49erfx crew Saskia Tidey from the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire Harbour will be among the British Sailing Team’s Tokyo 2020 athletes attractions at the RYA Dinghy Show as it goes virtual for the first time over the weekend of February 27 and 28.

They’ll feature within two days of talks, demonstrations and coaching sessions from some big names in sailing.

As regular Afloat readers will know, Tidey sailed for Ireland in Rio four years ago before deciding to move to Team GB for Tokyo 2020 due to lack of opportunities at home.

With just five months until the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Olympics is set to begin, Tidey and the team will take visitors behind the scenes of the Olympic campaigns.

Taking to the main stage, reigning 470 Olympic and world champion Hannah Mills will be chatting with show host Hannah Diamond about her preparations for Tokyo 2020 and revealing how she’s dealt with the challenges over the last year.

In a separate session, Team GB 49er sailors Dylan Fletcher and Stu Bithell will be joined by Olympic test event 49erFX class runners up Charlotte Dobson and Saskia Tidey to talk about their roads to Tokyo 2020.

For windsurfing fans, BST coach Sam Ross interviews Team GB RS:X stars Emma Wilson and Tom Squires, plus Olympian Dave Hackford joins them to discuss the new watersports – including wing foiling – that have taken off in the UK.

iQFOiL athlete Saskia Sills talks sustainability with The Green Blue’s Kate Fortnam, looking at how all water users can ‘protect their playground’, while Stu Bithell will make his much-anticipated return to the microphone to provide commentary for the eSailing Winter Club Championship.

Meanwhile, RYA Racing Director Ian Walker will hear from Rio 2016 Nacra 17 gold medallist Santiago Lange, London 2012 Laser Radial gold medallist Xu Lijia, 1984 Finn gold medallist and America’s Cup star Russell Coutts and double gold medallist Shirley Robertson.

Over in the Knowledge Zone, two-time Olympian Ali Young will be joined by her fellow Tokyo 2020 Team GB ILCA sailor Elliot Hanson and European Championship bronze medallist Lorenzo Chiavarini to reveal their top racing tips.

British Sailing Team meteorologist Simon Rowell returns for another of his hugely popular talks about weather. For those interested in race strategy, top tactician Mark Rushall will disclose his secrets for getting round the course quicker.

And British Sailing Team performance psychologists Suze Burton-Wylie and Chelsea Orme will reveal how to stay calm on the start line in their talk, Decision Making Under Pressure.

The full Dinghy Show schedule is online.

Dun Laoghaire Harbour skiff sailor Saskia Tidey of the Royal Irish Yacht Club was part of a four medal haul for Britain's Olympic Team GB at Kiel in Germany last weekend. 

The British Sailing Team returned an impressive four medals from the popular Kiel Week sailing regatta taking two silver and two bronze.

Charlotte Dobson and Tidey took bronze 49erFX bronze as part of their build-up to Tokyo 2021. 

Tidey sailed for Ireland at Rio in the 49erFX but four years later has been selected for Team GB in the same class and is viewed as a medal prospect.

As the return to international racing continues for the British sailors, Team GB athletes John Gimson and Anna Burnet took silver in the Nacra 17, Elliot Hanson claimed silver in the ILCA7.

Hanson was joined on the ILCA7 (formerly Laser Standard) podium by team-mate and training partner Michael Beckett who took bronze.

Dun Laoghaire Harbour skiff sailor Saskia Tidey of the Royal Irish Yacht Club has resumed her GBR campaign for Tokyo 2021 at Kiel Week in Germany this weekend and is lying third overall with Scottish partner Charlotte Dobson from the Clyde.

The pair who are confirmed as the Team GBR reps in the 49erfx are currently 15 points off the lead held by the home nation’s Tina Lutz and Susann Beucke.

Arising from the week, Lutz and Beucke have won their selection trials and will race in Tokyo. Kieler Woche is the third leg of the German national trials and since they were already leading the trials have mathematically locked up Olympic selection. The German duo are long time campaigners but have yet to attend a games. They won the 2017 European Championship in Kiel, so clearly they are comfortable in the Kiel waters

Results are here

The 15 sailors already named to represent Team GB at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will remain the same for the rescheduled Games in 2021, the British Olympic Association (BOA) and the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) have confirmed. The squad includes the Royal Irish Yacht Club's Saskia Tidey, crewing in the British 49erFX.

The announcement follows the decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games by 12 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In light of the postponement, the BOA asked the RYA to consider and confirm its position regarding the selection of athletes for Team GB.

A meeting held by the RYA Olympic Selection Committee (OSC) unanimously agreed that the selections previously agreed should stand for the rearranged Tokyo Olympic Games, which will take place from July 23 to August 8 next year.

It was the OSC’s view that the sailors selected in all ten Olympic classes remain the best choices to maximise Team GB’s medal-winning potential in Enoshima, the sailing competition venue.

Team GB’s sailors were the first to be announced back in October 2019, with an initial 12 sailors selected including Olympic champions Hannah Mills (470 Women) and Giles Scott (Finn).

Partnering Mills will be her world championship-winning crew Eilidh McIntyre, while in the men’s 470, Luke Patience and Chris Grube were selected. In the men’s 49er class, Stuart Bithell teams up with Dylan Fletcher, while Charlotte Dobson returns in the 49erFX alongside Saskia Tidey. Alison Young will make her third Olympic appearance in the Laser Radial discipline. Both representatives in the RS:X windsurfer class are newcomers to the Olympic Games: Tom Squires and Emma Wilson.

The 12 selections were followed by a further three in February of this year. John Gimson and Anna Burnet were selected for the Nacra 17 class, while Elliot Hanson (Laser) completed the 15-strong line-up in late February in the Laser. All three will be making their Olympic debuts at the re-arranged Games.

Mark Robinson, RYA Olympic Performance Manager and Team GB Sailing Team Leader, said: “I am delighted to re-confirm the 15 athletes already selected for Team GB will stay the same for the rescheduled Games.

The postponement of the 2020 Olympic Games has brought mixed feelings for sailing champion Hannah Mills, who will delay retirement to compete in Tokyo, according to the BBC.

For Mills, who was going to retire after the Games, there is relief at the new date, despite having another year of sailing at the highest level.

“It’s all consuming, an Olympic campaign, so it really is a big deal to add another year to it,” she says.

“I just know what it takes to deliver your best performance. It really does take everything you’ve got,” she says.

“But ultimately, I’ve come on such an incredible journey with Eilidh McIntyre, my crew – it’s going to be her first Olympics which is such a cool, special, amazing thing to be a part of.

“I really believe our team has something great to offer. So, when you weigh it up logically and take the emotion out, it’s a really easy answer.

“We know now exactly when the Olympics is going to be, so we just need to figure out the best possible training plan between now and then.

“It would be a massive mistake for us to just carry on as we have been for the last four to six months – head down, smashing every single day – because we’d certainly burn out at some point.

“So, it’s about re-assessing and looking at how we approach the next 14 to 16 months.”

“Selection was only just sinking in and then it was partly taken away with the ambiguity as to what was going on with our trials process,” says Elliot Hanson, who is set for an Olympic debut in the Laser.

Hanson is pleased he has an extra year to prepare after coming close to a medal at the World Championships.

“To have the extra bit of time is a confidence boost. I’m lucky in many ways. I feel like I’m on an upward trajectory,” he says, according to the BBC.

“There’s another World Championships between now and the Olympics to hopefully get that medal.”

Olympic performance manager, Mark Robinson, said British Sailing “strongly believe” the squad remains the right athletes to represent the nation in 2021.

“The global pandemic has caused much uncertainty but, combined with release of the new dates for the Olympic Games, this decision will give our sailors the confidence, clarity and motivation to charge towards Tokyo 2020 and the goal of bringing home medals for Team GB,” he says.

GB sailing squad for Tokyo 2020:

• Giles Scott (Finn)
• Hannah Mills and Eilidh McIntyre (470 women)
• Luke Patience and Chris Grube (470 men)
• Charlotte Dobson and Saskia Tidey (49erFX)
• Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell (49er)
• Alison Young (Laser radial)
• Emma Wilson (RS:X women)
• Tom Squires (RS:X men)
• John Gimson and Anna Burnet (Nacra 17)
• Elliot Hanson (Laser)

This weekend's RYA Dinghy Show was opened by members of the British Olympic Sailing Team including Dun Laoghaire's Saskia Tidey of the Royal Irish Yacht Club who will be competing in the 2020 Tokyo Games this summer.

Alexandra Palace, London, has transformed into a dinghy sailing paradise and the theme is ‘World of opportunity-see where dinghy sailing can take you’.

Tidey, who sailed for Ireland in Rio but switched to Team GB for Tokyo because of lack of opportunity in Ireland, recently finished second at the 49erFX World Championships with partner Charlotte Dobson from Scotland.

Tidey's fellow Olympian Sarah Ayton commented on the show: “We’re really excited to officially launch the 2020 show - the atmosphere is already fantastic! It always amazes me the range of boats here, all the things you can buy. We’ve also got a whole line up of brilliant speakers so this weekend, come and escape the rain and enjoy a day out here at the Dinghy Show!”

The Dinghy Show in full swing

Visitors of all ages are able to enjoy family-friendly show favourites including the 360° ‘On the Water’ VR experience, sailing simulators and the model boat pool. You’ll also find a brand new line up of expert speakers across three stages

If you haven’t already got your ticket, weekend (£24) tickets are available to buy on the door. The show is open from 10:00 - 18:00 10:00 - 17:00 on Sunday 01 March.

It was so close yet so far for Scottish-Irish combination Charlotte Dobson and Saskia Tidey who narrowly missed out on winning the World 49erFX championships in Australia today.

The pair, who have qualified for Team GB's Tokyo team, had a stand out week of competition leading the championships at Geelong for most of the week.

Spanish sailors Tamara Echegoyen, a world match racing champion and the 2016 49erFX world champion with a different crew, with Barcelo (ESP) and Dobson with Tidey (GBR) locked horns throughout the medal race. Each team was well clear of any competition and only had to beat the other to secure the gold medal.

“We are so so happy,” Echegoyen said on-water once the world championship result was clear. “You know this kind, of course, is shifting all the time, you have to think about what is the best plan. We tried just to be close to her (GBR); you have to be calm and keep going. If you do a split, you can lose control.

“Because of the Volvo Race, Paula and I started this campaign a little late; it’s a short time to try and get to the high level of this fleet. At the last worlds in Auckland, we had to abandon [due to an injury to Paula]. Here we just tried to focus every day,” the beaming skipper added.

“Every moment it was so close and so stressful and finally we get the gold,” Barcelo said as the pair enjoyed some celebratory champagne, having beaten Dobson/Tidey.

On the second upwind beat of the medal race, the British team made significant gains on the Spanish before tacking underneath. Echegoyen, the 2012 match racing world champion, tacked immediately on their line and Dobson/Tidey reacted. The Brits were locked in and made gains, but the layline forced both to tack back with the Spanish directly ahead into the windward mark.

The British looked to have a slightly better hoist going but capsized when their kite filled with water halfway up. The Spanish sped away, only looking back moments later to realize the pressure valve had been released.

The eventual silver medallists will be replaying the capsize in their heads for some time. “Our first reaction is we are a little disappointed,” Dobson admitted. “We could have taken it to the Spanish a little better in the medal race, but on the whole we have sailed a really good regatta.”

In the women’s 49erFX World Championships at Geelong, Australia, the Royal Irish Yacht Club's Saskia Tidey from Dun Laoghaire sailing with Charlotte Dobson keeping up their winning moves to be lead boat as the top 25 teams also split off to gold fleet,

Dobson and Tidey have been selected to sail for Team GB at Tokyo so if a World Championship victory in Olympic year could be achieved this week, it would greatly assist the Scottish-Irish pairings chances of success in Tokyo, as already predicted by RYA team boss, Ian Walker.

“Today was a great day; It was about being as consistent as possible,” Dobson said. “We went super low risk and let our pace do the talking. The real racing is starting tomorrow though with gold, so it’s now rest recover and go again. There will be less space now and mistakes will be punished so we need to avoid them.”

Second in the FX is Tamara Echegoyen/Paula Barcelo (ESP) and third is Anne-Julie Schutt/Iben Nielsby (DEN).

A surprise package is the current world championship team of Annemiek Bekkering and Annette Deutz (NED) finding themselves 14th overall.

Charlotte Dobson teamed with Dublin Bay's Saskia Tidey (who will sail for GBR in Tokyo) won World Championship races one and two in the FXs in Geelong, Australia today then just bailed out of the top 10 to finish fifth overall.

“We’ve had a pretty long day on the water today. We spend all year trying to maximise time in all different types of conditions and this venue is throwing us all sides of the dice. We’ve had a challenging day, everyone has, but I think we have come out of it pretty well,” Tidey of the Royal Irish Yacht Club said.

British Sailing’s performance director Ian Walker has predicted a five-medal haul for Team GB at this summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo.

In a recent sports podcast conversation, as reported on Sailweb, the boss of the UK’s Olympic sailing squad would not be drawn on what medals they would take home, nor in which class.

But the former Irish Green Dragon skipper, and RYA racing director, did indicate that the team were capable of greater things provided the conditions were more windy than light.

Irish 49erFX sailor Saskia Tidey is among those who will be in contention with Team GB at this summer’s Olympic Games.

She and her sailing partner Charlotte Dobson were selected last October and head to Enoshima as serious medal contenders.

This follows a string of successes since forming their partnership in 2017 when Tidey switched from Team Ireland due to a lack of opportunity here.

The Royal Irish Yacht Club's Saskia Tidey has won bronze with Charlotte Dobson at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic test event and must now wait to see if the stand out results achieved this week is enough to satisfy selectors and secure the British 49erFX berth at next year's Olympics.

The double-points medal race was brought in to Olympic sailing to add excitement, drama and spectacle to the end of a sailing regatta. And at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic test event, it delivered!

Regatta leaders from race one, Great Britain’s Dobson and Tidey, held a slender one-point lead over Brazil’s Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze. With four boats capable of winning overall, the mathematically game of chess was set for fireworks.

In a steady sea breeze off Enoshima, the 2016 Rio Gold medallists Grael & Kunze sailed smart and safe to finish third in the medal race, three places ahead of Dobson & Tidey. This was enough to secure another win for their already impressive trophy cabinet, having won the Open European Championship & Pan American Games, and numerous World Cup's in 2019.

Norway’s Helene Næss and Marie Rønningen took the medal race win to claim second on the podium on countback ahead of Dobson & Tidey. Norwegians are one of the few teams to emerge this cycle to become contenders in the elite field. After missing out on Rio selection, they trained continuously while many teams took a break, and now have a Silver medal here Ready Steady Tokyo, along with consecutive bronze medals at the 2018 and 2019 European Championships. Training partners with the Brazilian and Kiwi teams, they are well placed to keep improving prior to Tokyo 2020.

Dobson & Tidey found themselves crossing the line in sixth place, and with the double points factored in, dropped to third overall. In some ways, this might have been a somewhat disappointing end after leading for the entire regatta, but a medal at the Olympic Test Event is likely to have secured their nomination to Tokyo in the British system, which, if confirmed, would mask any sort of disappointment.

The Ready Steady Tokyo teams will now be joined by the remainder of the 49erFX fleet for the Sailing World Cup, which begins on Sunday. This will be the last major hit out on the Olympic waters before the games in August 2020. Next up on the calendar is the 2019 World Championships to be sailed in Auckland, New Zealand. With Olympic qualification spots up for grabs and teams looking to secure their countries nomination for Tokyo 2020, the summer down under will be one to watch.

Results
1st Martine Grael / Kahena Kunze (BRA) 57pts
2nd Helene Næss / Marie Rønningen (NOR) 62pts
3rd Charlotte Dobson / Saskia Tidey (RIYC) (GBR) 62pts