Eckernförde, Germany — July 7, 2026
The first day of racing at the 2026 European Championship delivered exactly what the fleet came for. Three races were scheduled for every fleet across all three classes, and the Baltic served up a full day of tough, exhausting — and brilliant — racing.
The Nacra 17s were first out, followed by the 49erFX fleets, and both classes banked all three scheduled races. The conditions demanded everything from the sailors, but the verdict coming off the water was unanimous: great breeze, pretty flat water, and quite shifty as the wind came from shore.
The 49ers headed out at 13:00 — just as the wind decided to pick up. With gusts hitting 34 knots at times, and after a series of postponements and abandonments, the men’s fleets managed to complete two races before the race committee called it a day. To make up for lost time, the 49ers will be the first fleets out tomorrow morning, with four races on the schedule.
Nacra 17: Scipio & Willemijn Pick Up Right Where They Left Off
If you have been following the Nacra 17 fleet this season, today’s leaderboard will not surprise you. Willemijn Offerman and Scipio Houtman of the Netherlands have been showing their progress regatta after regatta — and right now, they look like the ones to beat. Days before the championship, the Dutch pair posted a viral video of a full foiling gybe set, teasing that they were ready for the Europeans. Today they backed it up in the best possible way: a 2, 1, 1 for just 4 points, and a commanding early lead.
Behind them sit Sweden’s Emil Järudd and Hanna Jonsson on 11 points (4, 5, 2) — and if anyone doubts their credentials, remember this is the team that won the Trofeo Princesa Sofía earlier this year, not just their class but the overall trophy across all ten Olympic fleets, awarded to the lowest-scoring team of the entire event.
In third are Australia’s Archie Gargett and Sarah Hoffman (3, 3, 7), fresh off a breakthrough fourth place at the World Championship, where they stormed the Final Series with a 1st and a 2nd on the last day. “We’re confident in these conditions,” they told us before heading out to race this morning — and they showed it on the course.
Compatriots Brin Liddell and Rhiannan Brown sit fourth after opening the championship with a race win, tied on 14 points with World Championship silver medallists Tim Mourniac and Aloise Retornaz of France, while defending European Champions John Gimson and Anna Burnet round out the top six.
49erFX: Germani Balancing SailGP Life With a Return to Skiff Dominance
Leading the 49erFX after Day 1: Italy’s Jana Germani and Giorgia Bertuzzi, with a 7, 1, 1 for 9 points. Germani is living a double life at the moment — she raced with the Red Bull Italy SailGP Team in Halifax just before this event — but you would not know it. Chatting with her in the boat park, she seemed completely unfazed by the schedule and the travel, managing it all remarkably well. After a brief period sailing with Bianca Caruso, Germani decided to switch back to Giorgia Bertuzzi, her original crew from the Olympic campaign, with whom she has had so much success — and today looked like a team that never left.
Just one point behind are Germany’s Marla Bergmann and Hanna Wille (1, 4, 5), who opened the championship with a bullet in front of a home crowd. Last year, Bergmann and Wille claimed the European title as the first European boat — behind only the Canadians, who won the regatta overall. This year, they are hoping to top that by taking first place in the international fleet as well.
Britain’s Freya Black and Saskia Tidey sit third on 13 points (8, 1, 4). The British pair have won plenty at World Cup level — including Palma and Kiel Week last year — but a European Championship would be a brilliant addition to their trophy cabinet, and they have started like a team that intends to collect it.
The defending overall champions, Canada’s Georgia and Antonia Lewin-LaFrance, are right there in fourth (3, 3, 9), with Denmark’s Jena Mai Seaton and Christina Andersen and Germany’s Anna Barth and Emma Kohlhoff tied just behind. And keep an eye on the reigning World Champions: Norway’s Pia Dahl Andersen and Nora Edland finished off their day with a bullet and sit seventh — well within striking distance in a fleet where it truly could be anyone’s game.
49er: Two Races Down, Four To Come
The 49er fleets got the short end of the weather stick, squeezing in two races before the 34-knot gusts shut things down — but two races were enough to set up a fascinating leaderboard.
At the top, it is a dead heat. Ireland’s Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove and Uruguay’s Hernán Umpierre and Fernando Diz had almost identical days, both opening the championship with a bullet followed by a second place to sit tied on 3 points. Britain’s James Grummett and Rhos Hawes are, true to form, right there in the mix — third on 4 points after a 3, 1.
Denmark’s Carl Emil Sloth and Nikolaj Hoffmann Buhl won their second race to sit fourth, ahead of Britain’s Elliott Wells and Freddie Lonsdale, who also closed the day with a bullet. And in sixth, one point off the podium places: Kiel Week champions Joshua Richner and Nilo Schärer, picking up in Eckernförde right where they left off down the coast.
With four races scheduled for the 49ers tomorrow morning and the forecast promising more Baltic breeze, Day 2 is shaping up to be a big one.
Follow all the action with live tracking on our website, daily race replays with commentary on YouTube, and daily updates across our social media channels.
