Irish Olympic 49er Duo Dickson and Waddilove Take the Lead at Princess Sofia Trophy in Mallorca

6th April 2023

The latest scoreboard from the Princess Sofia Trophy in Mallorca confirms Ireland in first place

Robert Dickson (Howth Yacht Club) and Seán Waddilove (Skerries Sailing Club) have reaped the rewards of consistent sailing in Mallorca and seized the overall lead of the Princess Sofia Trophy in Mallorca after two days of testing sailing.

The Dublin duo, who represented Ireland at Tokyo 2020, took two race wins today to add to a fourth place to move up from 19th overall to lead the 49er Olympic class in Mallorca at the halfway point of the regatta.

It was a day when the local Embat sea breeze came in on cue at 12-13kts allowed Mallorca’s showcase 52 Trofeo Princesa Sofia to complete the qualifying series for all classes, allowing tomorrow’s Finals to be contested on schedule to decide who will compete in Saturday’s titles decider.

Overall leaders - Robert Dickson (Howth Yacht Club) and Seán Waddilove (Skerries Sailing Club) at the start of a race at the 2023 Princess Sofia Trophy in Mallorca Photo: Sailing Energy

Second to the Irish Paris 2024 campaigners in the 99-boat fleet are British duo James Peters and Fynn Sterritt, four points behind on 14. Peters and Sterritt’s won the recent Lanzarote event and took bronze at last year’s European Championships.

The 49er skiff class sees Holland’s double world champions Bart Lambriex and Floris van der Werken (NED) in third place so far but it will not have escaped Dickson and Seán Waddilove's attention that the next three teams are all tied for second place.

Rivals for the Paris 2024 berth, Séafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan of Royal Cork Yacht Club posted a15th, eighth and fifth in the final race of qualification to leave them 39th overall, which means they miss the Gold fleet cut.

Results are here

Published in Robert Dickson & Sean Waddilove, Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing

Published in Robert Dickson & Sean Waddilove

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Robert Dickson & Sean Waddilove

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Robert Dickson & Sean Waddilove, Tokyo Olympic 49er Sailors

Dublin dinghy sailors Robert Dickson of Howth Yacht Club and Sean Waddilove of Skerries Sailing Club achieved their goal of representing Ireland in the 49er class, almost six years to the day after first setting foot in a 49er skiff at their home club of Howth Yacht Club in County Dublin in 2015.

The voyage was a magnificent one becoming U23 World champions in 2018 before out sailing rivals double Olympian Ryan Seaton and Seafra Guilfoyle in some style for selection in Lanzarote in March 2021 to win the last European Olympic place for Tokyo.

Follow their progress here.