Ireland's Dickson and Waddilove holding in top ten as 49er European Championships reaches finale
by Irish Sailing 13 Nov 2023 09:48 NZDT
Sean Waddilove and Robert Dickson (IRL) competing in the Gold fleet final round at the 49er European Championships © David Branigan / Oceansport
Ireland's Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove are holding a top ten place as the 49er European Championships (Vilamoura, Portugal Sunday 12th November 2023) enters its grand finale on Monday with an Paris 2024 place at stake.
Sunday's racing proved exceptionally difficult as the fading sea breeze created obstacles across the course that few crews managed to completely escape.
Dickson (Howth YC) and Waddilove (Skerries SC) served up a fourth place in the opening race of the day and while their starting technique again served them well, 14th and 15th places followed and they slipped from sixth place overnight to eighth.
At the same time, Italians Simone Ferrarse and Leonardo Chiste with a better day moved up from eleventh to ninth place and trail the Irish boat by three points.
"That was a tough day; it was hard to get the strategy right,' said Dickson after racing ended. "Considering the conditions and Gold fleet, we're pretty happy with it."
Just one nation place for Paris 2024 is being decided at this regatta with Belgium and Germany also possibly able to mount a challenge on the final day.
But with the sea breeze only filling in by midday at the earliest, the schedule may yet be curtailed.
"It's all to play for and super-exciting. The boys have sailed a great series, the Italians have sailed a great series and it's all down to the last day," said James O'Callaghan, Irish Sailing's Performance Director. "Sport is being true to form."
Much depends on the weather and whether the full schedule can be sailed on Monday.
Two further fleet races are due before deciding the final top ten boats to compete in the high-scoring medal race final.