Gold Fleet Secured for Dickson & Waddilove at European Championships
Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove have secured their place in the Gold Fleet at the 49er European Championships in Eckernförde, Germany, after finishing the qualifying series sixth among the European crews.
The Irish Olympians produced moments of brilliance across the opening three days of racing, including two race wins, to comfortably advance to the championship fleet and put themselves in a strong position ahead of the Elimination Series.
After two days dominated by strong winds, conditions changed dramatically on the final day of qualifying. A high-pressure system brought lighter but highly challenging breezes, testing sailors’ tactical decision-making and boat handling in the shifty conditions.
Dickson and Waddilove completed two races before the breeze became too light to continue. They opened their day with an impressive third-place finish, though their second race proved trickier with a mistake on the first downwind leg leaving them mid-fleet and crossing the line in 15th.
49er Coach Benjamin Bildstein said: “We’re happy to move into Gold Fleet in a strong position. We’re at the halfway point of the regatta now and this is where the real racing begins. The leaderboard is incredibly tight, so everything is still to play for. We learned some valuable lessons in Kiel and now we’re looking to put those into practice as we keep pushing towards Sunday’s Medal Series.”
The Olympians now move into two days of intense Gold Fleet racing in the Elimination Series before Sunday’s Medal Series, with the 49er fleet currently led by Britain’s James Grummett and Rhos Hawes. France’s Erwan Fischer and Clément Péquin have moved into second after being awarded redress following a successful protest against the Dutch team.
In the women's 49erFX fleet, Erin McIlwaine (Royal St George YC/Newcastle Yacht Club) and Ellen Barbour (County Antrim Boat Club) continued their learning curve at senior international level. After narrowly missing out on Gold Fleet, the young pairing have continued to gain valuable experience while identifying areas for improvement against world-class opposition.
Irish Sailing 49erFX Coach Matt McGovern said: “Our starts have been our biggest challenge throughout this competition, so that’s going to be our focus tomorrow. We will be making a few adjustments so we can get off the line cleanly and quickly and if we can do that, we’ll give ourselves the chance to show the pace we know we have.”
The development pairing of Ben O’Shaughnessy (Royal Cork Yacht Club) and Ethan Spain (National Yacht Club) bounced back well after a difficult previous day when a broken boom forced them out of two races.
The young Irish crew responded with a much-improved performance, recording finishes of sixth and 13th to secure their place in Silver Fleet for the remainder of the regatta. The experience of competing against one of the strongest international fleets of the season will be invaluable as they build towards their main target for the year, the 49er Junior World Championships in the Netherlands later this month.
With the qualifying series complete, attention now turns to two days of Gold and Silver Fleet racing in Eckernförde before Sunday's Medal Series. Dickson and Waddilove remain firmly in contention near the top of the leaderboard while Ireland's younger crews will be aiming to finish the championship on a high and continue building valuable experience on the international stage.