Bitter Disappointment as Sailors Miss Gold Fleet Qualification in Sardinia
The end of the nine-race qualification series at the 49er World Championships in Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy - Thursday 9th October 2025) brought little cheer to Olympic sailors Robert Dickson (Howth Yacht Club) and Sean Waddilove (Skerries Sailing Club) who placed 40th overall, 15 places short of qualification.
Despite clear improvements following months of training, notably in their starting technique and boat speed, managing the course in the light and fickle winds proved to be a problem and will form part of a post-event debrief process.
The Dublin crew will continue racing in the Silver fleet for six races over the coming two days though this is far from their targeted result of a podium or top five result at worst.
"It didn't go as planned, it was the strategy that was letting us down, just not really identifying the priority in the races and not really figuring it out," commented Dickson after racing ended. "It’s quite a disappointing result - we're not here to be scraping into Gold fleet - we're here for medals."
The pair plan to keep their strategy and mindset more open for the silver fleet racing
"I'm shocked and disappointed with where we're sitting," admitted Matt McGovern, Irish Sailing's 49er coach. "In truth, top five is cautious, I thought we'd do much better than that. The boys have worked really hard, speed wise and their starting has been fantastic, training has gone really well - it's almost been the perfect month leading into this."
A lengthy and professional debrief process lies ahead before the team tries to rebuild.
After a stellar day on Wednesday when Ben O'Shaughnessy (Royal Cork Yacht Club) and Ethan Spain (National Yacht Club) had a race win, a second place and a 12th, but repeating the magic on day three proved unrealistic, though the high from Wednesday will last throughout their career and beyond.
"We definitely had some highs and we had some lows but we've learned so much from it," said Spain at the end of the qualification round. "I'm really happy with what we got out of it - our first world championship and we were only here for experience and we've definitely got that out of it!"
The experience of racing against world class sailors is a point echoed by his team-mate as they both eagerly look ahead to the coming season and beyond.
"It's cut-throat racing with the best in the world - every inch counts," said O'Shaughnessy. "We're just getting used to that kind of racing and we love it."
There were further promising signs from Erin McIlwaine (Newcastle Yacht Club) and Ellen Barbour (County Antrim Yacht Club) on their final day of qualification racing in the women's 49er FX event when they scored a third, a second and a 15th.
Having recently won Bronze at the Under 23 world championships, the pair were rewarded with their days’ effort by moving up to 37th overall in the overall 52 boat event and will now compete in the Silver fleet.
"These results are the breadcrumbs of success that act as motivation to continue and to improve," commented James O'Callaghan, Irish Sailing's Performance Director. "A debut world championship at senior level is about obtaining experience; high scores in any race are a bonus and evidence of real potential."
Silver fleet racing continues on Friday and Saturday for all events while an Umpired Gold fleet for the top 20 boats followed by a new format medal race for the top four boats will be sailed on Sunday.
Racing continues tomorrow and can be followed HERE