Irish sailors end disappointing world championships on a high note
After a disappointing week for both Irish crews competing at 49er World Championship in Lanzarote a final race second place for Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove was a welcome early-season morale boost.
After a clean start, Dickson and Waddilove led the fleet at the first mark but then jousted with the eventual overall winners of the championship for the two laps of the course.
While the score was welcome, it wasn't enough to lift them from 25th place in the Gold fleet.
"The guys are world-class sailors and can perform in a lot of conditions with good starts and they're very fast," commented Matt McGovern, Irish Sailing’s skiff coach. "We just struggled with a bit of the strategy so we need to get back to the drawing-board and look at what we've learned from this event."
Meanwhile, Crosshaven's Séafra Guilfoyle with Johnny Durcan ended their championship in 31st place, narrowly missing their Sport Ireland funding goal of top 30 boats. An opportunity to protest a Danish rival for a rules infringement wasn't enough to close the gap on 30th place while racing in the 46-boat Silver fleet.
However, both Irish crews are now on level points after the first of three regattas for the selection trials to determine which crew will take the sole place for Ireland in the men's skiff event for the Paris 2024 Olympic regatta in Marseille this Summer.
Both crews will be in action again in late-April at the French Olympic Week in Hyeres where more than 1,000 sailors will gather for the 'Last chance regatta' to decide the remaining nation places for the games.
Ireland has already qualified in all three events that Irish Sailing's Senior squad trains for with Eve McMahon and Finn Lynch both confirmed for their respective single-handed events pending nomination by the Olympic Steering Group of Irish Sailing to the Olympic Federation of Ireland.
The skiff trials series will conclude at the start of May with the 49er European championship.
Irish sailors missing the shift at 49er world championships in Lanzarote
Tricky wind conditions have exposed a weakness for the leading Irish crew competing at 49er World Championship in Lanzarote today which draws to a close over the weekend.
Competing in the Gold fleet final round, Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove were unable to lift off the bottom of the leaderboard and remain in 25th place overnight.
The problem area for Dickson and Waddilove is how to handle the variable wind direction and strength blowing down from Lanzarote's nearby mountains.
Few of the top sailors have escaped incurring high scores during the series so far including three-times world champions Bart Lambriex and Floris Van de Werken from The Netherlands.
However, the Irish crew has yet to repeat their previous form of regular top ten results or higher in this series.
"It's clear that we've found one of our weaknesses which is good as it's definitely something we can focus on in the next couple of months," commented Sean Waddilove after racing ended for the day. "It's different to Marseille (the Olympic regatta venue) which is a bit more predictable."
"These conditions aren't what we used to find in Lanzarote but we've had them and we have to deal with them and do a better job."
Waddilove maintains that the issue is fixable and points to their progress in previous weak areas that the pair addressed last year such as their light winds boatspeed and starting technique.
"When you're at this level of sport, it's hard to find weaknesses but the big lesson this week is that we've definitely found something that we can make gains in heading to Marseille."
Meanwhile, Crosshaven's Séafra Guilfoyle with Johnny Durcan had a good day in the 46-boat Silver fleet where they included a race win and a second place to move into the lead of that class.
Both Irish crews have started a selection trials this week to determine which of them will represent Ireland in the men's skiff event for the Paris 2024 Olympics this Summer.
With Dickson and Waddilove trailing in Gold fleet and Guilfoyle and Durcan leading Silver fleet, the outcome of this event could be very narrow, setting the scene for a major contest at the French Olympic Week regatta in five weeks’ time.
Irish crew through to Gold fleet at 49er world championships in Lanzarote
One of the two Irish boats at the 49er World Championship in Lanzarote has qualified for the Gold fleet final series at the end of the nine-race qualification round this evening.
Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove placed 25th out of 71 crews after a tough day on the water that saw them narrowly qualify for the next three days of finals racing.
"Today had the hallmark of a great day for us with perfect conditions," commented Matt McGovern, Irish Sailing's 49er coach. "But the day just got away from us and it isn't very obvious why - it wasn't what we wanted performance-wise."
However, the regatta is still only at the halfway stage and Dickson reckons that its still all to play for.
"We're last in Gold fleet so we have nothing to lose; we can probably take a little more risk and try and get up the leaderboard," commented Dickson after racing ended. "I definitely think that medal race is possible as the conditions have been very variable and the points are very tight."
Earlier, Crosshaven's Séafra Guilfoyle with Johnny Durcan came agonisingly close to making the cut for Gold fleet but were disappointed to finish the qualification series in 27th overall.
The Cork crew placed second in the opening race of the day though Guilfoyle later conceded that it was due to a lucky wind-shift in their favour.
The pair will continue the world championships competing in the 46-strong Silver fleet while 25 boats will race in the Gold fleet to determine the top ten boats to sail in Sunday's medal race final.
"Obviously, it's very disappointing that we're not in Gold fleet and that'll take a bit of time to process," said Guilfoyle. "We definitely have to keep fighting for top 30 because our funding depends on it. With another nine races to go, we can do it."
"We have to pick ourselves up now and attack the rest of the regatta - we can debrief fully later."
Guilfoyle and Durcan are in a trials series with the Dickson and Waddilove to decide which of the two boats will take the single Irish place for the Paris 2024 Olympic regatta in the men's skiff event. Two more events will follow over the next eight weeks.
The day three results and Irish Gold fleet qualification outcome will be confirmed later this evening.
Crucial day ahead for Irish sailors at 49er world championships in Lanzarote
After two days of intense racing at the 49er World Championship in Lanzarote and three more results today Gold fleet qualification beckons once Thursday's three races are completed.
Conditions were again tricky with the unstable northerly wind blowing down from Lanzarote's steep mountains close to the race course.
Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove had two top ten results in their fleet though a 15th place weighed their overall standing to 18th overall. However, the results are extremely tight and just ten points separate the Dublin pair from tenth place.
The top 25 boats after Thursday's racing will progress to the Gold fleet final round.
Crosshaven's Séafra Guilfoyle with Johnny Durcan also had a top result but also placed 20th and 21st with the latter result discarded as their worst score. The Cork duo will need to find their opening day form on Thursday to finish the qualifying series inside the top 25.
They are also competing against Dickson and Waddilove in the first of a three event selection trials for the single Irish berth at the Paris 2024 Olympics in the Men's single-handed event.
"Today was more of what we expected from Lanzarote," commented Matt McGovern, Irish Sailing's skiff coach. "After a light start for the first race, it got a little easier for the fleet as they just had to take the left track so it was about getting off the start well."
Dickson and Waddilove had started their second race in a good position but got caught out by having to manoeuvre twice to avoid another boat and lost ground to eventually finish 15th.
"It was just a procession - they couldn't get themselves back in the race," said McGovern. "Overall, it was a good day to survive."
Gold fleet racing for the final round commences on Friday followed by Sunday's medal race for the top ten overall to decide the podium.
Breezy start for Irish crews at 49er World Championships in Lanzarote
Both Irish boats showed strong performances in the opening day of the 49er World Championship in Lanzarote today in the first major competition in over four months.
Crosshaven's Seafra Guilfoyle with Johnny Durcan had the better day thanks to a second place in the opening race of the series being sailed at the easternmost racing area.
The pair went on to score two 14th places though the third race had been on course for a top three finish except the pair had a capsize from which they quickly recovered.
Racing for the second flight of boats in this initial qualification round was delayed for almost two hours as the race course was shifted to find better wind conditions.
This group included Ireland's second pairing of Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove who had a fifth as their best result of the day along with a tenth and a 21st.
The Dublin pair are part of Irish Sailing's Senior Squad and qualified Ireland in November for the men's skiff event for the Paris 2024 Olympics. They are now competing in a selection trials series against the Cork crew who are competing independently until they regain a place in the squad.
Three events comprising this world championships plus the French Olympic Week next month and then the 49er European Championships in early May will decide which of the two crews will take the sole Irish place for Marseille in July.
"It was good to get started after a long winter and we've worked bloody hard," commented Johnny Durcan. "We've a new boat and gear and we're going really fast which was an area that we struggled with at the Europeans in October so it paid dividends today."
Conditions saw a northerly wind affected by the large mountains close by leading to very shifty wind direction though Durcan pointed out that this is one of Guilfoyle's strengths.
"We enjoyed the challenge of the shifty stuff but it was really, really tricky," he said. "We've a long way to go but the forecast looks good so we're filled with confidence."
It was a similar story for the second Irish crew who had a later finish due to the course problems.
"We had good starts so we were pretty happy overall with how we sailed," commented Robert Dickson. "We were very happy with our result at the Europeans but its too early to tell yet as the conditions here are very different and will probably show different strengths that we've been working on (over the winter training period."
The early days theme was reflected in Irish Sailing coach Matt McGovern's assessment of the day watching the Howth and Skerries duo. "Rob and Sean had fantastic starts in the first two races and were early leaders but the shifts seemed to go against them," he said. "In the third race they dug back well to get a fifth so it's all to play for as its early days."
Racing continues with three races schedule for Wednesday and Thursday to decide the Gold fleet split before the final round commences and Sunday's medal race for the top ten overall.
Ireland's skiff sailors going into world championship action in Lanzarote
With less than five months remaining before the Paris 2024 Olympics, an intensive phase begins in Lanzarote next week as the 49er class world championship gets underway (Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Monday 4th to Sunday 10th March 2024).
With a place in the men's skiff event for the games already decided, two Irish boats are contesting a three-event selection trials to decide who will be nominated by Irish Sailing to the Olympic Federation of Ireland for inclusion in the Olympic Team.
Veteran Olympians Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove are returning to Lanzarote where they qualified for Tokyo 2020 just three years ago. In that year, the pair secured bronze at the Spring Championships and will be seeking at least a top ten finish or podium place next week.
Campaigning independently of Irish Sailing's senior squad, Crosshaven's Seafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan are also chasing selection and will be looking to see the fruits of intensive winter training paying off.
The Cork pairing will also be aiming to secure Sport Ireland carding status with a good performance in Lanzarote which is the first of the three-event trials series.
A total of 75 crews from 28 countries will compete in the six day series that comprises a qualification round to decide the Gold fleet round and from there, the top ten boats will sail a short medal race to decide the podium.
Later next month, the French Olympic Week in Hyeres followed by the 49er European Championships will complete the trials that emphasise best overall event standings rather than a boat on boat competition.
"As with the ILCA7 for the men’s single-handed event, these trials will be decided on a low-points scoring basis," commented James O'Callaghan, Irish Sailing's Director of Performance. "This incentivises both crews to concentrate on their best regatta score rather than winning the place for Paris 2024."
The single-handed events have already concluded with Eve McMahon (Howth YC) and Finn Lynch (National Yacht Club) both in the process of being nominated to the Olympic Federation of Ireland in their respective events at the Olympic regatta set for Marseille beginning at the end of July