North-South Olympic sailing duo Ryan Seaton of Belfast Lough and Seafra Guilfoyle of Cork Harbour led the Irish charge and are in 35th place after four races on the first day of the 96-boat 49er European Championships in Weymouth today.

Illness and injury continue to plague this campaign, unfortunately, with Guilfoyle only passed fit for the important championship at the weekend.

U23 World Champions Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove of Howth Yacht Club are 49th while Dun Laoghaire brothers Tadgh and Sean Donnelly of the National Yacht Club are 60th.

Full results are here.

Six races remain before the fleets are split into the final series but consistent good scores will be key over the coming days if Ireland is to make the gold fleet cut.

Kiwis leading the charge around a square course

Logan Dunning Beck and Oscar Gunn from New Zealand started with a 4th followed by a trio of bullets in their third of the qualifying fleet, which totals 96 international entries from nations as diverse as Oman and India. After a discard, the Kiwis top the leaderboard with 3 points, one point ahead of their fellow Kiwis and training partners, Pete Burling and Blair Tuke, returning to the same waters where they won an Olympic silver medal at London 2012 seven years ago.

Dunning Beck said the key to success was pretty straightforward – get a good start, do minimum tacks upwind, one gybe downwind. Sailing a square course, with one tack and one gybe, sounds easy enough except that everyone’s fighting for to do the same, simple thing. Which makes it not so simple. Maybe it’s the strong training program back in the New Zealand summer that’s paying dividends now for the Kiwis.

Still, it’s early days in the regatta, and on equal points with Burling and Tuke are Spain’s Diego Botin and Iago Lopez.

It was a pretty impressive day for the Phillips brothers from Australia, particularly in the first three races with scores of 1,2,1 before a less memorable 15th in the last race of the afternoon. “Nice to be back in Weymouth,” said Sam, crewing for brother Will. “You don’t miss many days sailing in Weymouth, it’s nearly always good here.” The Phillips missed most of the 2018 season after Sam broke his foot in a bone-crunching nose-dive at 35 knots in the now-defunct SuperFoiler circuit which lit up Australia just over a year ago. The Princess Sofia Trophy in Palma a few weeks ago was their first competitive 49er outing together in a year, so to find themselves near the front of this world-class fleet after the first day is a welcome return to form for the brothers.

Just behind the Phillips brothers are the Rio 2016 bronze medalists from Germany, Erik Heil and Thomas Ploessel. Just a week ago the 2017 European Champions, Dylan Fletcher and Stu Bithell, were racing at 47 knots across San Francisco Bay in a SailGP F50 catamaran, but the Brits are pleased to be back on home waters with a “boring” opening day, according to Fletcher, which puts them in sixth overall. “Nothing special, just solid, which is fine for day one,” he said.

The 18-race series is forecast to have strong winds over the early part of the week. Racing continues tomorrow.

This week's 49er 2019 European Championships, to be held in Weymouth from 13-19 May includes the 49er, 49erFX, and Nacra17 and Ireland is competing in both the men and women's division of the  Olympic skiff class. See details of the Irish Olympic Sailing team competing here.

There are more potential winners than any 49er event in history. Returning to the waters which hosted the 2012 London Olympic Games sailing regatta, any one of twenty teams from around the world have the proven ability to take their place on the top step of the podium.

In past Olympic cycles, the 49er fleet has had stand out performances by a number of teams which ultimately resulted in Olympic medals and top professional skippering positions in the America's Cup and Volvo Ocean Race.

In the Rio 2016 cycle, New Zealand’s Peter Burling and Blair Tuke dominated the class, winning four World Championships in a row on their way to Olympic Gold. Preceding Burling/Tuke, Australian’s Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen were the form boat during the lead into the London 2012 games which also culminated in Olympic glory. Preceding that were the reigns of Chris Draper (GBR), Iker Martinez (ESP), and Chris Nicholson (AUS) all of whom went on to helm America's Cup or Volvo Ocean Race teams.

In 2018 and 2019, the 49er class has seen a plethora of event winners and no one team dominating. Whoever manages to emerge will truly be one of the best sailors today.

The most noticeable recent performance was by Great Britain’s Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell (GBR), who won the Trofeo Princesa Sofia regatta in Palma with a lead large enough to wrap up the event prior to a medal race being sailed. While Fletcher & Bithell have had large amounts of time away from the 49er this year due to their involvement with SailGP, this does not appear to have any effect on the British duo.

“Palma was an awesome regatta for us.” Says Fletcher. “We have been pushing for a performance like that. Weymouth is our home and we know it very well, Stu [Bithell] won his Silver Medal [in the 470] here at London 2012. We are feeling good and excited to have everyone back in our home town. The 49er fleet is incredibly strong at the moment, so we are coming here to just put our best foot forward and we know that if we do that we will be hard to beat.”

The rest of the British squad also have ambitions on home waters, none more so than James Peters and Fynn Sterritt. The duo have had a wildly up and down quad so far. They were flying high in the middle of last summer with a 5th at worlds and then winning the 2018 Test event, and critically, ahead of Dylan and Stu in both cases. They did so after spending months on the sidelines as Sterritt recovered from an injury which kept them off the water until just before Worlds.
So riding high into 2019, they entered Palma, as a British test event qualifier and suffered from a dire performance that put them into silver fleet. A controversial OSC call was their final downfall, spelling the end of their chances at a good finish in Palma.

With Dylan and Stu winning Palma, their chances of getting to the Test Event this year took a serious tumble. The test event spot for the British squad can be critical, as it's been practice for any team medaling at the test event to be given the Olympic berth. So, staring into this championship, one of the top 49er teams could already be staring down the last moments of their Tokyo campaign.

Reigning Olympic champions Burling & Tuke (NZL) have only recently stepped back into the 49er after taking time away from the class to compete in the America's Cup and The Ocean Race. The 4x World Champions are already back in form with their two international events in 2019 resulting in a 3rd and 7th place. Their fellow New Zealand teammates of Isaac McHardie & William McKenzie, Josh Porebski & Trent Rippey, and Logan Dunning Beck & Oscar Gunn have all placed in the top ten in 2019, showing that the New Zealand squad will be a force to be reckoned with. Discussing the New Zealand Sailing Team's recent success, McHardie said “I would have to put it down to the squad of 49ers we have working together. Also now with the likes of Pete and Blair back there is a lot of experience in the squad. As the younger team, we are very lucky to be apart of this tight group.”

The German Sailing Team will once again be looking to put on a strong performance, with their cumulative results including a string of podium placings in 2018-2019 as well as an extensive range of top 10 finishes spread out among their pairings. With an Olympic bronze from Rio 2016, 4th at the 2018 World Sailing Championships and a win at the recent Miami World Cup Series, Erik Heil and Thomas Ploessel be in with a good chance of a podium. Jakob Meggendorfer & Andreas Spranger will be looking to bounce back from two poor results in Palma and Genoa, while Tim Fischer / Fabian Graf and Justus Schmidt / Max Boehme will once again be expected to finish inside the top ten.
As a country who has already qualified for Tokyo 2020, thanks to Fischer & Graf’s bronze medal at the 2018 World Sailing Championships, the focus is now firmly on Olympic selection. All four of these teams will be looking to use the Euros to claim the test event spot and be in pole position for the Olympic berth.

Among the teams capable of success at the 2019 Volvo Europeans are Spain’s Diego Botin & Iago Lopez Marra, who won the 2018 Europeans in Poland and have finished in the top ten in all three events in 2019. With their focus firmly on the 49er and qualifying their nation for the Olympics, they will be looking to once again finish the regatta at the top of the leaderboard.

Reigning World Champions Sime and Mihovel Fantela from Croatia are the one significant team not in attendance. Congrats to Sime who had his first child last week, and we wish them well as they bond as a family.

On their home waters, Poland's Dominik Buksak & Szymon Wierzbicki placed second in the 2018 Europeans, with team mates and training partners Lukasz Przybytek & Pawel Kolodzinski leading into the medal race only to finish a disappointing 4th place. These two teams have spent most of the European season training together and the 2019 Volvo Europeans will be their first Olympic selection event for the two competitive Polish teams.

Austrians - Bildstein Hussl (6th Miami - 4th Palma) are a contender. The duo won the 'Warm Up' event for the Europeans here last week, and are looking to take their first major title. It's the same story for Team Tilt, Seb Schneiter and Lucean Cujean from Switzerland. These GC32 World Champions are already qualified for the games, and recently hired Jim Maloney, one of the top coaches to get them into a medal contending position.

Argentina’s Yago and Klaus Lange are finding form at the right time, with their worst result so far this year being an 11th in Miami. Yago's racing has never been better, and he's been racing at the top of the game while becoming the spiritual leader of the #Sailors4theSea movement.

Perhaps the most improved squad of the quad is Team France. Frei and Delpesch were 2nd at the Worlds last year, and Rual with Amoros were eighth. Both teams have had very strong years, and could become the first French team to win a major championship since Frei and Rocherioux won the Europeans in 2012.

With a little over a year until the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games are set to be contested on the waters of Enoshima Japan, the current 49er fleet is perhaps the most competitive 49er fleet in the class's history. Lacking a dominant team this Olympic cycle and with any number of up to twenty teams currently showing the form to win the regatta, picking a winner will be harder than ever before. Throw into the mix that multiple nations will be using this event as a major qualification event towards their Olympic team selection and it is clear that there is more than just a European title at stake.

49erFX Top 5 – Full entry
1            DEN      Ida Nielsen, Marie Olsen                           11
2            GBR       Charlotte Dobson, Saski Tidey                 13
3            DEN        Jena Hansen, Katja Iversen                     15
4            USA       Annemiek Bekkering, Annette Duetz         18
5            DEN       Martine Grael, Kahena Kunze                   19

49er Top 5 – Full entry
1            FRA       Lucas Rual, Emile Amoros                         9
2            NZL       Logan Dunning Beck, Oscar Gunn             13
3            NZL       Josh Porebski, Trent Rippey                       14
4            SUI        Sebastien Schnieter, Lucas Cujean            15
5            AUS       Will Phillps, Iain Jensen                              16

As Afloat previously reported here, the Irish Sailing 49er and 49erFX teams will be sailing in next week’s European Championships, one of the highlights of the 2019 Olympic sailing calendar and an important benchmark for Irish teams still seeking Tokyo berths with a little over a year to go to the Olympic Regatta itself.

Next week’s regatta will see more than 400 of the best sailors from all over the world battle on Weymouth and Portland’s world-class waters, home of the London 2012 Olympic sailing competition, in pursuit of the European crown.

The Irish team attending the event is made up of eight sailors: 

• Annalise Murphy (Olympic silver medallist) with Katie Tingle, competing in the 49erFX
• Ryan Seaton (a medal race finalist at the Olympic Games in London 2012 and Rio 2016) and Seafra Guilfoyle
• Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove (winners, U23 49er World Championships, September 2018, and 2018 Afloat Irish Sailors of the Year)
• Tadgh and Sean Donnelly, training partners with the Irish Sailing Performance team

Speaking in advance of the event, Ross Killian, Irish Sailing 49er Coach said “All of the teams have put in massive amounts of preparation to get ready for this event, which simply underlines its importance to them, and how keen they are to succeed. It’s another significant step toward the Olympic Games in Tokyo next year.”

At the venue, Howth's Dickson and Waddilove have chalked up a 15th overall in the RYA Warm Up Regatta to set them up nicely for the main event.

Ian Barker 49erFX Irish Sailing coach said “Annalise and Katie are looking forward to the event and to getting out on the water. There’s a lot to sail for at Weymouth and they’re confident that their training and preparation regimes have them ready and prepared for the challenges ahead.”

The week-long regatta takes place at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy from May 13 to 19.

All three Irish 49er teams ended up in the silver fleet at the World Cup in Genoa yesterday leaving some head scratching in the Irish camp as to how performances might be improved before the important European championships in Weymouth next month.

The fifth day of competition in Genoa saw a long-awaited 6-9 knot steady western breeze arrive, ensuring that 41 of 42 races were completed.  Conditions during the week were described as tricky with Rory Fitzpatrick, Irish Sailing’s Head Coach explaining “It’s been really tough conditions – one mistake and you’re at the back of the fleet".

Best of the Irish was 38th place Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove next was 48th place, Ryan Seaton and Seafra Guilfoyle. Sean and Tadhg Donnelly were 58th in the 65-boat fleet.

Annalise's 49erFX Debut

Annalise Murphy and Katie Tingle's debut in the silver fleet of the Women’s 49erFX skiff ended with an overall 41st from 49th.

Medal Races

The scene has been set for the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 Medal Races at Hempel World Cup Series Genoa following the conclusion of fleet racing in the Italian city.

Italy’s Carlotta Omari and Matilda Distefano will lead the home nations hopes as they take a narrow advantage into the 49erFX Medal Race. Australian brothers David and Lachy Gilmour have New Zealand’s hottest sailing properties, Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, hot on their heels in the 49er.

Full results are here. Check out all our Irish Olympic sailing coverage in the build-up to Tokyo 2020 here

All Medal Races will be live on World Sailing’s YouTube Channel here - https://youtu.be/kyGGiRqiUdw. 

Belfast Lough and Cork Harbour duo Ryan Seaton and Seafra Guilfoyle are 20th overall in quite possibly the largest 49er fleet ever assembled in Palma of 108 boats after the first day of racing at the Trofeo Princesa Sofia regatta.

Helmsman Ryan Seaton, tenth in Rio, and who won the class in Palma in 2016, is only now getting up to speed after a troublesome winter of injuries for new crew Guilfoyle. The pair counted a (17), 9 and an encouraging third in the final race yesterday.

But these early qualifying rounds in light winds have not been plain sailing for the other Irish skiffs. Afloat.ie's Irish Sailor of the Year Rob Dickson, who is without his regular crew Sean Waddilove and sailing with stand-in Robbie Gilmore, lies 106th after 'gear problems' yesterday. 

The National Yacht Club's Sean and Tadhg Donnelly are 105th. Not competing this year are West Cork duo, Mark Hassett and Oisin O'Driscoll. 

Also absent from the Irish set-up in Palma this year is longtime coach Tytus Konarzewski who is credited with bringing the Dickson–Waddilove duo to U23 World Championship success last season. Konarzewski departed the Irish camp after the 'merger' of the youth and senior Irish skiff programmes this winter that saw the skiff numbers reduced.

Full results are here. Read more about Irish hopes for Tokyo 2020 here.

Consistent sailing will be the key if the Irish Olympic sailing team is to make good on promises of a strong peformance on the Bay of Palma this week. While none have yet reached the qualification standard for Tokyo 2020, the group, a mix of male and female Laser and Skiff campaigns, are now launching into a challenging season where securing a berth on the Tokyo startline is the absolute priority and for most of them this starts here at the Trofeo SAR Princesa Sofía regatta.

As probably the most popular annual Olympic classes regatta in the world it is no surprise that the 50th anniversary Trofeo SAR Princesa Sofía Iberostar has drawn a record fleet to the Bay of Palma.

Nine of the ten Rio 2016 Olympic gold medal-winning sailors or pairs are racing at the Trofeo SAR Princesa Sofía Iberostar.

In action for Ireland are Laser men, Finn Lynch, Liam Glynn, Ewan McMahon as well as 49er skiff team Ryan Seaton and Seafra Guilfoyle. Afloat.ie Sailor of the Year Rob Dickson was meant to sail but sailing partner Sean Waddilove is now out due to injury it has been confirmed tonight by the team. Also racing are National Yacht Club brothers Sean and Tadhg Donnelly. 

As Afloat.ie previously reported, although Ireland has still to qualify for Tokyo in any class, once the nation is qualified, Irish sailing's trials criteria means finishing in the top half of one of the 2019 qualifying regattas that include Palma. What's more, next week's Spanish regatta has added significance as it is the first of two trial events in the Laser to determine which Irish sailor will attend the Tokyo test event in August.

Dun Laoghaire's Finn Lynch, in particular, will be keen to continue his early season form. In Miami, in January, for example, he became the first ever Irish Laser sailor to qualify for a World Cup Medal Race, a sign perhaps that qualification is on the cards for the Rio veteran later this season?

Unfortunately, however, despite the opportunity for some excellent competition this week Annalise Murphy and Katie Tingle in the 49er FX will not be competing. The Irish Laser Radials are not in action either, due to exams, thus making a challenging qualification season now even tougher. 

Club Nàutic S’Arenal

The golden jubilee regatta has mustered 1,224 sailors, 869 boats in ten classes all from 67 different nations the huge Olympic classes competitions congregate over eight race areas administered from the sailing clubs the Club Nautico S’Arenal and the Club Marítimo San Antonio de la Playa,

As the Princesa Sofía Iberostar reaches its remarkable landmark the celebratory ambience around the boat parks and the clubs gives way Monday to the business of racing.

This annual gathering of the clans and the classes on the Balearic Island of Majorca is always a vital first check in with the rivals, the earliest big fleet opportunity to benchmark improvements after the winter period of training and racing. Or in some cases it is the idea arena to return to Olympic classes competition arena after a more protracted post-Olympic break.

A glittering 50th anniversary gala on Saturday evening was hosted at the Son Termes estate and was attended by Her Majesty Queen Sofïa. It was attended by Spain’s Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, the president of the Government of the Balearic Islands, Francina Armengol, and the president of the World Sailing (International Sailing Federation), Kim Andersen.

Queen Sofia offered a few words of thanks and congratulations "To all those who over these 50 years have made it possible for this regatta to be run in such a wonderful way on the unrivalled waters of the Bay of Palma, setting up this trophy as a national and international reference in the sport of sailing ".

HM Queen Sofía also offered special recognition for Rear Admiral Marcial Sánchez Barcaeiztegui and Jaime Enseñat who are considered the originators of the regatta.

Jaume Carbonell, who was the Trofeo Princesa Sofía event manager over two periods (1988-92 and 2004-11) praised Enseñat, who was president of Mallorca Tourism Promotion in 1968.

“He had the idea of the island benefitting from the promotional value of a major sports event to put Mallorca in the world map as an emerging tourism destination back then”.

Enseñat was, according to Carbonell, a pioneer of sports sponsorship.

“He ensured that for the first time that a private company gave its name to the Trofeo Princesa Sofía and invested some money that enabled thinking big and set the foundations of what today is the best Olympic classes’ regatta in the Mediterranean and probably in the whole world”.

“Thanks to this, the Princesa Sofía changed from being a Club regatta to become Mallorca’s showcase regatta, known all around the world”, said Carbonell.

Nine from Ten

Nine of the ten Rio 2016 Olympic gold medal winning sailors or pairs are racing at the Trofeo SAR Princesa Sofía Iberostar.

Since they won the 49er gold medal in Rio in 2016 New Zealand’s Peter Burling and Blair Tuke have won the America’s Cup and competed in the Volvo Ocean Race round the world. As they set out to defend their Olympic title next year in Tokyo Burling and Tuke return to the 49er fleet for the first time since Rio, choosing the Trofeo SAR Princesa Sofía Iberostar and the Bay of Palma as their first major event after training at home during the New Zealand summer with a flourishing Kiwi 49er squad. Blair and Tuke will have a fleet of 107 49ers, a class record, to contend with on their return.

“We are here to get back into it. We have had really good training group at home, it has been fun there but it is good to be back into it in Europe. We have a good few blocks of time at home, we feel pretty comfortable in our handling, it is about making sure you get these little details back which will I am sure will come back. It is cool to see the fleet so big and probably reflects a bit what is going on what is happening in the rest of the sailing world. It is looking pretty secure for a while.” Burling, who won the title here with Tuke in 2015 when they were last here, says,

“It is fun sailing here and with the Cup stuff we have on it is good to do some sailing. Andy (Maloney) and Josh (Junior) from our Cup team are doing Olympic campaigns and are here too. It fits in well with our programme and it is quite similar to what we did last time, a good balance some design time, some big boat sailing and some little boats. It is all part of the plan.

Following a similar programme is Great Britain’s Giles Scott, with Ineos Team UK hoping to wrest the America’s Cup from the Kiwis, and looking to defend the Finn gold medal title which he won in Rio. Scott has done three Finn regattas since he won here last year, two lower level regattas in Australia this winter and the Enoshima Japan 2019 World Cup series opener last September where he finished runner up.

“At the end of last year we went to Australia and did a couple of trips there and then came up to Palma in February and have been in and out since then. So I have had some reasonable time in the boat since then which is nice after the last 18 months or so.” Says Scott, “At the moment I can manage the Cup programme and this alongside each other. It will not get any easier from that point of view. It is working fine. I don’t know where I am with regard to the fleet and so that is what we come here for. It is great to have this regatta. Everyone goes off through the winter and it is nice to come back and see what everyone has done. For me the best thing is being properly back into it and feeling good.” Says Scott,

“I do love it here. It is amazing. Formats change, World Cups come and go, and this is the constant. Everyone always comes. Everyone always loves it. They always put on a good regatta here. And so the sailors always respond to that and turn up in their masses.”

Argentina’s Olympic Nacra 17 champion Santi Lange has lost count of the times he has been to the Trofeo SAR Princesa Sofía Iberostar.

“It is a lot more than twenty.” Smiles Lange who with crew Cecilia Carranza Saroli finished third in Miami in January and third at last year’s World Championships, “Everyone is so passionate and supportive here it is always great to be here. In the ‘good old days’ everything was brought here by the military and a lot of things were provided free. I once did this regatta when I was working in Southampton and came by train. I remember being at Victoria Station in London at 5am in the morning, travelling with mast, boom, daggerboard, rudder and everything. We were crazy to be here.”

Lange adds: “It has changed a lot but this I am always happy to be here. It is all so much more professional now than it was but this is such a cool place. There are cheap places to stay and it is a great place for training camps. And this is such a good regatta for younger sailors to come and race with the best in the world. That used to be the case in Hyeres, Spa, Medemblik and now it is not and this is what there is. I do think we should keep pushing to have big regattas where newcomers can come and race against the good guys and girls.”

“For us we have come here a little late and so our first thing is to check in with the fleet and see where we are, and then we fix our objectives. We had some good training in Uruguay with a good group. This is a technical class where everyone is learning and improving all the time.

Who’s who?

The 470 Men’s class has 73 entries. Winners here in 2018 were Australia’s Olympic silver medallists Mat Belcher and Will Ryan who return to open their season on the Bay of Palma. The world champions Kevin Pepponet and Jérémie Mion (FRA) finished seventh in Miami in January and are among a 13 strong French 470 mens squad. In Miami it was Spain’s Jordi Xammar and Nicolas Rodriguez who prevailed.

In the 470 Women’s fleet there are 45 entries. Japan’s Ai Kondo Yoshida and Miho Yoshioka are World Champions and won here last year. Olympic champion is GBR’s Hannah Mills who sails with Eilidh McIntyre. Germany’s top two 470 crews finished first and second in Miami, Loewe and Markfort winning from Oster and Winkel. Mills and McIntyre were fourth at the Miami World Cup.

In the 45 boat Finn class Giles Scott is the defending Sofia champion and the Olympic champion. Sweden’s Max Salminen won in Miami, was World Championship runner up in Aarhus. World Champion Zsombor Berecz is not entered here.

The 108 strong 49ers see the return of Burling and Tuke, the Olympic champions. World champions 2018 are Croatia’s Sime and Mihovil Fantela. The winners here in 2018 were Yago and Klaus Lange (ARG).

Over 180 Laser standards are entered. Cypriot Pavlos Kontides stands out as world champion in 2017 and 2018 and Olympic runner-up in London 2012 and winner in January in Miami. Olympic champion is Australia’s Tom Burton while Miami’s dominant winner was Norway’s Tomasgaard.

In the Laser Radial there are 120 sailors and favorites Marit Bouwmeester the Olympic gold winner from Rio 2016 and the Belgian Emma Plasschaert, current world champion.

In the 49er FX, Annemiek Bekkering and Annete Duetz (Holland) are looking to defend the title of Sofía Iberostar champions. They are also the current world champions. Winners in Miami were Brazil’s Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze, Olympic champions.

Italy’s Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti are world champions who start as favourites in the Nacra 17 class which has 59 entries. France’s four times World Champions Billy Besson and Marie Riou return to race in Palma after Riou raced on the Volvo Ocean Race last year. Olympic champions are Lange and Cecilia Carranza Saroli. Australia’s Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin won in Miami.

The RS: X male and female classes see this regatta as a prelude to the the European Championship that will take place at the Club Nàutic S'Arenal immediately after this event, from 8 to 13 April. The current female windsurf world champion, the Dutch sailor Liliana De Geus, who also won the 2018 edition of the Sofía Iberostar, will be the rival to beat the Japanese Peina Chen and the Andalusian Blanca Manchón as main competitors.

On the male windsurfing side, the Spanish sailors such as Canarian Ángel Granda and the Balearic Sergi Escandell at the head, is emerging as one of the main powers in the Majorcan regatta.

Just crowned Irish Sailors of the Year, Robert Dickson and Robert Waddilove were back on the water in Portugal finishing 23rd in a fleet of 53 at the second round of the Portugal Grand Prix in Vilamoura. Top Irish 49er duo Ryan Seaton and Seafra Guilfoyle (who injured his leg in November) were 17th and National Yacht Club duo Tadhg and Donnelly finished 31st in the 11–race regatta.

But the best result of an Irish sailor was scored by Royal Irish Yacht Club sailor Saskia Tidey – now sailing for Team GB – who finished third overall in the 49erFX fleet.

Vilamoura has been growing as a winter destination for the past few seasons. Regattas in December and now February attracted 109 and then 116 boats respectively across 49er, 49erFX, and Nacra 17. Indeed, Annalise Murphy and Katie Tingle are also based here but although out on the water at the weekend, the pair were not recorded as an entry in the official results.  See full results here.  See vid of the pair in Vilamoura below: 

The regatta this past weekend featured big breeze and waves each of the days.

Check out this video of 2018 European Champions Helene Naess and Marie Ronningen (NOR) in absolute survival mode heading downwind as they navigate a growing graveyard. 

The 49er fleet was the largest and deepest. Diego Botin and Iago Marra (ESP) hardly made any mistakes in the tough conditions, and had only one race outside of the top 10 to compliment three race wins to take the overall victory. They were pressed hard by James Peters and Fynn Sterritt (GBR) who was the only team to stay in the hunt with the Spaniards. Both teams had disappointing conclusions to the Miami World Cup only 10 days ago, being over early in the medal race, but rebounded in the much fresher conditions.

The 49er fleet was somewhat depleted by the number of teams participating in Sail GP, which overlapped, and a very healthy down under circuit in both Auckland and Australia.

The 49erFX racing was a three way battle royale for the win. Going into the final race it was the 2018 World Champions, Bekkering and Duetz (NED), on 13 points, Dobson and Tidey (GBR) on 14 points, and Nielsen and Olsen (DEN) on 20 points.

The Danish multiple European Champions, took the final race, their second in a row to keep the pressure on, but it was the 2018 World Champions from the Netherlands who managed a second in the race to claim the title. Dobson and Tidey finished in 8th, and subsequently had to be satisfied with third overall after leading for much of the regatta.

See full results here

Belfast Lough former 49er sailor Matt McGovern will be at East Antrim Boat Club this Wednesday (20th) from 7:30 pm for a talk on performance sailing.

As well as relaying the ups and downs of his journeys to the London and Rio Olympic Games with fellow Belfast man Ryan Seaton and that final 2017 bid for Tokyo with Strangford's Robbie Gilmore before retirement, McGovern will be offering his tips on performance sailing and other insights in his new role as RYA NI Performance Manager.

No doubt the evening will also include an update on the current Irish Olympic sailing team efforts and how his former partner's new campaign is shaping up for Tokyo next year with new crew Seafra Guilfoyle from Royal Cork.

#SailorOfTheYear - Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove have been named Afloat Irish Sailors of the Year for 2018 in recognition of their gold medal victory in the 49er U23 Junior World Championships, amid another landmark 12 months for inspiring performances in Irish sailing.

September’s Olympic Sailors of the Month were presented with their prize by Minister of State Mary Mitchell-O’Connor at the Volvo Irish Sailing Awards gala in Dublin’s RDS Concert Hall this evening (Friday 8 February).

Robert Dickson (21) of Howth and Seán Waddilove (20) of Skerries rose to the challenge in Marseille last August and September as they battled a strong international field — and a Mistral at full strength — to score their first world gold, and their first major win.

Howth YC Commodore Joe McPeake (centre) at the reception to welcome home the new gold medallists Robert Dickson (left) and Sean Waddilove | Photo: Ian Dickson

It was down to the wire at the climax of the final race on Saturday 1 September as the Dublin duo led a chasing pack in the fleet of 52 boats.

However, their placing was no surprise to anyone following the former 420 pair’s performance during their week on the Cote D’Azur, with seven results out of their first nine races in the top five — and all that after starting out on only two days of training, with Robert levelled by a bout of food poisoning.

Going into the final day as leaders no doubt piled on the pressure, which must have doubled when gear failure in their 10th race saw them slip down the finish order.

But according to Robert, the pair played it cool. “We were still leading the regatta by three points which we didn’t know at the time,” he told Afloat.ie. “We never think about points. We need a clear mind to carry out our jobs on the water.”

What a job it was, too — and a testament to their skill and steely nerve that after that humbling stumble, they recovered to win the final and claim Ireland’s first ever major victory of their age group in the skiff class.

It was also vindication of more than year of extraordinarily hard work put in by both young men, after injury felled Seán in early 2017 and almost scuppered their campaign for the 2020 Olympics.

Far from it, the signs now look exceedingly bright for a stellar performance in Tokyo next year.

According to the International 49er Class — whose president Marcus Spillane must be delighted at his home nation’s achievements — the academy set-up in Ireland has been key to this country’s boost in competitiveness in the skiff. 

Despite the departure of Saskia Tidey to Team GB slowing down Irish 49erFX ambitions, on the men’s side the squad has grown since the split of Rio challengers Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern, the former forging a new partnership with Seafra Guilfoyle for Tokyo 2020 (McGovern retired last year and is now high performance manager with RYA NI). 

And indeed, Robert and Seán are an integral part of this growth.

Volvo Irish Sailors of the Year are Robert Dixon and Sean Waddilove.@AfloatMagazine#volvoirishsailingawards @howthyachtclub@SkerriesSailing @SDC1940 pic.twitter.com/roswCED8Yv

— Irish Sailing (@Irish_Sailing) February 8, 2019

Recounting for Afloat.ie his and Seán’s path to the title, Robert explains that for both it began well before any world-class ambitions. 

Each got into sailing as a child at club level, Robert sailing an Optimist alongside family in Lough Ree while Sean got his start via a taster course in Skerries. 

As their talent shone through and competitions became a matter of course, the two would meet and become friends on the national circuit, forming a bond as their success soon took them abroad. 

And after joining Irish Sailing’s Olympic Pathway in the Oppy class, it made perfect sense that they would team up to progress to the 420 class — in which they started training in their Transition Year — and then two years later to the 49er, often regarded as the ‘Formula 1’ of dinghy racing.

“Training with the 49er Development Squad and having a 100% committed coach makes training much more effective,” says Robert. “You can train solo but it’s not as effective as having a group of boats around you, pushing each other on and off the water to strive to be the best. This medal was certainly a team effort!”

That team, past and present, includes former 49er Development Team coach Tytus Konarzewski, Thomas Chaix, Ross Killian, ex-Olympic duo Ger Owens and Scott Flanigan, Graeme Grant, Philippe Boudgourd, John and David White, and sports physio Mark McCabe at SportsMed Ireland.

And that’s not to mention Robert and Sean’s families and fellow sailors, supportive clubs and sporting bodies — and their colleges that allow them to work classes and assignments around their full-on training schedule.

To confirm a suggestion proffered by the 49er class, the investment made in creating Olympic contenders like Laser Radial silver medallist (and 2016 Sailor of the Year) Annalise Murphy has indeed — in the success of Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove — been leveraged in bringing the next generation of youth and junior talent into the top levels of their age categories.

WM Nixon will have a profile of the 2018’s Afloat Sailors of the Year as well as the many worthy nominees in his Sailing on Saturday column, available later tonight right here on Afloat.ie.

Guests taking their seats at the 2018 Volvo Irish Sailing Awards | Photo: David O’Brien

Robert and Seán topped another incredible field of nominees for 2018, among them faces recognised from 2017’s shortlist and years previous, as well as a fellow Olympic contender.

Liam Glynn was a Sailor of the Month in July for his bronze at the U21 Laser Worlds, while Peter and Rob O’Leary were stars in the Star class. Wins at home and abroad put Justin Lucas on our radar, as was Irish Topper number one Hugh O’Connor, and Firefly duo Atlee Kohn and Jonathan O’Shaugnnessy. Brendan Lyden captained UCC1 to victory at the University Sailing Association Team Championship.

Last year’s Sailor of the Year Conor Fogerty made the list again for his runaway victory in Class 3 at the RORC Caribbean 600 mere days after collecting his Afloat gong.

Tom Dolan topped the rookies in his first Figaro Minitransat, while Barry Byrne skippered the Irish Defence Forces to the top of the corinthian ranks (and second overall) in the Volvo Round Ireland Race, besides a successful defence of the Beaufort Cup at Cork Week.

Niall Dowling took line honours in the Round Ireland, while later in the year Vicky Cox and Peter Dunlop topped the ISORA standings.

The inspirational Enda O’Coineen was no April fool as he completed his delayed circumnavigation for his own personal Vendée Globe milestone.

Pat Kelly and company got off to a flying start on their J/109 Storm, while windsurfer Oisin van Gelderen set new Irish speed records in Luderitz.

Classic boating was ably represented by Ilen restorer Gary MacMahon, Dave Cullen’s Wave Regatta champion Checkmate XV and Mermaid fan Darragh McCormick, while Darryl Hughes found a fruitful partnership with his vintage ketch Maybird.

Peter Kennedy fought hard to claim his All-Ireland title, Molly Breathnach cruised her way to a spot on the list, Fintan Cairns showed true leadership vision with the DBSC Turkey Shoot, and Donal O’Sullivan bowed out from his role at the same club after decades of unparalleled contributions.

Former sailmaker Ross Kearney is now sailing for the love of it, while Mark Lyttleproved he’s still winning calibre with his Grand Masters title in September.

And Gregor McGuckin got a nod in September for his selfless actions during the Golden Jubilee Golden Globe Race, racing to the aid of the injured Abilash Tomy with his own storm-worn yacht under jury rig.

In the night’s other prizes, Irish Sailing president Jack Roy presented the Senior Instructor Award to Southern Region winner Ellen O’Regan of Schull and the Fastnet Marine & Outdoor Education Centre for her exceptional instructor management abilities and skills.

Ellen ORegan of #schullsailing #fastmarineoutdooreducation wins Senior Instructor of the year for 2018. #volvoirishsailingawards pic.twitter.com/v3nJAMZ0uE

— Irish Sailing (@Irish_Sailing) February 8, 2019

Bray Sailing Club took one of the night’s two new categories as the Inclusion Award was presented by Gina Griffin to senior instructor Jack Hannon for his work on the Watersports Inclusion Games. The club was also named Training Centre of the Year for 2018 (presented by Cllr Ossian Smyth).

Winner of the Volvo Irish Sailing Inclusion award is Jack Hannon of Bray Sailing Club for his work with Watersports Inclusion Games #volvoirishsailingawards pic.twitter.com/uk0OcMrFrs

— Irish Sailing (@Irish_Sailing) February 8, 2019

Howth Yacht Club and the Royal Cork Yacht Club shared the inaugural Sustainability Award, presented by Irish Sailing’s new sustainability ambassador Damian Foxall.

Volvo Irish Sailiing Sustainability Award 2018 goes to @royalcork and @howthyachtclub pic.twitter.com/blasqnLkv5

— Irish Sailing (@Irish_Sailing) February 8, 2019

And Youth Sailor of the Year, presented by Irish Sports Council chief executive John Treacy, is the National Yacht Club’s Nell Staunton, one of the standouts of Ireland’s Laser Radial youth squad and eighth-place finisher in last summer’s Youth Sailing Worlds in Texas. 

Nell Staunton wins the Volvo Irish Sailing Youth Sailor for 2018.
# volvorishsailingawards pic.twitter.com/nrDiLtuolQ

— Irish Sailing (@Irish_Sailing) February 8, 2019

Hosted once more by master of ceremonies Fiona Bolger, the night as always welcomed guests from Irish club and high performance sailing — youth and veteran, professional and corinthian.

Among the 500 people in attendance at the RDS Main Hall were Volvo Car Ireland MD David Thomas and PR and events executive Emma O’Carroll; from RYA NI, chair Jackie Patton (also of the Atlantic Youth Trust) and chief executive Richard Honeyford; and UK Sailmakers’ Barry Hayes.

Representing the Olympic Federation of Ireland were CEO Peter Sherrard, secretary Sarah O’Shea and Colm Barrington, first vice president and former chairman of Irish Sailing’s Olympic Steering Group. 

From the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport were assistant secretary Deirdre O’Keeffe and Peter Horgan, principal officer of sports policy and the National Sports Campus, while Fianna Fáil spokesperson for sport Robert Troy also joined the evening.

From Dun Laoghaire’s waterfront were harbourmaster Simon Coate; National Yacht Club Commodore Ronan Beirne with Vice Commodore Martin McCarthy and club archivist Frank Burgess; Royal Irish YC Commodore Joseph Costello; Royal St George Vice Commodore Peter Bowring; and DMYC Commodore Frank Guilfoyle

Representing the rest of Co Dublin were Dublin Bay Sailing Club’s new honorary secretary Chris Moore; Howth YC’s Vice Commodore Emmet Dalton with the club’s Rear Commodores Paddy J Judge and Ian Malcolm, race officer Richella Carroll and communications officer Brian Turvey; and Malahide YC Commodore Matt Ryan and Rear Commodore Ciaran O’Reilly.

Also in attendance were Bray Sailing Club’s outgoing Commodore Darina Porter, incumbent Boris Fennema, treasurer Torren Gale, and Jack Hannon; Skerries Sailing Club Commodore Kathryn Collins with Vice Commodore Liam O’Callaghan; and Dublin Port Company assistant harbour master Tristan Walsh.

Cork’s flag was flown by Kinsale Yacht Club Commodore David O’Sullivan and Vice Commodore Michael Walsh, along with Baltimore Sailing Club Commodore Niall O’Neill, and Royal Cork’s Admiral Pat Farnan, general manager Gavin Deane and sustainability chair Aoife Deane.

RTÉ broadcaster Fergal Keane; Volvo Ocean Race photographer Brian Carlin; Sailing Into Wellness founder Colin Healy, World Sailing delegates Con Murphy and Paddy Boyd; Nobby Reilly, formerly of ICRA; and former ICRA Commodore Simon McGibney were also in attendance.

Guests were also given a special up-close look at some of the boat models sailed by Ireland’s next generation of high achievers in sailing at home and abroad.

Boats on display at the rear of the RDS hall during the 2018 Volvo Irish Sailing Awards | Photo: David O’Brien

Ian O’Meara of Viking Marine and Pierce Purcell Jr and Nicky Bendon of CH Marine represented the dinghy scene presenting Lasers and a Topper respectively, while Kenny Rumball of the Irish National Sailing & Powerboat School brought along a training Optimist and RS Quest — and Gerry Salmon, Joss Walsh and Martin Salmon of yacht broker MGM Boats showed a scale model of the new Jeanneau Sun Fast 3300 that wowed the Paris Boat Show in December.

Hosted by Irish Sailing with Afloat magazine, the Volvo Irish Sailing Awards aim to highlight the breadth of sailing across the country.

Afloat’s Sailor of the Year awards have been running since 1996, recognising over 500 Irish sailors in that time. The awards “were originally formulated to bring a bigger profile to sailing achievements that do not get their fair share of the media coverage,” says editor David O’Brien. “Now these achievements are reaching a wider audience than ever before.”

Afloat.ie neared 1.3 million visitors in 2018 — an audience the publication is eager to share with Ireland’s sailing community.

“Afloat.ie wants to work with every club and every class in the country,” says O’Brien. “Please get in touch.”

Update Saturday 9 February: This article was corrected to show that Bray Sailing Club won Training Centre of the Year and not Lough Swilly Yacht club as previously indicated.

If it wasn’t for their habit of appearing in national media reports following major competition success over the past few years, one might think that Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove’s sailing campaigns have been deliberately shrouded in secrecy to protect and preserve a secret weapon until ready to reveal. But anyone who knows the Irish 49er Olympic hopefuls knows their reticence and ability to avoid the limelight is more a product of their inherent quiet charm and understated focus on the real prize.

Winning the 49er U23 Junior World Championships in September this year was a massive endorsement of the determination of the Howth and Skerries duo, catapulting them into the limelight of international sailing and to attention that they surely enjoy, albeit without self-promotional fanfare. Robert and Sean recognise that their gradual progression to the top of international competition changes the rules of engagement in respect of their previously ‘covert’ media presence and they realise that they are now of interest to many sailing and sporting followers.

Rob's first Optimist Little Rosie

Like the thousands of people who first learn about the sport, Robert and Sean began their sailing in Optimists. With a long and successful history of sailing in the Dickson family, Robert was destined to get his feet wet in dinghies and even by the tender age of six, had already secured his first boat and started sailing his bright red Optimist named ‘Little Rosie’, which was named with the help of some influence from his grandfather Roy, who’s all-conquering Corby 40 ‘Cracklin Rosie’ had won the 1996 Boat of the Year close to the time that Robert was born. Blessed with a nautical genealogy that must give any renowned sailing family a run for their money, Robert began racing and competing in his Optimist in Lough Ree alongside his older cousins and siblings including Cormac Dickson whom he followed around the course to ensure that he found the right marks and Cillian who later successfully progressed to keelboat racing and some stellar international results with the K25 team on the J24 Kilcullen. Always bound to be part of the IODAI circuit and encouraged to do so by his Uncle David, Robert soon found himself at the front end of the Optimist fleet on the circuit and joining the ISA Squads to international competition including events in the UK, Germany and Spain. Like many other young sailors who have sailed at Sutton Dinghy Club, he also spent some time racing in the Mirror Class, winning the 2012 Southerns and the 2014 Eastern Championships. Robert is naturally at home and intensely focused when at the helm of his boat and when asked about his favourite place to race he is quick to state: ‘Once the gun goes, I could be sailing anywhere!’ However, he does hold a fondness for sailing in Spiddal – certainly the centre of gravity in the West of Ireland for the 420 Class, where he asserts is ‘the best place I’ve ever sailed’.

Sean in his Oppie

Sean Waddilove started his sailing in Skerries and like Robert, he got the opportunity to get his feet wet in Optimists at an early age and in his own boat at 7 years of age. His mother Lucy (Coleman) has a long connection with Skerries, her family has lived in the seaside town for more than 5 generations. She met her husband Cliff while working in the Middle East and they came home to live in Skerries and to raise a family of five children amongst her many friends and family in the North County Dublin town. Despite having very little history of sailing in their families, Cliff and Lucy joined the ‘local trend’ by enrolling Sean in a ‘Taste of Sailing’ course in Skerries Sailing Club, where he and his friends took part in the ISA’s successful introductory dinghy course for children. Sean wasted no time in warming to the sport and enthused by his ‘Taste of Sailing’ experience, he continued to sail his Optimist into the Autumn after school and at weekends. Cliff remarks in respect of Sean’s early emerging talent ‘Not being a sailor nor appreciating what I was watching, the pivotal moment for me was when one of my sailing friends told me that Sean really stood out amongst the other sailors and that he clearly had a natural talent for the sport’. When you realise that Sean’s youngest sister Lucy is currently on the Irish Gymnastics Development Squad, you might understand that the Waddilove family are quick to act on and encourage their children’s talents and Sean’s progression through the Optimist ranks and onto the ISA Development was helped by their attentive recognition and support.

Following many years of racing in this competitive class, one of Sean’s final events in his Optimist was the India International Regatta, when he travelled east with his coach Thomas Chaix and was given the opportunity of an incredible experience for a 14-year-old, no doubt whetting his appetite for competition and travel for his years to come. He explains: ‘Anyone who gets the opportunity to attend this event should definitely go. It’s not just the sailing, but to see and experience a culture so completely different to Ireland and Europe.’

One of the toughest decisions for many a talented Optimist racing sailor who inevitably outgrows his trusty craft, is whether to continue on the single-handed pathway in something like a Laser or to step into a double-handed boat like the Feva or 420. Sean spent much of 2011 in the Royal St George Yacht Club assessing these options and following some advice from his former coach Thomas Chaix who advised that if the wrong initial choice was made, it would be easier to change from racing 420s to Lasers rather than the other way around, Sean took the step into the 420 and joined Robert whom he knew well and had raced against and travelled with in the Optimist circuit. They then became part of the ISA’s 420 squad that was clearly going to be a step to prepare the young sailors for the potential of high-performance and possibly even Olympic competition. But starting to race a new boat can present a rude awakening for a sailor at any level and Sean remembers: ’Just because you were good in the Oppie does not necessarily mean you will be good in the 420. The skills required, especially for crewing, are completely different. If I‘m honest, the Oppie didn’t prepare me really at all for crewing. It was like starting from scratch again’.

Training under ISA coach Ross Killian and also with Graeme Grant in what their home club at Howth Yacht Club, Robert and Sean wasted no time in getting up to speed and competed regularly over the next three years in major international championships with a host of top-twenty results leading to their winning the ISA Youth Nationals on Lough Derg in 2013 and again and in some style in Howth in 2014.

Following a trail already paved by Alan Ruigrok who had lived and trained in his Laser at La Rochelle a few years earlier, they seized an opportunity to move to La Rochelle for their Transition Year in August 2014 and to school in Lyceé Jean Dautet – a brave decision for two 15-year-old sailors, but one that would allow them to avail of France’s excellent youth sailing development programme and would see them training under their coach Philippe Boudgourd and joining with the La Rochelle 420 Squad at least 3-days-a-week on the water with additional days ashore during all of that school year. Taking time to manage occasional trips back home to compete in Irish championships, they also spent many of their weekends in France travelling to and competing in events in Maubisson, Brest and Sable D’Olonne. Robert and Sean acknowledge that their decision to spend the year in France was crucial in building their pathway programme and was a major turning point and step up to competing with national and international competition at an important stage of their development.

When they returned in 2015, they were invited by the ISA to join with the 49er Development Squad as part of a preparation programme for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. They bought a boat in Weymouth and launched it in Howth on the 8th March. Not the easiest boat to step into (or onto!), the first year seemed more like a swimming lesson mixed with a crash course in engineering and DIY – the 49er is a difficult beast for newcomers to tame. The extra power of the boat over the 420 is not easy to quickly adapt to, but by their own determination and with help from their Polish coach Tytus Konarzewski they began to make considerable progress by the end of the year.

The 49er training was done mainly with other two teams (Sean and Tadgh Donnelly and Mark Hasset and Oisín O’Driscoll) whom had already done the swimming and DIY ‘penance’ during the previous year and the Development Group’s training regime was facilitated in Howth, Dun Laoghaire and Schull. Both boys were now in their final two years of school and preparing for their Leaving Certificate exams, so their schedule became much more intensive with the additional but now compulsory gym-sessions with Mark McCabe, their Strength and Conditioning Coach and they would wake up for at 5am twice a week, cycle into the city centre for their 6am start and then cycle back home for breakfast and off to school. Robert would also manage to play Frisbee at 8am before school started!

During Easter 2016 and as they were approaching their Leaving Certificate exams, they travelled to Palma to race in an event and were there to see teammates Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern win the regatta. This event was to demonstrate to Robert and Sean the level of competition that they would now be facing and included America’s Cup sailor Nathan Outteridge beside them on the beach, whose entourage included a team of 4 professionals specifically to set up his boat and manage logistics.

2017 was a very busy year for their 49er campaign and saw them cover more than 16000km as they travelled internationally to and from their training camps and events. Robert had started college in DCU to study Sports Science and Health where his schedule is supported by a Sports Scholarship and a facilitative programme that affords him the ability to mix his training and events with study and classes. Sean has also been able to utilise a Sports Scholarship in DIT and with the generous support from the college, has the similar facility to manage much of his tuition and study for his courses in International Business and French in conjunction with his training and competition. He father Cliff explains: ‘It’s difficult to know when to help with assessing and managing education for a career in such circumstances, however the pathway to possible Olympic competition is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and these guys clearly have a drive and ambition that will allow them to apply focus to their education at the right time.’

It’s clear that our sailors and their families need to make considerable sacrifices when they commit to the high-performance programme, not least for the fact that the Olympic Games four-year-cycle might not allow athletes to get a second chance, given the training and fitness levels required as well as the time taken from education and building a career. The high-performance ‘carding’ system is a considerable help to aspirational sailors and helps with lots of the associated cost of reaching the required standard for an Olympic programme, but the spread of the limited available funding in Ireland and across all sports will mean that it has to be substantially supported by families and patrons of each campaign.

During 2018 they competed in a number of high profile events such as Princess Sophià Regatta, Medemblik, Kiel Week, Gdynia, Aarhus and then in September at the 49er World Junior Championships in Marseille. Robert said of the preparation for the World Championships: ‘I knew we were in good shape and feeling confident of a medal because we had been able to assess their competition at events throughout the year’. But the team was tested at the last minute when Robert suffered from food poisoning during the training days before the regatta and missed three of the five days that they had to prepare! However he recovered in time for the main event and the guys were described by the team at Irish Sailing Performance as giving ‘an ice-cool display as they defended their lead on the last day, fending off the chasing pack – a phenomenal result from the Howth/Skerries pairing’ – winning gold and the World Championship.

When they returned from Marseilles, they were greeted by fellow members in Howth for a celebration that was hosted by Commodore Joe McPeake who was delighted for the guys and said: ‘Having watched their results in the World's and seeing the report on RTE of this spectacular and colourful event one has to admire their tenacity, skill, fitness and focus and they surely deserve support from all the sailing community. I have no doubt they will be very successful in the coming years.’

Robert and Sean have been busy training as part of the Irish Sailing 49er Senior Squad in the months since their win in early September – spending time in Ballyholme, Dun Laoghaire and currently in Cadiz. Southern Spain offers the chance of longer days for training in addition to the ideal winter sailing conditions in the bay of Cadiz. A recent mast-breakage has been the latest test for the guys. They returned to Dublin this week to attend a gala awards dinner hosted by the Northside People and were presented with the Young Sportspersons Award by broadcaster Joe Duffy.

Sean and Rob with Mattress Mick at the Northside People Awards

Their busy home-schedule had them meet with local and national dignitaries including Fingal Mayor Anthony Lavin, An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Senator Catherine Noone and Minister Richard Bruton at a reception in Howth Yacht Club. Then, after a short break from sailing (but not their intensive exercise and training regime), they will move on to Portugal where they compete in the Vilamoura Grand Prix, an event that unfortunately clashes with an invitation that they had to decline to attend the RTE Sportsperson of the Year Awards. With another short trip home for Christmas, they return again to Portugal in January to prepare for the Portuguese Grand Prix and then onwards to Palma afterwards.

Their full 2019 event schedule looks like this:

Feb – Portugal Grand Prix
Mar – Princess Sophia Regatta, Palma
Apr – Sailing World Series, Genoa
May – European Championships, Weymouth
Jun – Kieler Woche, Kiel
Jul – Junior World Championships, Norway
Aug – Sailing World Series, Enoshima
Nov – World Championships, Auckland

Their immediate goal is to help secure an Irish place at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020, with a distinct mission to ensure that their boat qualifies.