Fully two years before the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Sailing Regatta, the qualification stakes open in Aarhus, Denmark today with the first round of racing, as more than 1,200 entries take to the water over the coming 10 days.

A full programme of races started the biennial Volvo Cork Week yesterday as strong winds gave way to moderate offshore breezes for the 100-boat fleet competing around the harbour.

Following last weekend’s victory for Crosshaven’s Peter McCann in Kinsale at the ISA Junior All-Ireland Sailing Championships, attention switches to Dun Laoghaire this morning where Anthony O’Leary is set to defend his 2014 title at the National Yacht Club.

AFTER 48 hours of sailing in the BMW Round Ireland Race, two of the 39 boat fleet have retired from the competition as the event moves onto the Atlantic Ocean.