Tokyo 2020 Olympians Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove have secured a spot in the Gold fleet at the Allianz Sailing World Championships in The Hague, Netherlands, bringing them one step closer to Paris 2024 Olympic qualification.

The duo from Howth Yacht Club and Skerries Sailing Club respectively, put in another strong performance, winning one race and securing a second-place finish.

There was also the prospect of another podium place in the final race of the day. However, the Dublin crew, who led the fleet, were caught off guard as they found themselves becalmed on an otherwise breezy day and immediately slipped back down the fleet.

Ultimately, Dickson and Waddilove placed 12th to finish the nine-race preliminary round in sixth overall, while Ireland's second 49er skiff sailed by Seafra Guilfoyle with Johnny Durcan of the Royal Cork Yacht Club placed 14th, but an earlier disqualification for early starting ended their hopes of making the cut for the Gold fleet.

Seafra Guilfoyle with Johnny Durcan of the Royal Cork Yacht Club Photo: Sailing Energy

Britain's Peters and Fynn Sterritt secured red fleet glory, but it’s still the host nations Lambriex and Van de Werken who are leading the charge after solid third, fifth and second-place finishes.
 
Botin and Trittel are just 1.8 points behind in second, however, recording two bullets and a second in the red fleet to cut the gap on their Dutch rivals.
 
Polish pair Lukasz Przybytek and Jacek Piasecki secured a blue fleet victory to sit in the bronze medal spot ahead of Swiss stars Sebastien Schneiter and Arno de Planta.
 
Peters and Sterrit are five points behind that duo and Peters, 30, said: “It does feel good – I know it’s only early in the regatta, but it does feel like we can be competitive.
 
“We feel in good shape both physically and mentally and feeling quite positive going into the next few days.”
 
Croatian brothers Mihovil and Katija Fantela sit sixth and Rio 2016 Olympic champion Mihovil, 37, said: “It was a solid day – we had two really great starts but were missing a bit of speed to be in the top three.”

Monday will be a rest day for the 49er skiffs before the final round starts on Tuesday, with the medal race for the top ten boats on Friday. With ten nation places available for qualification to Paris 2024 at this event, achieving a place on Friday will be essential. Currently, 12 countries are in the top 15 places, making the competition even more intense.

Results are here

Ireland's 49er pair Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove have had a Super Saturday at the World Sailing Championships in The Hague, their 1, 3, 2 results scored pulling them into fifth overall and keeping Paris 2024 Olympic Qualification plans on track despite a first-day disqualification.

The stunning Irish result – achieved in some blustery conditions with big seas – was only second in the fleet to Bart Lambriex and Floris van de Werken (NED), who, aiming at the threepeat, launched themselves into the lead.

"The whole day we had good speed, plus (good starts) and we perhaps only left one point out there," said Skerries-based Waddilove.  "We can't really get much better than that."

The Royal Cork 49er crew of Seafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan Photo: Sailing Energy

Ireland's second 49er crew of Seafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan are lying 40th in the 83-boat fleet. They had a capsize while leading the fleet in the second race.

Lambriex and van de Werken are back in form, shifting into first place overall in very tough conditions. The pair were second in the first race of day two, and then won the remaining two races, rising to the occasion as the breeze built to the edge of sailability. If the understated Dutch pair can win again, this time on home waters, it would be the second time any 49er team has managed the threepeat after global legends Burling and Tuke (NZL) did it from 2018 through 2020.

They almost managed something harder, winning three races in a day at an Elite 49er competition. They pulled of that feat on day 3 of the Test Event, something only done once by Burling and Tuke and once by Wadlow and Rast in recorded 49er history (race results pre-2008 are hard to find)

Lucas Rual and Emile Amoros (FRA) scored a 5, 1, 1 and moved into seventh.

There are three qualifying fleets of 49er, meaning nine daily wins are available. As usual for 49er qualifying, the points are incredibly close to qualify for gold fleet. If the split were to happen today, five teams would squeak into the top 25 on 41 points, while Wang and Qi (CHN) who were sitting in third overall last night, would miss out on 42 points. Three more races are scheduled for day three, after which the fleet will be split into gold, silver, and bronze.

Ten different nations currently make up the top 10 overall, and as a reminder, the top 10 nations in this regatta, excluding the pre-qualified France, will earn berths in Paris.

The 49er fleet was the last on the water and got the biggest conditions of the regatta so far.

Further fresh and blustery conditions are expected for Day 3 before a rest day on Monday though the forecast for the remainder of the week is currently suggesting lighter weather.

Results are here

Additional reporting from the 49er class association

So far, the most unpredictable class of the Paris 2024 Test competition has been the 49er, with six winners in as many races, including an Irish win for Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove in Race 3.

Isaac McHardie and William McKenzie (NZL) took the final win of the second day of action, and that was enough to move into top spot, ahead of Sébastien Schneiter and Arno De Planta (SUI) on countback, with the pair both on 27 points.

However, with the next four teams all sitting between 30 and 32 points, including third place for Mihovil and Sime Fantela (CRO), the 2018 world champions, the Kiwis are well aware of the precarious nature of their position heading into the rest day.

McHardie said: “It was a super tricky day, it was unbelievably shifty with big puffs and big lulls so it was all about getting off the start line, it was a bit of a left-hand track, so you needed a good start, and then go left, that made for an ok race.

“I’m sure there will always be a target on the back, but we’ll go out there and race our best. It’s not a bad place to be coming into a rest day. It was always about coming here to do the best we can, so to come into a lay-day in first, we’re pretty stoked.”

The 49er fleet has a scheduled day off on Thursday as the ten fleets share 4-course areas in this Field of Play Test.

More from the 49er class association here and a (glitchy) results link here

The host nations Bart Lambriex and Floris van de Werken had the 49er title sewn up with the medal race to spare, so attention turned to the battle for bronze at the Allianz Regatta in the Netherlands on Sunday.

Australia’s Jim Colley and Shaun Connor soared from tenth to third in this regatta but were left to rue Saturday’s slip-ups for losing their grip on bronze.

Despite finishing second in the medal race, they missed the medals by one point.

Austria’s Keanu Prettner and Jakob Flachberger bagged bronze, their maiden World Cup podium.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” said Flachberger. “We’ve got to drive to Kiel tomorrow, so we can’t party too much, but there will be a party when we get home!”

No Irish in medal race

Ireland's Séafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan from Royal Cork Yacht Club finished 11th in the 32-boat fleet beating Tokyo 2020 Irish reps Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove, who counted three retirals and a DNS on over the course of 12 races to be 14th overall.

Results here

Tokyo 2020 Olympians Robert Dickson (Howth Yacht Club) with Sean Waddilove (Skerries Sailing Club) return to competition in the 49er Men's skiff event at Allianz Regatta in The Netherlands this week after a period of illness and a year after achieving a podium result at the same event.

As Afloat reported last year, Ireland's top-ranked skiff pair fought off French competition to win the 49er medal race and win their first World Cup silver medal at the 2022 event.

More recently, however, the pair have struggled with speed issues, so the 2023 Allianz Regatta will be an important test just months before the Paris 2024 Olympic qualification event in August.

They told supporters recently: "Some big ups and downs for us at this year's Princess Sofia. We headed into Gold Fleet in the overall lead but struggled to perform in the lighter winds".

Royal Cork Yacht Club's Seafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan will also compete. The Crosshaven pair aim to improve their starting processes and can expect up to 12 races over the next five days.

Having been passed fit and 'cleared to sail' at French Olympic Sailing Week only a week ago, Ireland's top two hopes for Paris 2024 retired from the competition in Hyeres, nursing those pre-existing injuries.

On the cusp of the busiest pre-Olympic season for the Paris 2024, the Irish sailors' will be frustrated to find that their immediate priorities are now focused instead on recovery and rehab.

ILCA 7 single-hander Finn Lynch (National Yacht Club) secured a place in the Gold fleet despite carrying his ongoing wrist injury in some very windy weather. 

Lynch, a 2016 Rio Olympian, competed but could not complete the gold fleet series after suffering 'further inflammation'. 

As regular Afloat readers will recall, the world number three complained of the problem as far back as last year at Hyeres 2022.

Earlier this month in Palma, Lynch's coach Vasilij Zbogar said, "Recovery from the Europeans two weeks ago wasn't managed well enough, so we need to adapt for the next time." 

Eagle-eyed observers noted his bandaged arm at the Andoran prizegiving in March, but unfortunately for Lynch, the issue continues into May.

The 49er crew of Robert Dickson (Howth Yacht Club) and Sean Waddilove (Skerries Sailing Club), opted to withdraw from the regatta's Silver fleet due to Dickson's 'virus'. Dickson also carries a wrist injury after a heavy air capsize in Hyeres.

Both teams had been seeking medal race finishes on the Cote d'Azur after mixed performances in Palma earlier this month.

Royal Cork Yacht Club's Seafra Guilfoyle with Johnny Durcan placed 35th overall in Hyeres 49er silver fleet.

Howth brother and sister ILCA sailors Ewan and Eve McMahon were not competing. 

While the main focus is Olympic qualification at the World Championships in August, the Irish sailors will need to be fit for the ultra-busy season ahead, which includes the Paris 2024 Test Event on the Olympic regatta waters of Marseille from 7 July.

Irish Team manager James O'Callaghan said, "It is important not to throw the baby out with the bathwater; for sure, there are work-ons, but there are positives too".

Despite an improvement in form for Dubliners Robert Dickson (Howth Yacht Club) and Seán Waddilove (Skerries Sailing Club) in the 49er skiff class at the 52nd Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mallorca on the Bay of Palma, there was no return to their winning form of Wednesday that might have reversed their final 20th place overall.

It means the pair does not make the top ten medal race on Saturday and are left with food for thought, such as improving their starts and looking for answers as to their lack of boat speed in light winds that troubled them on Thursday, before April's next World Cup event in Hyeres, close to Paris 2024 Olympic waters. 

Isaac McHardie and William McKenzie

Isaac McHardie and William McKenzie (NZL) were the only 49er team to keep all three of the scores inside the top 10 today.

Their reward is to be wearers of the yellow bibs for Saturday’s Medal Race, although the other Kiwis who relinquish the leaders’ bibs - Logan Dunning Beck and Oscar Gunn - are only two points behind their teammates.

Effectively this means they will be going into the Medal Race level pegging. It’s a ‘who beats who’ scenario for the New Zealanders. However, breathing down their necks, just a point behind Beck and Gunn are another high-performing team from today’s racing. Tom Burton and Max Paul (AUS) scored a 3,11,1 to lift themselves into bronze medal position. Burton, Laser Olympic Champion from Rio 2016, has been working hard to make the shift into doublehanded skiff sailing, and this is a sign that his endeavours are beginning to bear fruit.

Gold fleet racing did not suit overall leaders Robert Dickson (Howth Yacht Club) and Seán Waddilove (Skerries Sailing Club) in the 49er fleet at the 52nd Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca today. 

After their stand-out day on Wednesday, the Irish pair started the day wearing the overall leaders' yellow bibs for the 49er skiff class but are now back in 19th place overall, the position they occupied after day one on Tuesday.

With the regatta moving into the decisive Finals phase on the Bay of Palma, leading contenders today finally got their first real feel for how much the level has increased since last season.

But in stark contrast to their earlier form that included two race wins, the Irish Tokyo Olympians appeared to stumble in the lighter winds, notably in their starts. In three out of the four races for the day, the pair placed at the back of their 25-boat Gold fleet.

Only the top ten boats at the end of Friday's racing progress to Saturday's medal race final to determine the podium, and the Dublin pair are now 19th overall.

Results are here

Robert Dickson (Howth Yacht Club) and Seán Waddilove (Skerries Sailing Club) have reaped the rewards of consistent sailing in Mallorca and seized the overall lead of the Princess Sofia Trophy in Mallorca after two days of testing sailing.

The Dublin duo, who represented Ireland at Tokyo 2020, took two race wins today to add to a fourth place to move up from 19th overall to lead the 49er Olympic class in Mallorca at the halfway point of the regatta.

It was a day when the local Embat sea breeze came in on cue at 12-13kts allowed Mallorca’s showcase 52 Trofeo Princesa Sofia to complete the qualifying series for all classes, allowing tomorrow’s Finals to be contested on schedule to decide who will compete in Saturday’s titles decider.  

Overall leaders - Robert Dickson (Howth Yacht Club) and Seán Waddilove (Skerries Sailing Club)  at the start of a race at the 2023 Princess Sofia Trophy in Mallorca Photo: Sailing Energy

Second to the Irish Paris 2024 campaigners in the 99-boat fleet are British duo James Peters and Fynn Sterritt, four points behind on 14.  Peters and Sterritt’s won the recent Lanzarote event and took bronze at last year’s European Championships. 

The 49er skiff class sees Holland’s double world champions Bart Lambriex and Floris van der Werken (NED) in third place so far but it will not have escaped Dickson and Seán Waddilove's attention that the next three teams are all tied for second place.

Rivals for the Paris 2024 berth, Séafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan of Royal Cork Yacht Club posted a15th, eighth and fifth in the final race of qualification to leave them 39th overall, which means they miss the Gold fleet cut.

Results are here

Tokyo 2020 Irish 49er reps Robert Dickson (Howth Yacht Club) and Seán Waddilove (Skerries Sailing Club) earned a fourth and an eleventh on Tuesday to be 19th overall on the opening day of the Princess Sofia Trophy for Olympic classes in Mallorca.

Shifting wind directions and big changes of wind pressure again taxed competitors and race organisers alike as Mallorca’s giant 52 Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mallorca by Iberostar assumed its full size and shape when all ten Olympic classes took to the racing waters over the course of a very long day on the Bay of Palma.

Irish rivals for the single Paris 2024 berth, Séafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan (Royal Cork Yacht Club) got off to a rocky start posting a 19th in the opening race but falling foul of the Black Flag in their second race in a 97 boat fleet.

Results are here

France leads 49ers

France's Kevin Fischer and Yann Jauvin made their mark in the 49er fleet with a pair of wins in the yellow fleet replicating the opening of their compatriots Erwan Fischer and Clément Pequin who went on to win the class.

Helm Kevin Fischer reported, "Conditions were pretty light when we got on the water, then wind picked up a bit with different clouds and patches of wind. It was a very tactical day. First of it all it was the start, we need to put the boat in front of the fleet to have a good vision of the wind, we planned for a good start, a good line to be able to choose the best wind.  It’s a good way to start our regatta, but it’s very long. It’s a pleasure to finish a winter training block with two wins at a World Cup sailing regatta.  Today it was more about the wind shifts. Speed was important but the big gains were from taking the right shifts. And I’m from Brittany in France, we have a lot of clouds there, and I think that background helps me read a day like today in Palma."

With the programme over the first two days compromised by the weather the organisers need a consistent Wednesday to get qualifying series back on track.