Tricky wind conditions have exposed a weakness for the leading Irish crew competing at 49er World Championship in Lanzarote on Friday (8 March).
Competing in the Gold fleet final round, Robert Dickson (Howth Yacht Club) and Sean Waddilove (Skerries Sailing Club) were unable to lift off the bottom of the leaderboard and remain in 25th place overnight.
The problem area for Dickson and Waddilove is how to handle the variable wind direction and strength blowing down from Lanzarote’s nearby mountains.
Few of the top sailors have escaped incurring high scores during the series so far, including three-time world champions Bart Lambriex and Floris Van de Werken from The Netherlands.
However, the Irish crew have yet to repeat their previous form of regular top ten results or higher in this series.
“It’s clear that we’ve found one of our weaknesses which is good as it’s definitely something we can focus on in the next couple of months,” said Sean Waddilove after racing ended for the day. “It’s different to Marseille [the Olympic regatta venue] which is a bit more predictable.
“These conditions aren’t what we used to find in Lanzarote but we’ve had them and we have to deal with them and do a better job.”
Waddilove maintains that the issue is fixable and points to their progress in previous weak areas that the pair addressed last year such as their light-winds boat speed and starting technique.
“When you’re at this level of sport, it’s hard to find weaknesses but the big lesson this week is that we’ve definitely found something that we can make gains in heading to Marseille,” he said.
Meanwhile, Crosshaven’s Séafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan (Royal Cork Yacht Club) had a good day in the 46-boat Silver fleet where they included a race win and a second place to move into the lead of that class.
Both Irish crews have started a selection trials this week to determine which of them will represent Ireland in the men’s skiff event for the Paris 2024 Olympics this Summer.
With Dickson and Waddilove trailing in Gold fleet and Guilfoyle and Durcan leading the Silver fleet, the outcome of this event could be very narrow, setting the scene for a major contest at the French Olympic Week regatta in five weeks’ time.
Elsewhere, Day 4 showcased the dominance of Brazilian duo Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze, the only team with top 10 scores in all three races today.
The Dutch women’s team of Annette Duetz and Odile Van Aanholt also maintained consistency while their male compatriots Lambriex and Van De Werken struggled, allowing the local Spanish favourites to climb to second place.
In the men’s 49er, the French pair Erwan Fischer and Clement Pequin secured a significant lead. The battle among French teams for the home Olympic spot is intensifying.
After Friday’s fickle breeze and the mind-bending challenges of such a random race course, the fleet is hoping the forecast of stronger breeze might make things more predictable on Day 5.