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Dickson and Waddilove find form in final fleet race of 49er World Championship

Their second place would have been the norm for them over the last two major championships

Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove competing on the fifth day of racing at the 49er World Championships 2024 at Playa Blanca, Lanzarote. Photograph: David Branigan/Oceansport

David Branigan
Sun Mar 10 2024 - 17:36

A bittersweet ending to the 49er World Championship in Lanzarote on Sunday morning was the best outcome available for Ireland’s Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove competing in the Gold fleet. After five days of struggling with their strategy for handling tricky wind shifts, the Dublin pair served up a reminder of their potency in the final fleet race of the event.

A clean start in their 25-boat Gold fleet saw them power up the course off Lanzarote’s Playa Blanca coast to reach the first mark in the lead. A less than slick sail hoist followed that allowed the French crew of Erwan Fischer and Clément Pequin to snatch the lead.

A battle followed on the downwind leg to complete the first of two laps of the course, with the Irish crew barely a few boat lengths behind. The French let their turn go wide though they held their speed, while the Irish boat ducked inside to once again take the lead.

In the nip and tuck contest that followed over the remaining two legs, Dickson and Waddilove displayed the sort of form that they are normally capable of and the second place that followed would have been the norm for them over the last two major championships.

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Fischer and Pequin won the race and with that the world championship, perfectly timed to coincide with their nation’s hosting of the Olympic Games where they will be home favourites.

For Dickson and Waddilove the second place was not enough to dislodge them from 25th overall and their result, along with nation place rivals Séafra Guilfoyle and Johhny Durcan who placed 31st overall, are level on points for the Irish selection trials.

Attention now switches to Hyeres, France, next month where both Dickson and Waddilove and rivals Séafra Guilfoyle and Johhny Durcan will compete in the 1,000-boat French Olympic Week at the second three-trials series regattas. After the 49er Europeans in early May, one of the two crews will have earned inclusion for the men’s skiff event on Team Ireland, joining Eve McMahon and Finn Lynch in their respective single-handed events.

David Branigan

David Branigan

David Branigan is a contributor on sailing to The Irish Times

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