49er Duo Dickson and Waddilove Stumble in Lighter Winds at Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca

6th April 2023

Robert Dickson (Howth Yacht Club) and Seán Waddilove (Skerries Sailing Club) had started the day wearing the overall leaders' yellow bibs for the 49er skiff class at the 52nd Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca Credit: Sailing Energy

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

Published in Robert Dickson & Sean Waddilove

Tagged under

Robert Dickson & Sean Waddilove

About The Author

Afloat.ie Team

Email The Author

Afloat.ie is Ireland's dedicated marine journalism team.

Have you got a story for our reporters? Email us here.

We've got a favour to ask

More people are reading Afloat.ie than ever thanks to the power of the internet but we're in stormy seas because advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news sites, we haven’t put up a paywall because we want to keep our marine journalism open.

Afloat.ie is Ireland's only full–time marine journalism team and it takes time, money and hard work to produce our content.

So you can see why we need to ask for your help.

If everyone chipped in, we can enhance our coverage and our future would be more secure. You can help us through a small donation. Thank you.

You might also want to read...

Robert Dickson & Sean Waddilove, Tokyo Olympic 49er Sailors

Dublin dinghy sailors Robert Dickson of Howth Yacht Club and Sean Waddilove of Skerries Sailing Club achieved their goal of representing Ireland in the 49er class, almost six years to the day after first setting foot in a 49er skiff at their home club of Howth Yacht Club in County Dublin in 2015.

The voyage was a magnificent one becoming U23 World champions in 2018 before out sailing rivals double Olympian Ryan Seaton and Seafra Guilfoyle in some style for selection in Lanzarote in March 2021 to win the last European Olympic place for Tokyo.

Follow their progress here.