Ireland’s Robert Dickson (Howth Yacht Club) and Seán Waddilove (Skerries Sailing Club) ended in eighth overall at the Olympic 49er skiff class worlds championships in Mussanah, Oman today (Sunday 21st November 2021).
The Dublin pair who competed at Tokyo 2020 were unable to repeat some of their earlier form from the series on the final day, placing 12th in the last Gold fleet race before ending the medal race in eighth to secure the same overall standing.
Bart Lambriex with Floris van de Werken of the Netherlands are the deserving new 49er World Champions having dominated the series to win even after disqualification from the final fleet race.
Although Dickson and Waddilove secured seven top three results, including two race wins during the 16 race championship, their overall score was hindered by some mid-fleet results in the tricky, light-wind conditions experienced at the venue.
In the medal race final, their boat-speed was hampered when the mainsail hoist loosened, forcing them to re-hoist that effectively ended their hopes of a podium result.
“They created an opportunity to medal going into the last race which is where we want our sailors to be, so getting into that position is testament to how well they sailed during the week,” commented James O’Callaghan, Performance Director with Irish Sailing. “Today, that opportunity was not converted which leaves all of us feeling a bit deflated but we’ve still just had a top eight finish at a world championship.”
Meanwhile, a 15th place in the final race of the series for the new Royal Cork pairing of Séafra Guilfoyle with Johnny Durcan landed them in 20th overall, marking a strong debut performance with some notable individual race results.
