivalries and see old scores settled among the medal hungry Laser women.

Their World Championship campaigns will start on Tuesday 10 November when they descend on the Millennium Resort race village to begin their acclimatisation and training before the first qualifying race gets underway on Thursday 20 November.

Six days of racing, with two back to back races each day, will culminate in a prize-giving and closing ceremony attended by a host of dignitaries from the Sultanate of Oman, event organisers Oman Sail and from the International Laser Class Association.

With Van Acker looking to reaffirm her position in the fleet, competition promises to be tough. One of her main rivals Gintare Volungeviciute-Scheidt from Lithuania won the recent Test Event in Rio and will have received plenty of handy tips on the conditions at Mussanah from Brazilian husband Robert who swept to victory in the Laser World Championships in Oman in 2013.

Dutch rival Marit Bouwmeester, silver medallist at London 2012 and ranked fourth in the world, Alison Young from Great Britain in third and Anne-Marie Rindom from Denmark will also be keen to establish themselves as contenders for the gold medal in nine months time while Paige Riley from the US will be looking to repeat her 4th place success from the Test Event in August.

Chinese interest will be running high as Lijia Xu returns to competition for the first time in two years though she has already made it clear she will not be campaigning at Rio 2016, opting instead to continue her studies in England and explore other sailing opportunities. Laser Radial fans are in for a real treat as these top class contenders battle it out for honours at such a critical time in their preparations in a venue recognised as a perfect warm up opportunity for Rio.

“We are delighted and proud to be welcoming the Laser Radial Women’s World Championships to Oman and hope the athletes and their coaches from all the different nations enjoy the same success as the three Laser World Championships we staged in 2013 and the recent RS:X Worlds last month,” said Salma Al Hashmi, Director of Events and Marketing for Oman Sail.

“It is especially pleasing that the 2015 Laser Radial Women’s World Championships race management will be officials from Oman Sail, trained here in Oman and now officiating at top class events all around the world. We send the athletes, race managers and everyone our best wishes for a successful competition.”

In total, 100 sailors representing 50 nations will attend the 2015 Laser Radial Women’s World Championships. A further 39 coaches will be in attendance alongside other back up staff members of the national squads and Laser class officials.

A sixth, an eighth and a 22nd scored by Annalise Murphy today moves up her the scoreboard from 19 to within striking distance of the top ten of the Laser Radial fleet at Semaine Olympique Française.

This morning's race started with 15-18 knots of wind, and averaged 23 knots this afternoon, with strong swells.

The National Yacht Club solo sailor leads Irish hopes in the 37–boat fleet where three other Irish sailors are also competing. Joining Annalise in La Rochelle are Irish Olympic trialists Nicole Hemeryck of the National Yacht Club in 25th, Aoife Hopkins of Howth YC (28th) and Aisling Keller of Lough Derg (32nd).

Racing continues tomorrow.

#Laser - Annalise Murphy has a new contender in the Laser Radial class on the Irish scene as Howth Yacht Club's Aoife Hopkins rises in the rankings.

Hopkins' 81st place in the world, according to the latest ISAF rankings, now puts her second nationally behind the Olympic standout, who last week took fifth place at the ISAF World Cup in Weymouth.

Hopkins also qualified for that event, being the youngest competitor at the age of 16 – which means she has years of experience to build ahead of her to show her true potential, and achieve her dream of a medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

That's quite an achievement for a teenager who's only been sailing the Laser Radial for two years!

#annalisemurphy – Laser helmswoman Annalise Murphy was among twenty top athletes to benefit to the tune of €40,000 in Sports Council funding yesterday in an overall allocation for 2015 totalling some €1,571,000.

Murphy topped the list of nine sailors who earned government funding towards Rio 2016. Others such as skiff pair Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern of Belfast each earned €20,000

The Dun Laoghaire solo sailor who was described this month as 'Ireland's great hope' by Chairman of the Sports Council Kieran Mulvey was the only Irish Olympic sailor to receive the top award as a 'podium athlete'.

Three years ago the National Yacht Club debutante came agonisingly close to Ireland's first sailing medal in 30 years when she finished fourth overall at London 2012 in the Laser Radial class. In 2013, Annalise won European Gold when the championships were sailed on her own home waters of Dublin Bay.

Sailing awards made by the Sports Council yesterday were: 

Annalise Murphy Podium €40,000

Ryan Seaton World Class €20,000

Matthew McGovern World Class €20,000

Andrea Brewster International €12,000

Saskia Tidey International €12,000

James Espey €12,000

John Twomey International €12,000

Ian Costelloe International €12,000

Austin O'Carroll International €12,000

#SailingWCMiami – Irish Laser Radial Sailor Annalise Murphy moved up one place to be just two points off the lead after four races at Miami Olympic sailing classes yesterday. A third in race four – in winds up to 20 knots – puts the National Yacht Club sailor behind leader Anne-Marie Rindom of Denmark. It's an uplifting start to 2015 with Gold fleet racing starting today, Wednesday. Overnight leader, GBR's Alison Young who scored two wins in the opening rounds crashed out of the top ten with a 23 and 25 yesterday to be 18th overall. Ireland's Erica Ruigrok lies 74 from 79 in the women's class. 

A 13th in race five has allowed the National Yacht Club's Finn Lynch extend his lead over three Irish sailors in Mens Laser division. Lynch lies 39th from 106 starters, some 12 places clear of London 2012 Irish rep James Espey in 51st place. Darragh O'Sullivan is 97th. Strangford's Chris Russell who was scored as a 'DNC' yesterday no longer appears on the results sheet.

An 11th scored in race six has pulled the Irish mens 49er skiff back towards the top half of their 58–boat fleet. Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern lie 32nd now after six races sailed, up four places from Monday's start. There is improvement too for Irish 49erfx skiff pair Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey who are 25th from 40. 

If the Chamber of Commerce had stayed up all night working at it, they could not have served up a better day for racing at ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami.

The second day offered a steady diet of breeze in the teens, the allure of a sun-drenched Biscayne Bay, and the kinetic beauty of boats in ten Olympic and three Paralympic sailing classes being put to their best and highest purpose.

We're still early in a regatta scheduled for six days of racing, including a Medal Race on Saturday for top-ten qualifiers. At stake are qualifying points and slots for the finale of the six-event international series that has become the proving ground of the would-be Olympic sailor.

The finale will take place in Abu Dhabi U.A.E. late in 2015, and after that – After that, an athlete is either ready for Rio and the 2016 Olympic Games, or not.

A 5th and a 3rd today in pretty tricky conditions puts me into 2nd overall @SailingWCMiami. Gold fleet starts tomorrow!

— Annalise Murphy (@Annalise_Murphy) January 27, 2015

 Top three by class:

470 - Men's Two Person Dinghy
1. Panagiotis Mantis / Pavlos Kagialis, GRE, 8
2. Luke Patience / Elliot WIllis, GBR, 7
3. Mathew Belcher / Will Ryan, AUS, 8

470 - Women's Two Person Dinghy
1. Jo Aleh / Polly Powrie, NZL, 5
2. Hannah Mills / Saskia Clark, GBR, 8
3. Sophie Weguelin / Eilidh McIntyre, GBR, 15

49er - Men's Skiff
1. Diego Botin / Iago Lopez, ESP, 7
2. David Gilmour / Rhys Mara, AUS, 21
3. Nico Delle Karth / Nikolaus Resch, AUT, 22

49erFX - Women's Skiff
1. Alexandra Maloney / Molly Meech, NZL, 10
2. Martine Sofiatti Grael / Kahena Kunze, BRA, 27
3. Leonie Meyer / Elena Stoffers, GER, 29

Laser - Men's One Person Dinghy
1. Robert Scheidt, BRA, 7
2. Matthew Wearn, AUS, 11
3. Nick Thompson, GBR, 12

Laser Radial - Women's One Person Dinghy
1. Anne-Marie Rindom, DEN, 5
2. Annalise Murphy, IRL, 7
3. Marit Bouwmeester, NED, 9

RS:X - Men's Windsurfer
1. Louis Giard, FRA, 10
2. Dorian van Rijsselberge, NED, 14
3. Byron Kokkalanis, GRE, 15

RS:X - Women's Windsurfer
1. Bryony Shaw, GBR, 12
2. Olga Maslivets, RUS, 13
3. Lilian de Geus, NED, 14

Nacra17 - Mixed Multihull
1. Gemma Jones / Jason Saunders, NZL, 9
2. Ben Saxton / Nicola Groves, GBR, 16
3. Vittorio Bissaro / Silvia Sicouri, ITA, 21

Finn - Men's One Person Dinghy
1. Giles Scott, GBR, 3
2. Jake Lilley, AUS, 6
3. Edward Wright, GBR, 16

2.4mR - One Person Keelboat
1. Megan Pascoe, GBR, 5
2. Bja Rnar Erikstad, NOR, 5
3. Helena Lucas, GBR, 5

Skud 18 - Two Person Keelboat
1. Daniel Fitzgibbon / Liesl Tesch, AUS, 6
2. Marco Gualandris / Marta Zanetti, ITA, 7
3. Alexandra Rickham / Niki Birrell, GBR, 8

Sonar - Three Person Keelboat
1. John Robertson / Hannnah Stodel / Stephen Thomas, GBR, 3
2. Aleksander Wang-Hansen / Per Eugen Kristiansen / Marie Solberg, NOR, 7
3. Paul Tingley / Logan Campbell / Scott Lutes, CAN, 7