With just Friday’s fleet racing remaining at French Olympic Week at Hyères on the Côte D’Azur, Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove lead Irish hopes for the medal race final in the men’s skiff event.

However, despite strong form in Thursday’s (25 April) breezy conditions, the pair still faced an evening in the protest room due to an incident in the opening race of the day where another entrant forced them into a collision with a third boat.

The Dublin crew are provisionally listed as 10th overall, a result that could improve further or worsen depending on the outcome of the international jury’s decisions.

Dickson (Howth Yacht Club) and Waddilove (Skerries Sailing Club) scored a 19th for that race as they sought to recover ground following the collision. However, they regained form and placed 11th and fifth in the two following races.

Rivals for the single Irish berth for their event at Paris 2024, Crosshaven’s Séafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan (Royal Cork Yacht Club) steadily improved their form during the day and picked up to 20th place overall.

“We’re not thrilled but not too down either — we had a pretty solid day,” Durcan said after racing. “We figured a few things out with speed towards the end so we’ll build on that.”

Eve McMahon in action off Hyères on Tuesday 23 April | Credit: Sailing Energy/Semaine Olympique Française

The two Irish skiffs are in a three-regatta contest to select the better crew to compete at Paris 2024 this summer.

Thursday’s conditions again saw the famous Mediterranean wind known as the Mistral blowing for most of the day leading to short, steep waves on most course areas off Hyères.

Rio 2016 Olympian Finn Lynch (National Yacht Club) enjoyed the conditions and while he had a tenth as his best result of the week so far, he also had weightier 16th place.

The day’s results brought him to 23rd overall, one place behind Ewan McMahon (Howth Yacht Club) who was unable to break into the top 20 in either of the two races.

“I just want to finish on a positive note and sail at the best level I can sail at,” Lynch said. “The last two days were an improvement on the first two days but I haven’t really hit my stride yet — I haven’t really been on top of the conditions.”

Eve McMahon (HYC) also had a tough day, mainly due to a starting infringement disqualification in the first race which she then followed with a 33rd place.

“All I can tomorrow is give it my all — I think that today I was just over-thinking things too much,” McMahon said of her performance on Thursday. “I was just a bit too eager but it just didn’t work.”

Full results from the Last Chance Regatta are available via the Semaine Olympique Française website.

The world’s best Olympic sailors have made Hyères on the French Riviera their meeting spot each April for more than 50 years.

And this year the stakes are even higher, as the 55th edition of Semaine Olympique Française de Hyères - TPM from 20-27 April will be the final opportunity for sailing’s elite to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

French Olympic Week 2024 comprises two events hosted concurrently: The ‘Qualified Nations’ in Hyères harbour, with two participants for each nation and class; and the Last Chance Regatta which will bring together the nations that have still to qualify for Paris 2024 to compete for the 39 places still up for grabs.

All 10 Olympic classes will be competing in both events: ILCA (men’s and women’s single-handed dinghy), 49er (men’s and women’s skiff), Nacra 17 (mixed multihull), 470 (mixed double-handed dinghy), Formula Kite (men’s and women’s kitefoil) and iQFOiL (men’s and women’s windsurfing).

This exceptional line-up means that “La SOF” is set to break its record for the number of participating nations in Hyères, with nearly 1,000 athletes and 500 support staff from 90 countries across five continents expected.

And among them will be Irish 49er pairs Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove, and Séafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan who will be looking to make up for a disappointing 49er Worlds to clinch Ireland’s single spot in the men’s skiff event in Marseille this summer.

The schedule for the week looks like the following:

The Semaine Olympique Française:

• Friday 19 April: welcome and registration
• Saturday 20 April: welcome and registration
• Saturday 20 April: opening ceremony
• Sunday 21 April to Wednesday 24 April: iQFOiL and Formula Kite qualifying rounds
• Monday 22 to Friday 26 April: ILCA, 49er, Nacra 17 and 470 qualifying rounds
• Thursday 25 April: iQFOiL and Formula Kite Medal Races
• Saturday 27 April: ILCA, 49er, Nacra 17 and 470 Medal Races
• Saturday 27 April: Prize-giving and closing ceremony

The Last-Chance Regatta:

• Thursday 18 April: welcome and registration
• Friday 19 April: welcome and registration
• Saturday 20 April: opening ceremony
• Sunday 21 April to 24 April: iQFOiL and Formula Kite qualifying rounds
• Sunday 21 to Thursday 25 April: ILCA, 49er, Nacra 17 and 470 qualifying rounds
• Thursday 25 April: iQFOiL and Formula Kite Medal Races
• Friday 26 April: Medal Races: ILCA, 49er, Nacra 17 and 470
• Saturday 27 April: Prize-giving and closing ceremony

For more details, including the Notice of Race, see the SOF website HERE.

For more than 50 years, the elite of Olympic sailing have been journeying to Hyères, the historic jewel of the French Riviera, at the end of April.

Over the years, the Semaine Olympique Française de Hyères - TPM has become an unmissable event for every national team. In 2023, for its 54th edition, Hyères will have the pleasure of once again welcoming the world’s best Olympic sailors in preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

With almost 1,000 athletes from over 60 countries, the Semaine Olympique Française in Hyères is — along with the Trofeo Princesa Sofía this week — a Mediterranean event not to be missed for the Olympic elite, with under a year-and-a-half until Paris 2024.

Like every year, “La SOF” continues to stage an event exclusively dedicated to the 10 Olympic classes. ILCA (women’s and men’s single-handed dinghy), 49er (women’s and men’s double-handed dinghy), Nacra 17 (mixed double-handed catamaran), 470 (mixed double-handed dinghy), Formula Kite (women’s and men’s kitefoil) and iQFOiL (women’s and men’s windfoil) will compete on the Hyérois waters less than 500 days before the first Olympic events.

Olympic champions from Tokyo 2020 and Rio 2016 competing in Hyères next month will include the likes of Brazil’s Martine Grael (49erFX double gold medallist), Italians Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti (Nacra 17 mixed), Australians Matt Wearn (gold in Tokyo) and Tom Burton (gold in Rio) in the ILCA 7, and China’s Lu Yunxiu (gold in the women’s RS:X in Tokyo) in the iQFOiL.

The event, coming during the school holidays, will be freely open to all and in particular to children, who will be able to get close to the best sailors in the world. There will be a multitude of onshore events to introduce sailing to as many people as possible.

Following reception and registration over the weekend of Friday 21 to Sunday 23 April, the opening ceremony takes place on Monday 24 April which also sees the start of the week-long qualifying phase, before the medal races, prize-giving and closing ceremony on Saturday 29 April.

Also, be sure to save the dates for next year’s Semaine Olympique Française, the 55th edition from 20-27 April 2024 just weeks before the Paris Games.

Registration and the Notice of Race are now available for 2023’s French Olympic Week, the 54th Semaine Olympique Française de Hyères - TPM, which takes place 22-29 April.

The world’s best athletes will be present on the Côte d’Azur just over a year before Paris 2024, with more than 700 competitors expected from over 50 nations.

Organised by the Fédération Française de Voile (French Sailing Federation), with the support of the city of Hyères and the Toulon Provence Méditerranée community, French Olympic Week is a historic sailing regatta on an international scale.

And the 2023 edition promises to be bigger than ever, with organisers setting up a sixth race zone to accommodate the large numbers of racers.

SOF event director Ed Russo said: “World Sailing has decided that in 2024 the SOF will be the ‘last chance regatta’, ie the last opportunity for athletes to qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris 2024. Many athletes will be present this year in preparation for the 2024 event.”