Giving the host nation a huge boost just months before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Erwan Fischer and Clément Pequin of France emerged victorious in the 49er World Championships held in Lanzarote on Sunday (10 March).

Odile van Aanholt and Annette Duetz of the Netherlands won the women's 49erFX title.

After a disappointing week for both Irish crews in Lanzarote a final-race second place on Sunday for Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove was a welcome early season morale boost as Afloat reports here

On the final day of the championship, the sailors faced lighter breezes that were still sufficient for twin trapezing up and down the two-lap race course. In the Gold Fleet race, van Aanholt and Duetz had a chance to claim the world title for the Netherlands, but they could only manage 17th place, their worst result of the championship. This left the door open for the Swedes to potentially take gold for the second year in a row.

Odile van Aanholt and Annette Duetz of the Netherlands won the women's 49erFX title in Lanzarote

However, Erwan Fischer and Clément Pequin had no such problems in the men's 49er. They finished in first place in the Gold Fleet race and high-fived and hugged as they crossed the finish line. They had already won the regatta with a race to spare, becoming the first ever French team to win the 49er World Championship.

The final day brought many ups and downs for the sailors, and it was a thrilling event overall. The French and Dutch teams proved to be the strongest, showcasing their skills and determination to come out on top.

Final podium. 49er Worlds. Lanzarote 2024

1. Erwan Fischer/Clément Pequin (FRA), 11+1+7+3+1+3+1+2+3+(18)+2+3+3+2+3+1+12=58
2. Bart Lambriex/Floris van de Werken (NED), 5+4+1+7+4+1+1+1+(20)+16+3+20+4+1+7+17+4=96
3. Diego Botín/Florian Trittel (ESP), 13+18+3+3+2+3+15+1+6+7+1+1+9+5+(20)+11+8=106

Final podium. 49erFX Worlds. Lanzarote 2024

1. Odile van Aanholt/Annette Duetz (NED), 1+3+1+3+6+9+8+1+1+13+5+3+2+1+(17)+6=63
2. Vilma Bobeck/Rebecca Netzler (SWE), 14+2+3+2+1+5+6+1+8+14+11+1+1+(22)+3+8=80
3. Jana Germani/Giorgia Bertuzzi (ITA), 3+2+5+16+12+2+4+2+6+6+22+6+(25)+3+1+14=90

Day 5 of the 49er and 49erFX World Championships in Lanzarote featured challenging conditions with stronger winds and waves. French sailors Erwan Fischer and Clément Pequinsecured consistent finishes, keeping a big lead between them and the Dutch in second place.

With the breeze gusting between 15 and 19 knots from the north-west, today would be the toughest physical challenge yet. The Gold Fleet departed Marina Rubicon for three hard races on the huge Atlantic swell.

Irish gold fleet contestants Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove, who say they are struggling in the unpredictable conditions, remain 25th overall after scores of 13.0,17.0 and 12.0, while Cork silver fleet sailors at these championships, Seafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan, are ranked 30th overall. See results below.

In a consistently surprising performance, British sailors Grummett and Hawes entered the Gold Fleet for the first time as a team and secured a race win which puts them in 4th overall.

PORT TACK STARTS FOR THE FRENCH

Fischer and Pequin favoured a port-tack approach to the starts, passing behind the bulk of the fleet starting on starboard. It proved to be a winning strategy as the French launched into clear air on the right-hand side of the course nearer to Marina Rubicon on the Lanzarote shore. They sailed to finishes of 3,2,3, a level of consistency that none of their rivals could match.

Sebastien Schneiter and Arno de Planta (SUI) won the first race of the session, next it was the reigning World Champions Bart Lambriex and Floris van de Werken (NED), and last winners of the afternoon were the surprise package of this week from Great Britain.

GBR 12 - James Grummett/Rhos Hawes Photo: Sailing Energy

NEW BOY IN GOLDEN FORM

James Grummett had never competed in the Gold Fleet of a major 49er regatta before, but having teamed up with Rhos Hawes just three months ago this new partnership have clicked straight away. Their race win puts them in 4th overall, just 0.2 points off the Spanish in 3rd.

Meanwhile there’s a close battle developing between two Polish teams both vying for Olympic selection. Currently Mikolaj Staniul and Jakub Sztorch sit in 5th but just 5 points ahead of Łukasz Przybytek and Jacek Piasecki in 6th.

France's Erwan Fischer and Clément Pequin might be the first French sailors in 25 years to become 49er World Champions Photo: Sailing Energy

FRENCH REVOLUTION?

With one more Gold Fleet race in the morning followed by the Medal Race on Sunday afternoon, the French team go into the final day with a 30 point advantage over the Dutch, and 12 points further back are the Spanish favourites Diego Botin and Florian Trittel.

In more than a quarter of a century of 49er World Championships, France has never won the world title. On the strength of today’s performance, Erwan Fischer and Clement Pequin could be on the brink of making 49er history.

Top 3. 49er Worlds. Lanzarote. Day 5

1. Erwan Fischer / Clément Pequin (FRA), 11+1+7+3+1+3+1+2+3+(10)+2+3+3+2+3=45
2. Bart Lambriex / Floris van de Werken (NED), 5+4+1+7+4+1+1+1+(20)+16+3+20+4+1+7=75
3. Diego Botín / Florian Trittel (ESP), 13+18+3+3+2+3+15+1+6+7+1+1+9+5+(20)=87

Dublin sailors Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove made a strong start on the second day of racing at the 49er World Championship in Lanzarote, Spain on Wednesday.

Despite challenging conditions, including an unstable northerly wind, the duo managed to score two top-ten results in their fleet. However, a 15th-place finish weighed down their overall standing, putting them in 18th place overall. With just ten points separating them from the top ten, the Dublin pair will be keen to improve their position in Thursday's races in order to qualify for the Gold fleet final round.

Meanwhile, Crosshaven's Séafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan from the Royal Cork Yacht Club also had a strong showing, with a top result and two 20th place finishes. Although the latter result was discarded as their worst score, the Cork duo will need to find their form on Thursday in order to improve their position and secure a spot in the Gold fleet.

As Afloat previously reported, the 49er World Championship is the first of three selection trials for the single Irish berth at the Paris 2024 Olympics in the Men's single-handed event. With all eyes on the prize, the Irish sailors are giving it their all and leaving nothing to chance.

"Today was more of what we expected from Lanzarote," commented Matt McGovern, Irish Sailing's skiff coach. "After a light start for the first race, it got a little easier for the fleet as they just had to take the left track, so it was about getting off the start well."

Despite the challenging conditions, McGovern remained optimistic, saying, "Overall, it was a good day to survive." Gold fleet racing for the final round commences on Friday, followed by Sunday's medal race for the top ten overall to decide the podium.

On each side of the Yellow and Blue Qualifying Groups in the 49er, two different French teams put in some world-beating performances.

In Yellow Group, Julien D’Ortoli and Noe Delpech enjoyed an almost perfect day with scores of 2,1,1 to move up to 5th overall in the standings.

Meanwhile, in Blue Group, Erwan Fischer and Clement Pequin put the hammer down to score 3,1,3 and move to the top of the leaderboard. The French share equal points with reigning world champions Bart Lambriex and Floris van de Werken who hold second place with an 8 point gap on the Polish team, Mikolaj Staniul and Jakub Sztorch, in third.

49er World Championship in Lanzarote: results day two

On the first day of the Irish Olympic 49er trial, Royal Cork Yacht Club's Seafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan had a better day than rivals Robert Dickson (Howth Yacht Club) and Sean Waddilove (Skerries Sailing Club) for the Paris 2024 berth later this summer.

Thanks to a second place in the opening race followed up with two 14th places, at one stage the Cork Harbour pair were on course for a top three finish in the third race except the duo had a capsize from which they quickly recovered to be 17th overall.

Racing for the second flight of boats in this initial qualification round was delayed for almost two hours as the race course was shifted to find better wind conditions. This group included Ireland's second pairing of Dickson and Waddilove who had a fifth as their best result of the day along with a tenth and a 21st. to lie 21st overall.

Robert Dickson (Howth Yacht Club) and Sean Waddilove (Skerries Sailing Club) competing in Lanzarote Photo: 49er class

The Dublin pair are part of Irish Sailing's Senior Squad and qualified for Ireland in November for the men's skiff event for the Paris 2024 Olympics. They are now competing in a selection trials series against the Cork crew, which is competing independently until they regain a place in the squad.

Three events comprised of these world championships plus the French Olympic Week next month and then the 49er European Championships in early May will decide which of the two crews will take the sole Irish place for Marseille in July.

"It was good to get started after a long winter and we've worked bloody hard," commented Johnny Durcan. "We've a new boat and gear and we're going really fast which was an area that we struggled with at the Europeans in October so it paid dividends today."

Conditions saw a northerly wind affected by the large mountains close by leading to very shifty wind direction though Durcan pointed out that this is one of Guilfoyle's strengths.

"We enjoyed the challenge of the shifty stuff but it was really, really tricky," he said. "We've a long way to go but the forecast looks good so we're filled with confidence."

It was a similar story for the second Irish crew who had a later finish due to the course problems.

"We had good starts so we were pretty happy overall with how we sailed," commented Robert Dickson. "We were very happy with our result at the Europeans but its too early to tell yet as the conditions here are very different and will probably show different strengths that we've been working on (over the winter training period."

The early days theme was reflected in Irish Sailing coach Matt McGovern's assessment of the day watching the Howth and Skerries duo. "Rob and Sean had fantastic starts in the first two races and were early leaders but the shifts seemed to go against them," he said. "In the third race they dug back well to get a fifth so it's all to play for as its early days."

The American duo Andrew Mollerus and Ian McDiarmid claimed the lead, which was closely pursued by defending champions Bart Lambriex and Floris van de Werken from the Netherlands. 

Racing continues with three races scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday to decide the Gold fleet split before the final round commences and Sunday's medal race for the top ten overall.

There a number of other standout performances today, notably the British team of James Grummett and Rhos Hawes who have missed Olympic selection but are another team pushing for LA 2028. They sit in 4th overall ahead of Mikolaj Staniul and Jakub Sztorch in 5th, a useful start for this Polish team in a tough selection trials for Paris 2024.

It’s a similar forecast of northerly offshore breeze for day two, so we can expect some big changes on the leaderboard as the 126 teams strive to achieve the almost impossible task of staying consistent.

Irish 49er skiff sailors are set to compete in the 49er class world championship in Lanzarote, Canary Islands from March 4th to March 10th, 2024. With less than five months left before the Paris 2024 Olympics, this event marks an intensive phase for the Irish sailors. 

Two Irish boats will be contesting a three-event selection trials to decide who will be nominated by Irish Sailing to the Olympic Federation of Ireland for inclusion in the Olympic Team. Although a place in the men's skiff event for the games has already been secured, the Irish sailors are leaving no stone unturned in their preparations for the Olympics. 

Veteran Olympians Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove will return to Lanzarote to compete in the event where they qualified for Tokyo 2020 just three years ago. In 2020, the duo secured bronze at the Spring Championships and will be seeking at least a top ten finish or a podium place next week. 

Royal Cork sailors Seafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan will contest an Olympic trial for Paris 2024 at the 49er class world championship in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, next week Photo: World Sailing

Crosshaven's Seafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan, campaigning independently of Irish Sailing's senior squad, are also chasing selection and will be looking to see the fruits of their intensive winter training paying off and recently landed a sponsorship deal. The Cork Harbour pairing will also aim to secure Sport Ireland carding status with a good performance in Lanzarote, which is the first of the three-event trials series. 

A total of 75 crews from 28 countries will compete in the six-day series, which comprises a qualification round to decide the Gold fleet round. From there, the top ten boats will sail a short medal race to decide the podium. 

The French Olympic Week in Hyeres followed by the 49er European Championships will complete the trials that emphasise best overall event standings rather than a boat-on-boat competition, James O'Callaghan, Irish Sailing's Director of Performance, said. "As with the ILCA7 for the men’s single-handed event, these trials will be decided on a low-points scoring basis," he added. "This incentivises both crews to concentrate on their best regatta score rather than winning the place for Paris 2024."

The single-handed events have already concluded, with Eve McMahon and Finn Lynch in the process of being nominated to the Olympic Federation of Ireland in their respective events at the Olympic regatta set for Marseille, which will begin at the end of July.

There will be a tight finish to Monday's battle for the single European qualification spot on offer at the 49er European Championships in Vilamoura, Portugal.

After 12 races since last Wednesday, in some difficult light air conditions, Ireland and Italy are in eighth and ninth overall, only separated by 3 points pending any protests.

Dubliner's Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove are holding a top ten place as the championships enters its medal race finale on Monday with a Paris 2024 place at stake.

Sunday's racing proved difficult in a disappearing sea breeze. Dickson (Howth YC) and Waddilove (Skerries SC) took a fourth place in the opening race of the day, a 14th and 15th places followed and they slipped from sixth place overnight to eighth.

At the same time, Italians Simone Ferrarse and Leonardo Chiste moved up from eleventh to ninth place and follow the Irish boat by a gap of 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 one-time Paris place leader Belgium along with Germany also able to mount a challenge on the final day.

Much depends on the weather and whether the full schedule can be sailed on Monday.

A further fleet race is due before deciding the final top ten boats to compete in the high-scoring medal race final.

Ireland's Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove survived the scramble to stay in the gold fleet qualification battle at the light air 49er Europeans Championships in Vilamoura, Portugal today.

For the five teams (including Ireland) in the battle for the sole qualification spot for next year’s Olympic Regatta, today’s racing was a make-or-break moment in the competition. As the final results were posted on the scoreboard, sailors and coaches were refreshing the page on their phones to see who had made the cut for the top 25 and Gold Fleet, and who had missed out.

Dickson (Howth YC) and Waddilove (Skerries SC) improved from 18th overall to 13th thanks to third and fourth places for the day while their discard took care of an 18th. 

Ireland's second crew in the competition also had their best day so far, but ultimately Séafra Guilfoyle with Johnny Durcan (Royal Cork YC) were unable to break into Gold fleet despite jumping from 60th to 38th place thanks to three solid results for the day including a fifth place.

Medallists at the past two World Championships, Diego Botin and Florian Trittel don’t expect to have to be checking whether they’ve made the cut for Gold. But it’s been that kind of week for the Spanish superstars, and quite a few other big name teams too.

Today was a much better day for the Spaniards who posted 8,3 from their qualifying group. When all the results were in from all three qualifying groups, it seems the Spaniards had done enough, scraping through in 22nd place and 6 points ahead of the German team in 26th. Normally 26th is the worst spot in a 49er regatta, but a quirk in the transition to the new 49er sails has given a bonus chance to Fabian Rieger and Tom Heinrich (GER) who, are the lone member of the 14-boat-strong German squad to squeek into gold fleet. Patryk Kosmalski with Tomasz Lewandowski (POL) sailed a wonderful qualifying series and made the gold fleet standard in 23rd overall. However, as they are youngsters in their first major championship, they are still using the old, transparent sails. By rule, only teams using the new sails may pass through to gold fleet so they have been relegated to Silver allowing the 26th place Germans into Gold.

With Erik Heil and Thomas Plœssel now retired from 49er competition, it would be unthinkable not to have a German representative following in the footsteps of the double Olympic bronze medallists. Except this is Olympic competition, and there is no tougher continent from which to qualify than from Europe.

Of the nations chasing the one Olympic spot in Vilamoura, highest placed are the Belgian team of Yannick Lefèbvre and Jan Heuninck, who are in 7th place overall.

Meanwhile Simone Ferrarese and Leonardo Chistè have kept Italian dreams alive as they responded to the pressure and posted scores of 5,1 to move into the Gold Fleet and up into 19th place overall. There’s still enough racing in the final three days for the Italians and others to overtake the Belgians for the golden ticket to Paris.

Also into gold fleet are Ireland, and Portugal, making five nations vying for the European Olympic berth. Maltese sailor Richard Schulties has also qualified to gold fleet but he is sailing with Frenchman Yoann Bertinn, and therefore they are ineligible for games spots at this event.

Three days and up to nine races remain in the series that will decide the medal race on Monday.

All teams not qualifying at the Hague or continental qualifiers will have to wait their turn at the ‘Last Chance’ regatta next April. That’s at Semaine Olympic Francaise in Hyères when there are five last-gasp Olympic berths up for grabs.

Best performers of the day were the young Spanish brother Martin and Jaime Wizner. A stellar performance of 2,1 lifts them to 3rd overall and within striking distance of the lead. Now topping the 49er standings are Ben Bildstein and David Hussl who are banishing the demons of a difficult year with an outstanding command of the tricky conditions. Just a point behind the Austrians in second place are the Polish duo, Dominik Buksak and Szymon Wierzbicki.

Having missed Paris 2024 Olympic qualification at the first opportunity at the Sailing World Championships in August, two Irish crews are vying for the one nation place on offer at the 49er European Championship in Vilamoura, Portugal.

Racing from this Wednesday, November 8th, until Monday, 13th, front runners Robert Dickson (Howth Yacht Club) and Sean Waddilove (Skerries Sailing Club) missed qualification by one place in The Hague but aim to close out the year with nation qualification in the bag.

It might be billed as a European Championships, but the great and the good of the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 classes will be in Vilamoura. Sailors from any nation can enter – so expect to see some big names, including two-time 49erFX Olympic gold medallists Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze of Brazil in action. The full entry lists can be found here.

As Tokyo reps, Dickson and Waddilove are expected to make the standard, but it has been a bit of a snakes and ladders year for the north Dublin duo, who have struggled with starting but otherwise have great boat speed.

Carding

Seafra Guilfoyle (left) with Johnny Durcan  both of Royal Cork Yacht Club Photo: Clare Keogh

Ireland's second boat in Vilamoura will be the Cork Harbour pairing of Seafra Guilfoyle with Johnny Durcan (Royal Cork Yacht Club), who, at the very least, are seeking a top 20 result overall in the 90-strong event to meet Sport Ireland carding scheme criteria and regain a place on the Irish squad.

Royal Irish sailor Saskia Tidey has been selected by Team GB for Paris with helm Freya Black and will be in action in Portugal

Saskia Tidey

Royal Irish sailor Saskia Tidey will also be in action in Vilamoura. The Royal Irish sailor who sailed for Ireland in Rio but switched to GB for Tokyo and has been selected by Team GB for Paris with helm Freya Black. Without any internal selection battles going on, the GB sailors will be free to focus 100 per cent on their international adversaries.

There was bitter disappointment at the Allianz Sailing World Championships at The Hague today after Tokyo 2020 Olympians Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove missed the first chance of Olympic Nation Qualification for Paris 2024 in the Mens Skiff discipline.

The Howth and Skerries duo looked on course to take one of the first Paris spots midweek when they were as high as sixth overall in the 49er class, but today's performance will be agonising for them as they ended their 15-race series in 14th place overall after counting a black flag disqualification (their second of the championships) in race 14. 

While the Olympic nation qualification in The Hague represented the best possible preparation for Paris 2024 and the best indicator that Ireland is in the medal hunt, Irish 49er campaigners, which includes Royal Cork's Seafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan, have two remaining opportunities to make the Marseille startline next July. These are the 2023 European Championships in Portugal in November and a final 'Last Chance' qualification regatta just weeks before the Games itself.

The Irish crew suffered a last place in Wednesday's opening race that was delayed till the afternoon due to light winds. They could have carried that result except that they incurred a Black Flag starting disqualification in the penultimate race in which they placed second.

Had their result not been disqualified today, they would have achieved both the medal race top ten and Olympic qualification for Ireland at the first attempt.

Meanwhile, the Irish pair's training partners Bart Lambriex and Floris van der Werken (NED) have won 49er gold before Friday’s medal race. 
 
This is the Dutch team’s third consecutive world title, and for Lambriex the sweetest so far. 
 
“The level of the fleet was the highest we’ve seen, we’ve done it on home waters, and we have qualified to go to the Olympics,” smiled Lambriex.
 
“I’m proud of how Floris and I have dealt with the pressure this week. We didn’t sail so well yesterday and we were a bit behind the Spanish at the start of the day. We expected a big battle with them but then we saw their name on the board at the end of the second race.” 
 
Unfortunately for Diego Botin and Florian Trittel they had fallen foul of the black flag, disqualified for starting a fraction too soon. 
 
“This made our job a bit more straightforward,” said Lambriex. 
 
The Spanish hold second place but will have to sail well in the medal race to keep silver ahead of the Swiss team of Sebastien Schneiter and Arno de Planta who are just 4.2 points behind in third place.

The following countries have qualified for the games in 49er.

1. Netherlands
2. Spain
3. Switzerland
4. USA
5. New Zealand
6. Poland
7. Great Britain
8. Croatia
9. Denmark
10. Austria

Italy, Germany, and Ireland are the next three placed countries who have missed qualifying.

Also, Australia is now guaranteed a spot based on New Zealand qualifying, and there only being two competing nations in Oceania, and one spot awarded at the Oceania Qualifier. Canada also sets up well, as the USA has qualified early, leaving one spot for North America at the Pan Am Games, and only Canada and Mexico remaining in North America.

In a tough spot are the Asian nations and, to some extent South America. Asia has the most nations remaining, and with none qualifying so far, they must all fight for a single spot at the Asian qualifier in Thailand this December. South America will also have a tough battle, with Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and potentially Peru all seeking out a single spot in the Pan Am Games. All teams not qualified by the end of the continental qualifiers must aim for one of the three at-large berths at the last chance qualifier in April 2024.

The medal race will be on August 18th, and there will be a solid battle for the silver medal between Spain and SUI, with the British, Kiwis, and Americans having a shot at the bronze.

Results here

Ireland's 49er pair Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove have had a Super Saturday at the World Sailing Championships in The Hague, their 1, 3, 2 results scored pulling them into fifth overall and keeping Paris 2024 Olympic Qualification plans on track despite a first-day disqualification.

The stunning Irish result – achieved in some blustery conditions with big seas – was only second in the fleet to Bart Lambriex and Floris van de Werken (NED), who, aiming at the threepeat, launched themselves into the lead.

"The whole day we had good speed, plus (good starts) and we perhaps only left one point out there," said Skerries-based Waddilove.  "We can't really get much better than that."

The Royal Cork 49er crew of Seafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan Photo: Sailing Energy

Ireland's second 49er crew of Seafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan are lying 40th in the 83-boat fleet. They had a capsize while leading the fleet in the second race.

Lambriex and van de Werken are back in form, shifting into first place overall in very tough conditions. The pair were second in the first race of day two, and then won the remaining two races, rising to the occasion as the breeze built to the edge of sailability. If the understated Dutch pair can win again, this time on home waters, it would be the second time any 49er team has managed the threepeat after global legends Burling and Tuke (NZL) did it from 2018 through 2020.

They almost managed something harder, winning three races in a day at an Elite 49er competition. They pulled of that feat on day 3 of the Test Event, something only done once by Burling and Tuke and once by Wadlow and Rast in recorded 49er history (race results pre-2008 are hard to find)

Lucas Rual and Emile Amoros (FRA) scored a 5, 1, 1 and moved into seventh.

There are three qualifying fleets of 49er, meaning nine daily wins are available. As usual for 49er qualifying, the points are incredibly close to qualify for gold fleet. If the split were to happen today, five teams would squeak into the top 25 on 41 points, while Wang and Qi (CHN) who were sitting in third overall last night, would miss out on 42 points. Three more races are scheduled for day three, after which the fleet will be split into gold, silver, and bronze.

Ten different nations currently make up the top 10 overall, and as a reminder, the top 10 nations in this regatta, excluding the pre-qualified France, will earn berths in Paris.

The 49er fleet was the last on the water and got the biggest conditions of the regatta so far.

Further fresh and blustery conditions are expected for Day 3 before a rest day on Monday though the forecast for the remainder of the week is currently suggesting lighter weather.

Results are here

Additional reporting from the 49er class association