Irish Sailing Duo Brewster-Tidey Aim to Qualify for Rio

Two Providence Team IRL crews will compete in the 49er World Championships from Monday November 16 - Saturday 21 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Ireland’s 49erFX team of Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey will compete for a qualifying place at the next Olympics, in this, the main event of the year in the 49er calendar.

The World Championships are a qualifier event for the Olympics in Rio next year, and sailors Andrea Brewster & Saskia Tidey are vying for a place in the games next summer. There are a number of teams looking to qualify and grab one of the three places available. Team Brewster-Tidey are amongst those in the running and could qualify the Nation for the Games with a strong showing at the tricky capital venue.

Also competing at the Worlds are Providence Team IRL 49er pairing of Matt McGovern and Ryan Seaton. Having already qualified for the games they will be looking to beat their previous 8th placing at Worlds. Former World Cup runners up and Olympians at the London 2012 games, the only Irish 49er pairing are up against some stiff competition, including Olympic Champions Nathan Outteridge & Iain Jensen, and recently crowned ISAF World Sailors of the Year, Peter Burling and Blair Tuke.

Competing at a notoriously difficult, and shallow venue, Buenos Aires is sure to test all competitors to the maximum of their abilities. The venue is often compared to Lake Balaton in Hungary, and is expected to lead to an interesting chop for the 49er to move through, and the wind is expected to be light. Both teams have been practicing and competing at the venue since the beginning of November and already have a good feel for the place.

Speaking in advance of the championships, Andrea and Saskia said: "We feel the last few months of training have been very productive and we are happy with our preparations for the Worlds. It now just comes down to us putting it all into practise on the day! We are now just looking forward to going racing."

Providence Team IRL Performance Director, James O'Callaghan commented on the 49er's chances of qualifying: "Andrea and Saskia have been preparing for this event all year. There are a number of nations also looking to take one of the three qualification places on offer and the Irish girls are defintely in the mix. It's a really big ask and I'm pretty optimistic that they will do it."

Photos credit: Brian Carlin.