SAILING ISAF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS:AFTER A faltering start in the opening race, Ireland's Annalise Murphy surged into form yesterday as the ISAF Sailing World Championships got under way off Fremantle, near Perth, in Western Australia.
The Dún Laoghaire single-hander recovered from a poor start in the opening race to work her way back up the fleet before getting caught out by a wind shift when the light breeze freshened and she finished in 30th place out of around 50 boats in her Laser Radial class flight.
Race two brought renewed form and she later said she had figured out her errors early on and was determined not to repeat them.
She led from the outset as world number one Marit Bouwmeester from the Netherlands gave chase. Murphy was clearly enjoying the match-race that developed, with her lead extending from five to 10 boat-lengths, even though she had to stop twice to clear weed from her centreboard allowing the Dutch champion to edge ahead.
The race result is seen as a confidence boost going into the next eight races leading to Sunday’s medal-race final for the top 10 finishers. Last night, Ger Owens and Scott Flanigan were 21st overall in the men’s 470, while Ross Hamilton was 61st overall in the Finn heavy single-handed men’s dinghy.
