Ireland made a fast start at the 57th French Olympic Sailing Week in Hyères, with early leads across multiple fleets.
Olympians Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove set the pace in the men’s 49er skiff, finishing the opening day level on points with the USA.
The Dublin pair secured a race win and a second-place finish in light winds, signalling a strong return after withdrawing early from the Palma regatta.
Irish 49er coach Benjamin Bildstein said the performance reflected recent progress.
“We’re very pleased with how Rob and Sean have started the regatta,” he said. “The guys have shown good strategy and execution throughout.”
45 teams split into yellow and blue groups tackled three races each, producing a tightly packed leaderboard.
At the top, the American pair Andrew Mollerus and Trevor Bornarth lead overall with 3 net points (2, 1, 5 discard), tied on points with Ireland’s Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove (3 net points, 1, 2, 5 discard).
The Irish, after a run of challenging regattas, look to have found their rhythm again — sharp off the line and consistently making the right calls in tricky, light conditions.
Just behind them, New Zealand’s Sam Bacon and Blake McGlashan sit third on 4 net points (5 discard, 3, 1).
The day also featured a tight battle among the Americans, with a photo-finish moment involving teammates Nevin Snow and Ian MacDiarmid — last year’s Hyères winners — highlighting just how competitive the fleet already is on day one.
In the ILCA 6 fleet, Eve McMahon continued her strong form with two race wins to lead overall.
The Howth sailor, fresh from Grand Slam gold earlier this month, said conditions required quick adjustment.
“It was a tricky start, with the first race abandoned, so we had to reset quickly,” she said. “I’m delighted to come away with two wins.”
Elsewhere in the 49er fleet, Ben O’Shaughnessy and Ethan Spain posted a best result of sixth but dropped to 30th overall following a protest decision.
In the women’s 49erFX skiff, Erin McIlwaine and Ellen Barbour recorded a third-place finish and lie 19th overall.
It was a more difficult opening day in the ILCA 7 men’s dinghy, where Finn Lynch and Ewan McMahon were penalised for early starts.
Both added mid-fleet finishes as racing ended after two races, limiting recovery opportunities.
Development sailor Fiachra McDonnell showed early pace with an eighth-place finish before a non-start in race two pushed him down the standings.
Racing continues in Hyères with qualification rounds determining progression to the Elimination Series, where fleets split into Gold, Silver and Bronze groups.
The regatta runs from 20–25 April and is a key event in the Sailing Grand Slam series ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic cycle.
