Ireland’s leading 49er crew, Robert Dickson of Howth Yacht Club and Sean Waddilove of Skerries Sailing Club, begin their season finale tomorrow (Tuesday, October 7th) at the World Championships in Cagliari, Sardinia.
The six-day regatta runs until Sunday, 12 October and brings together 96 boats from 32 nations.
It's the first major outing since June's rollercoaster European Championships in Greece for the Irish double-Olympians, who demonstrated their world-class potential byleading the event at one stage.
Dickson and Waddilove, double Olympic veterans from Tokyo and Paris, are among the top contenders at the event. Their training has focused on light wind conditions, typical of Sardinia in early October.
“Our statistics show that in late September the pressure tends to drop off and it’s not as windy,” said Irish Sailing’s 49er coach Matt McGovern. “We’re hedging our bets that it will be lighter; hopefully we’ve got this right.”
McGovern said expectations are high. “The first big one that everyone is back for… outside the top five I wouldn’t be that pleased because I know that the guys can do it and have shown it over and over again.”
Alongside the senior crew, two Irish development teams will make their world championship debuts.
Erin McIlwaine (Newcastle Yacht Club) and Ellen Barbour (County Antrim Yacht Club), fresh from winning bronze at the Under-23 Worlds, will race in the women’s 49er FX event.
In the men’s 49er, Ben O’Shaughnessy (Royal Cork Yacht Club) and Ethan Spain (National Yacht Club), third at the UK Nationals, will also take to the start line.
“The commitment shown by both of our development crews has paid off ahead of expectations,” said James O’Callaghan, Irish Sailing’s Performance Director. “This is a building block regatta for them.”
The championship opens with three days of qualification racing to decide the Gold fleet for the second half of the regatta.
