Irish sailing teams prepare for Allianz Regatta

Irish sailing teams prepare for Allianz Regatta - 49er sailors Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove © ISA

Cancellation of the women's 49erFX event at this week's Allianz regatta in The Netherlands will be a temporary setback for Ireland's Erin McIlwaine (Ballyholme Yacht Club) with Ellie Cunnane (Tralee Bay Sailing Club) as the pair build towards their first full international regatta.

As the newest pairing in Irish Sailing Performance programme, McIlwaine and Cunnane have worked to fill the gap after the Rio 2016 Olympics when Andrea Brewster with Saskia Tidey represented Ireland in the high-speed 49erFX skiff event.

While Silver medallist Annalise Murphy and Katie Tingle attempted to mount a campaign in the class, ultimately the lure of her ILCA6 class (formerly the Laser Radial) saw Ireland's most successful Olympic sailor for decades revert to type for the Tokyo 2020 regatta.

After working up through the pathway 29er skiff class, the Down and Kerry pairing have been training intensively for the past two years in the full rig 49erFX boat and were preparing for their first milestone event at the World Cup of Sailing event at Almere, Holland.

However, as part of the build-up to Paris 2024, the pre-Olympic test event at the Marseilles venue in mid-July is taking priority for many crews and there were insufficient numbers for this week's regatta.

"It was a last minute cancellation but was especially frustrating for Erin and Ellie who were already at the venue and ready for competition to begin on Wednesday," commented James O'Callaghan, Irish Sailing's Performance Director. "However, there's a long road ahead with plenty of opportunities coming them to build their experience."

The 49erFX was one of six events cancelled at the event that forms part of the World Cup of Sailing series. The 2023 season highlight will be the World Sailing Championships due to be held in the Hague in August which will be the first qualification regatta for Paris 2024 for all the Olympic classes.

Of the events that are proceeding in Almere this week, Tokyo 2020 Olympians Robert Dickson (Howth Yacht Club) with Sean Waddilove (Skerries Sailing Club) return to competition in the 49er Men's skiff event after period of illness in recent months one year after achieving a podium result at the same event.

Seafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan (Royal Cork Yacht Club) will also be competing in the class and are targeting specific race goals rather than overall results. The Crosshaven pair will especially work on their starting processes and can expect up to 12 races over the next five days.

Brothers Ewan and Jamie McMahon (Howth Yacht Club) will also be looking for more race practice at international level as they will each be competing in the men's single-handed ILCA7 fleet.

Ireland's Finn Lynch will not be racing as he has switched to preparations for the pre-Olympic test event in Marseilles following his silver medal at the North Sea Regatta at The Hague last weekend.