Irish sailing fans can look forward to seeing two Irish teams bid for an Olympic berth at the 49er World Championships live in New Zealand next month thanks to new streaming technology announced by the international class association.

As Afloat reported previously, a top-eight position is needed to secure Ireland’s single place at next year's Tokyo Olympics by Ryan Seaton (a double Olympian) and Seafra Guilfoyle or rivals Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove who have each shown how capable they are this season at separate events.

The International 49er and Nacra17 Class Associations, along with the host club Royal Akarana Yacht Club, have announced a partnership with New Zealand streaming platform SidelineApp which will see the upcoming Oceania and World Championships broadcast in their entirety, live and available to sailing fans around the world.

In addition to the Sky Sport New Zealand broadcast announced in September, the additional coverage by SidelineApp will see each and every race broadcast live and on demand.

“We are tremendously excited to partner with SidelineApp and deliver such comprehensive coverage to our dedicated sailing fans. For the first time ever, the moments that matter in an Olympic sailor's life can be shared in real time with their friends, family, clubs, supporters, and countrymen as they unfold,” said 49er and Nacra17 Class President Marcus Spillane who is also a member of Ireland's Olympic Steering Group.

The 2019 Hyundai World Championships will be of huge importance for the sailors and nations competing, and now fans will have the opportunity to be part of the action. Alongside the three World Championship titles on the line, Olympic qualification and selection is up for grabs for the majority of the competitors. The Oceania Championships, November 25-27, and World Championships, December 3-8, will herald a new era of the sport’s coverage.

The Regattas

The 2019 Hyundai World Championships will be the most important event in the sailors’ calendars in the lead up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, held in July and August next year. For the world’s best, it is the measuring stick for how they stack up as a fleet, plus there are at least 15 Olympic qualifying berths on offer among the three classes; four in the 49er, five in the Nacra 17 and six in the 49erFX. Only 20 teams per fleet will earn the privilege of representing their country at the Olympic Games, and many top sailing nations are yet to qualify for Tokyo 2020.

Rio 2016 Olympic gold medallists Martine Grael & Kahena Kunze (BRA)

The 2019 Hyundai Oceania Championships will serve as the warm-up regatta for the three classes prior to the 2019 Hyundai World Championships. As the contintental championships for the Oceania region, world ranking points are on offer as well as offering one last opportunity for teams to make any last minute adjustments to their sailing before the Hyundai World Championships begin.

Racing begins on 25th November with the three-day Oceania Championships, followed shortly after by the 2019 Hyundai World Championships, raced from 3rd to 8th December. Live broadcasting will be available from two of the four courses during the Oceania Championships, in addition to the extensive World Championships coverage.

The Sailors

Racing will feature some of the world’s best sailors, including New Zealand’s own Rio 2016 Olympic gold medalists and America’s Cup champions Peter Burling and Blair Tuke in the 49er, alongside their fellow Kiwis and Rio 2016 silver medallists in the 49erFX, Alex Maloney and Molly Meech.

The list of Olympic medallists and World Champions continue throughout the 49er fleets, including the 2017 49er World Champions Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell (GBR) and Rio 2016 49erFX gold medalists Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze (BRA) plus reigning European and World Champions Annemiek Bekkering and Annette Duetz (NED). The Nacra 17 foiling multihull repeats the gold medal standard, featuring Santiago Lange and his crew Cecilia Carranza Saroli (ARG), gold medallists from the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and London 2012 49er Olympic gold medallist and Japan SailGP skipper Nathan Outteridge, combining with his sister Haylee (AUS).

In total there are 14 Olympic Gold medalists competing at the regatta; Peter Burling (NZL), Blair Tuke (NZL), Santiago Lange (ARG), Cecilia Carranza Saroli (ARG), Martine Grael (BRA), Kahena Kunze( BRA), Sime Fantela (CRO), Nathan Outteridge (AUS), Tamara Echegoyen (ESP), Iker Martine z(ESP), Tessa Parkinson (AUS), Anna Tobias (USA), Jonas Warrer (DEN), and Sophia Bekkatorou (GRE).

Overall there are 206 teams competing from 41 nations comprising 412 athletes.

Rio 2016 Olympic gold medallists Martine Grael & Kahena Kunze (BRA)

The Technology

The 2019 Hyundai World Championships broadcast will include some of the latest 4G bonding technology and include tracking of every team using TracTrac, on board 4G cameras thanks to Icarus Sports, drones and stabilised on-water cameras. Swiss Timing’s 2D & 3D graphics, featured at recent World Sailing events, will be incorporated into the broadcast package, as will the Sky Sport regatta coverage.

The broadcast will be hosted by New Zealand’s Jesse Tuke, the younger brother of Olympic 49er gold medallist Blair Tuke, and feature commentary with analysts and sailing experts, special guests and interviews from the sailing world

“It’s a tricky sport for traditional broadcasters to comprehensively cover due to the many moving parts, the number of cameras needed to cater for large fleets, and the technology of streaming vision away from land,” SidelineApp founder Luke Thompson said. “4G has opened the floodgates for providing reliable streaming content across the globe, and we’re really focused on the new 4G bonding and 5G technologies coming to the market.”

How to Access

Live streaming will be available via our live portal at both 49er.org/live and Nacra17.org/live. Access to the Oceania broadcast will be provided free of charge for sailing fans around the world.

SidelineApp’s World Championships package can be purchased for the early bird price of 9.95 Euros for all LIVE and On Demand. After November 30 the package is 14.95 euros. *Geoblocked territories, if any, will be confirmed prior.

“While it is not traditional to have subscription based coverage for sailing, we do think it could be the best way forward. As the class that has pioneered live coverage since 2012, we have only been able to offer a single course area for up to three days of a championship. If the sailing public can get behind this type of comprehensive coverage, we have a chance to take a long-term leap forward in what we can offer passionate sailing fans globally,” said classes manager, Ben Remocker.

A top-eight position needed to secure Ireland’s single place at next year's Tokyo Olympics will be the aim at the 2019 49er World Championship in Auckland, New Zealand next month.

It's going to be a big ask for the two Irish teams who have already departed for New Zealand in what is one of the final chances for 2020 Olympic qualification.

As many as 400 of the world’s best sailors, including multiple champions New Zealand’s Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, will compete at the world championships at the Royal Akarana Yacht Club from December 3-8. The event will be broadcast by Sky Sports.

Both Ryan Seaton (a double Olympian) and Seafra Guilfoyle and rivals Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove have each shown how capable they are this season at separate events but the competition will not get any hotter than December's fleet in Auckland. 

Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove in bronze medal form at the U23 Worlds in Norway in July Photo: Martina Orsini

In August, as Afloat reported at the time, Seaton and Guilfoyle put a patch of inconsistent sailing behind them at the World Sailing World Cup in Enoshima, venue for the 2020 Olympic sailing regatta, to finish as medal race finalists and in tenth position overall. Likewise, in another fine display, defending champions Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove of Howth Yacht Club put in an outstanding U23 49er World Championship campaign to win a bronze medal in Norway in July.

So with both teams showing great potential to make the grade, it will be interesting to see who can perform when it really matters in Auckland.

New Irish 49er coach

The team also have a new coach in Matt McGovern. The Bangor County Down sailor is Ryan Seaton's old crew from London and Rio. McGovern, who in 2017 embarked on his own campaign for Tokyo with Strangford's Robbie Gilmore. He takes on the coaching role after moving into an RYA NI High-Performance management position.

The Irish Sailing 49ers are getting ready to fly to New Zealand tomorrow, Saturday 9 November, ahead of their World Championships next month.

There’s a long list of logistics to prepare for before racing starts at the 49er Worlds in Auckland on 3 December.

Ryan Seaton and Seafra Guilfoyle and fellow duo Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove are heading out early to train and acclimatise for the competition, which is also their next chance to secure an Olympic place for Ireland in the 49er class at Tokyo 2020.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the skiff pairs also have a new coach in Matt McGovern, who previously represented Ireland at the Olympics with Seaton.

Former Irish Olympic 49er sailor Matt McGovern has rejoined the Irish Sailing team as coach in the two-handed skiff class.

McGovern, who represented Ireland in the 49er at London 2012 and Rio 2016 with Ryan Seaton, retired from active competition in February last year and subsequently took up the role of high performance manager with the RYANI.

He will now assume coaching responsibilities for the two Irish Sailing 49er teams, which include his former skiff partner Seaton’s duo with Seafra Guilfoyle. The pair placed sixth in the World Cup medal race at Enoshima, the site for next summer’s Olympics, this past August.

Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove, 2018 U23 49er World Champions and Volvo Irish Sailors of the Year, will also benefit from McGovern’s Olympic experience.

Irish Sailing head coach Rory Fitzpatrick said: “It’s great to have Matt join the coaching team. An accomplished athlete, he’ll bring a wealth of experience to the whole team. He is also one of the most organised and prepared athletes.

“In our Performance HQ we have a picture of him and Ryan in the workshop — it’s placed there as a reminder of Matt’s attention to detail, and something we want to inspire the younger athletes with.”

McGovern joins the team ahead of Ireland’s next bid for a place at Tokyo 2020 in the 49er Worlds this December.

Sky Sport will broadcast live all six days of December’s 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 world championships in Auckland, New Zealand, which is believed to be a world-first for an Olympic class sailing world championships it has been announced by the 49er and 49erFX world president Marcus Spillane from Cork.

Spillane is also a member of Irish Sailing's Olympic Steering Group charged with assisting Irish Sailors to reach medal winning positions in the Olympic Games so he will have added interest in ensuring Ireland's 49er crews, Ryan Seaton and Seafra Guilfoyle and Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove will be in the best possible position to compete for the final chance of an Olympic berth at Tokyo 2020.

Unfortunately, the championships will not now include Annalise Murphy and Katie Tingle who quit their fledgeling campaign last week.

Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove are New Zealand bound Photo: Afloat

As many as 400 of the world’s best sailors, including New Zealand’s Peter Burling and Blair Tuke and Alex Maloney and Molly Meech, are expected to compete at the Royal Akarana Yacht Club from December 3-8.

Not only will world titles be on the line, but many countries will be using it as an Olympic selection event so the stakes will be high.

Sky Sport will screen live all six days of racing – six races a day – and also produce a daily highlights package, which will also be shown on free-to-air partner Prime TV.

On-the-water gyroscopic cameras will capture all the racing action, including state-of-the-art drones, and there will be comprehensive analysis and interviews from the boat park before and after the racing presented by a team of sailing experts.

Tracking and animation will also be provided by Animation Research Ltd, who are world leaders in graphics visualisation.

“We’re proud to be the host broadcaster for this great event, and we look forward to bringing sailing fans racing coverage from December 3-8 on Sky Sport,” Sky head of sports production Brian Hitchcock said.

The scale of the production is believed to be a world-first for an Olympic class regatta and will enable New Zealand fans to get close to the action. Negotiations are also progressing to distribute the feed internationally.

The 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 are arguably the most exciting of all of the Olympic classes, with the boats reaching speeds in excess of 20 knots.

Burling and Tuke have made a successful comeback to the 49er after a couple of years focusing on the America’s Cup and Ocean Race, winning last month’s Olympic test event in Japan, and will be looking to add a fifth world title in December.

“We are thrilled to have Sky Sport New Zealand broadcast our upcoming world championship,” 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 president Spillane said. “The 2019 49er, 49erFX, and Nacra 17 world championships are likely to be the most competitive regatta in all of sailing this year.

“To have a passionate New Zealand audience and our global fanbase be able to watch the whole thing is wonderful for the sport.”

The regatta is one of the highlights on the upcoming sailing calendar, which also includes February’s RS:X world championships in Auckland as well as the 2021 America’s Cup.

“It’s a great time to be involved in sailing in this country,” Yachting New Zealand chief executive David Abercrombie said. “With Sky Sport’s partnership, we have an opportunity to further inspire our young sailors through sharing content, telling stories and showing live just how exciting sailing, and in particular, 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 sailing, can be.

“As a passionate nation of sports enthusiasts and sailors, we look forward to what promises to be an exciting week of competition and thank Sky Sport for their commitment to work with us in showcasing sailing and Auckland and New Zealand.”

The final day highlighted a brilliant advance up the leader board for 2018 Junior World Champions, Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove of Howth Yacht Club. The duo started out the regatta with their worst two results of the week, a 21, and then a 14, which ended up being their worst two races. They built improving momentum throughout the week and finished with a 5, 1, 3 to win the final day and grab the bottom rung of the podium. They only just hung on to that third place finish fending off a protest in the final day from the Polish in fourth place overall.

Also moving up on the podium were the British pair of James Grummet and Daniel Budden. They sailed a consistent week, only counting top 10 finishes, and when the Australian team of Hansen and Hoffman suffered two poor races in a row on the final day they were able to grab the silver.

But the week belonged to McHardie and McKenzie (NZL) from New Zealand. The pair were the highest-ranked team entering the competition and hardly made any mistakes during the week. They won 5 of the 14 races and discarded a 10th place, their worst result of the week. The duo are part of an extremely talented squad of New Zealand emerging 49er sailors who also had a top 10 finish at Kiel Week. Now they move on to train at the Olympic venue in Enoshima, Japan. New Zealand will be hosting the 2019 World Championship in Auckland so they’ll be playing host to the fleet in a few months time.

Claiming the U21 prize were 4th overall Mikolaj Stanijul and Kuba Stzorch (POL) who were in medal contention all week. At ony 18 years old each, this duo has a bright future ahead.

A second Irish pairing Sean Donnelly and Adam Hyland were 14th in the 53-boat fleet.  Results are here

Ireland’s Olympic sailors will return home to training in Dun Laoghaire to put into practice the lessons they’ve learned during a week of challenging conditions at the 49er European Championships where the teams competed in the silver fleet divisions. The Irish crews are still a long way off the pace that will be required if Tokyo 2020 qualification is to be achieved later this year.

Full results are here

After very strong conditions earlier in the week, the regatta ended with a bit of a whimper today, when a lack of wind in Weymouth Bay meant that there were no silver or bronze fleet races.

With 18 races already completed over six days, the race officer made the decision not to force any races in very light conditions for the silver and bronze fleets, although there were final races in the gold fleet competitions.

Irish Sailing 49er coach Ross Killian said: “It’s been a long regatta with seven consecutive race days. The wide variety of conditions has challenged our sailors, we’ve had very windy races and very light races. Steady breeze and shifting breeze, big waves and flat water. An all-round test really."

“Across the 18 races sailed the Irish results were up and down, areas that need work have been highlighted during the course of the competition, so now we will tailor or training to focus on those areas.

“We are bringing the equipment home tomorrow and will be working from the new Performance HQ in Dun Laoghaire for the next block of training. It’s a great thing that we can work together as a three-boat team at home while recharging the batteries. It’s been a busy start to the season with Palma, Genoa and the Euros one after another with little turnaround time in between.”

The lack of action today meant that in the men’s 49er class, Ryan Seaton, from Co Antrim, and Cork’s Seafra Guilfoyle finished highest of the Irish in 43rd place overall, after placing 2nd and 28th in Saturday’s two races. They were just one spot ahead of Dublin duo Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove after their 29th and 9th place finishes on Saturday.

Also in the 49ers, Dalkey brothers Seán Donnelly and Tadgh Donnelly finished 33rd and 26th in Saturday’s silver fleet races to claim 57th place overall, while the new Cork pairing of Mark Hassett and Johnny Durcan claimed 4th and 11th place in the bronze fleet races to finished the regatta in 88th place overall.

There was also no silver fleet races in the women’s 49erFX, which meant that Annalise Murphy and Katie Tingle finished the competition in 51st place overall after their 22nd and 9th placings in Saturday’s races.

In the 49er gold fleet, 49erNew Zealand pairing Peter Burling and Blair Tuke claimed victory, holding off the challenge of Britain’s Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell.

The 49erFX competition was won by Brazil’s Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze, ahead of reigning World Champions from the Netherlands, Annemieke Bekkering and Annette Duetz.

The next regattas for the Irish Sailing team will attend will be Kiel in Germany in late June and the 49er Junior World Championships, in early July.

There was consolation of sorts for Annalise Murphy and Katie Tingle who posted their best results of the week at the European 49er Championships in Weymouth Bay today.

Racing in the 49erFX silver fleet, with lighter, easterly winds of around 10-knots, the Dublin-Cork pair improved with every outing and claimed 9th, 3rd and 2nd place finishes in the day’s three races.

They now lie 45th overall out of 57 boats.

Seaton & Guilfoyle are 43rd

In the 49er silver fleet races, Ryan Seaton and Seafra Guilfoyle came 8th, retired and 25th to lie 43rd overall out of 98 teams. Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove are in 48th place after posting results of 26th, 14th and 20th.

They were two places ahead of brothers Seán and Tadgh Donnelly, whose impressive 6th place in the second silver fleet race was bookended by 35th and 26th place finishes.

The men’s race is divided into gold, silver and bronze fleets, and being in the middle class means that Ireland’s sailors will not be able to finish higher that 26th overall.

The much hoped for Irish breakthrough into the Gold fleet of the 49er European Championships – that would have been such a boost towards Tokyo 2020 qualification –has failed to materialise for any of the four competing campaigns in Weymouth tonight and they will now complete this week's series in the silver fleet of the 49er and 49fx classes.

There will be some consolation that a former Dun Laoghaire teammate from the Rio 2016 cycle is lying second in an inspirational performance in the 49erFX, even though the Royal Irish Yacht Club's Saskia Tidey is now racing for Team GB.

Belfast Lough's Ryan Seaton and Cork Harbour's Seafra Guilfoyle maintained their mid-fleet position scoring two counting races with a 7th and an 18th place recorded to lie 38th from 96.

The team will now aim to take as much as possible out of the Weymouth competition in the hope of improving scores later this season. None of the Irish crews has yet secured a Tokyo berth and this can only be achieved in December at the World Championships in New Zealand.

Rio Olympic medallist Annalise Murphy and partner Katie Tingle were back in action after their battles with the high winds of the day before. The pair recorded a 25th, 22nd and a 26th in racing today which see them set to continue the regatta in the 49fx silver fleet. 

Brothers Tadgh and Sean Donnelly of the National Yacht Club are lying one place behind U23 World Champions Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove of Howth Yacht Club having scored a 17th a 6th and a 21st placing today. Dickson and Waddilove recorded a counting 14th and 23rd. Both will join Seaton and McGovern to compete in the silver fleet.

Full Results

49er duo Ryan Seaton and Seafra Guilfoyle continue to lead the Irish teams, scoring a 17th, 9th and 14th place yesterday to lie 37th in the fleet of 96 boats at the European Championships in Weymouth.

Guilfoyle, who was ill during the week leading to the event, continues to recover his strength and the pair are looking forward to the last few races of the opening section of the regatta.

U23 World Champions Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove, from Dublin, recorded similar results to their first day placing results of two 13th places and a 15th to lie 44th overall, while brothers Tadgh and Sean Donnelly, from Dublin, are in 53rd after they improved on Monday’s performance by scoring a 15th, 16th and a 12th over yesterday’s races.

They’re not long back in the boat after their two-and-a-half year holiday in the America’s Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race, but already Peter Burling and Blair Tuke are back at the top in the 49er after firing three bullets in a row today. “Nice day out,” smiled a typically straightforward Burling, checking carefully over every part of the rig after a testing outing for the 96-boat fleet.

It’s not that it was uber-windy, but the easterly breeze had kicked up some big waves in Weymouth Bay, offering plenty of opportunity for an unwanted high-speed pitchpole. The Antipodeans are muscling in on the European party, both Kiwis and Aussies enjoying the big breeze, big wave conditions. The only European team in the top four is Spain’s Diego Botin and Iago Lopez who were almost as dominant as the Kiwis in their third of the qualifying draw, scoring 2,1,1. “It’s so nice to be racing in good conditions again,” said Lopez. “Today was a great day for 49er sailing.”

The Spaniards are just a point off the Burling/Tuke lead, and just two points adrift of the Spanish are the Aussie brothers Will and Sam Phillips who scored three second places behind the unstoppable Kiwis. “Got to be pretty happy with that,” said Will after snapping at the heels of the reigning Olympic Champions all day. “Still a long list of things to work on, but we’re getting there with our starting and boat speed was pretty solid.” His favourite bit of the day was the two-sail blast back across Portland Harbour, back in the relative safety and comfort of the flat water after the lumpy challenge of the Bay.

Rio 2016 bronze medallists Erik Heil and Thomas Ploessel were fast out of the blocks in the morning, winning their first heat, but ran out of steam as the day progressed. “I was getting tired,” smiled Heil, sounding like a broken man. They pitchpoled in race two but recovered to a still respectable 10th place. “I was losing concentration because we were getting tired.” Then they capsized again in the final race of the afternoon, this time only managing an 18th. Despite their topsy-turvy moments, the Germans hold on to 7th place overall.

Austria’s Benjamin Bildstein and David Hussl struggled in yesterday’s conditions but got their mojo back on day two, scores of 1,1,5 lifting them to 12th overall. Great Britain’s Chris Taylor and Sam Batten had just put together a good set of results – 7,4,9 – and were enjoying the ride back home across the harbour when their forestay snapped at the top terminal. “The rig dropped back but the boom sat on the leeward wing and sort of supported the mast until we had time to re-tie the kite halyard as a temporary forestay,” said Taylor. So no real harm done, and a big day’s sailing that has planted a big grin on every face of the 49er fleet.

49er Top 5 – Full Results
1            NZL       Peter Burling, Blair Tuke                             7
2            ESP       Diego Botin, Iago Mara Lopez                      8
3            AUS       Will Phillips, Sam Phillips                          10
4            NZL        Logan Dunning Beck, Oscar Gunn            12
5            GER       Justus Schmidt, Max Boeme                     18