Dickson and Waddilove Reach Final Series at European Championships
Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove have qualified for the Final Series at the 49er European Championships in Eckernförde, Germany.
The Howth and Skerries sailors began Saturday in contention for the European podium but slipped to sixth among the European crews and ninth overall in the Open Championship after another challenging day of light and unpredictable conditions on the Baltic.
After opening the day with a 25th-place finish, which became their discard, Dickson and Waddilove bounced back with an 11th and a 13th in the 25-boat Gold Fleet. While the results secured their place in Sunday's Final Series, they leave the Irish crew too far adrift on points to challenge for the medals.
49er coach Benjamin Bildstein said: "Overall, Rob and Sean sailed well this week. It was a difficult regatta in challenging conditions, but our downwind speed still needs work and that proved costly today. Making the Final Series gives the guys one more chance to put together some good races and move up the standings."
The Final Series gets underway at 1:15pm local time on Sunday. New Zealand's Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush hold the overall lead heading into the concluding races, while Great Britain remain the highest-placed European crew. Poland's Mikołaj Staniul and Jakub Sztorch are just two points behind in the battle for the European title.
In the 49erFX Silver Fleet, Erin McIlwaine (Royal St George Yacht Club/Newcastle Yacht Club) and Ellen Barbour (Newcastle Yacht Club) continued to build valuable experience, recording a 12th-place finish and 17th place among their results of the day. Competing in their first full senior campaign, the pair have identified clear areas for improvement as they continue their development on the international circuit.
McIlwaine said: "Our starts were probably our weakest area earlier in the week, particularly yesterday. It was good to have the chance to reflect overnight and come back today with a real focus on improving them. I think we executed them much better today, so we're pleased with the progress."
In the men's Silver Fleet, development sailors Ben O'Shaughnessy (Royal Cork Yacht Club) and Ethan Spain (National Yacht Club) continued their learning curve, with a 13th-place finish their best result of the day as they build towards next week's World Championships.