In Vilamoura, Portugal, on Wednesday, November 8th, 2023, despite light and fickle wind conditions, Irish sailors Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove made a strong start to the 49er European Championships.
The Howth and Skerries pair made a clean start to the single short race, quickly putting behind them their disappointing performance at the world championships in August, where they were disqualified from two races for early starting, costing them early qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The duo reached the first turning mark in seventh place before carefully working up to third place after the two-lap race. However, the race management teams struggled to set a course in the dying breeze, and as the sun began to set, the attention shifted to day two of the qualification round, where better wind conditions were forecast.
Seán Waddilove, speaking after the race, said, "We can't complain - it was a light, tricky day. To come away unscathed is pretty good."
Guilfoyle and Durcan
Royal Cork's Séafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan, the second Irish boat competing at the event, had a 12th place and relished the prospect of better conditions on Thursday. "It was very light, very easy to have a bad one, so we're reasonably happy," commented Johnny Durcan. "There's a bit more breeze (forecast) tomorrow and today was pretty close to being a drifter so hopefully, four races in ten knots."
Guilfoyle and Durcan are seeking a top 20 result overall in the 90-strong event to meet Sport Ireland carding scheme criteria.
With the breeze dying during the late afternoon, only one race was completed for the three men’s qualifying groups. The winners of their respective groups were Martin and Jaime Wizner from Spain, Isaac McHardie and William McKenzie from New Zealand, and Sebastien Schneiter and Arno de Planta from Switzerland.
The 91-strong 49er skiff class is divided into three fleets for the qualification round of nine races. The top 25 boats go through to the Gold fleet for the final round, while the top ten boats from there will contest a medal race decider on Monday, November 13th.
Saskia Tidey
Royal Irish's Saskia Tidey from Dun Laoghaire Harbour, who is sailing for Team GB and already qualified for Paris 2024 sailing with Freya Black, is lying 40th in a 55-boat 49er FX fleet.