2025 49er, 49erFX, and Nacra 17 European Championships at Thessaloniki, Greece - Day 3
by 49er & Nacra 17 Sailing 5 Jun 21:33 BST
3-8 June 2025
2025 49er, 49erFX, and Nacra 17 European Championships Day 3 © Nikos Pantis
Veteran and multi-Olympic race officer Sulis was clear at the morning briefing, "Our priority is to get three races for the 49er so they can progress to the gold fleet."
It took all day to get it done, but three good races for each fleet were conducted over a six-hour bake on the water.
NZL 250: Kiwis Shine on Day 3 with Smart Racing and Strong Rivalry
The standout performers of the day were undoubtedly New Zealand’s Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush, who delivered an impressive 2,3,1 scoreline despite a grueling seven-hour day on the water. With long waits before races, the duo showed they’ve mastered the "on-off" switch—staying mentally fresh until it was time to perform, and perform they did.
Their success seems fueled in part by a healthy rivalry with fellow Kiwis Sam Bacon and Blake MacGlashan, who currently sit in 9th. The two teams have been training closely and pushing each other, both on and off the water. Word is they’ll be heading out for dinner tonight—celebrating a strong day of racing, camaraderie, and the kind of competition that brings out the best in both teams.
A few races had to be abandoned, and those that held were anything but predictable, but a group of 25 have been selected to challenge for the championship. Even to those doing well struggled. Hernan Umpierre with Fernando Diz (URU) grabbed a huge lead on the first lap of race six and chose to head back in the same direction for the second lap. The three teams following them around the gate thirty seconds later all went the opposite way and got past the Uruguayans. "We got beat early in the second lap, so we headed over to where the fleet was, then we got caught out again and dropped back even further," said Umpierre. "We hung in on the final downwind and salvaged a fifth, so still a good race, but far from easy."
Third overall are Rask and Jensen (DEN) who sailed a fantastic final race of the qualifier to secure a second in the race. They were in touch with the leaders on the upwinds, fast and accurate on the downwind and didn't take much risk to sail another very tidy race. The pair are a rarity in Olympic circles as they missed out on Paris 2024 selection back in 2023 but enjoyed their sailing so much they continued through the whole 2024 season for the pure joy of it and have brought that positive attitude forward into 2025.
First Firsts
The unpredictable racecourse left lots of room for newcomers to the fleet to get their moments in the sun. Israel's Tal Sade with Maor Abu predicted they'd be the day's stars before heading out, "We want 4 wins from 4 races!" said Maor. It wasn't quite that good of a day, but they won their second race of the qualifying and made it into the gold fleet.
Jacob Marks , the 18 years old Australian sailing with Charlie Zeeman won their first ever race, "We both agreed that we were either gonna be first or last and it turned out well." The pair have been sailing together for one and a half years, and finished qualifying in 36 place, just outside the gold fleet window.
Maximo Videlo with Tideo de Rioja (ARG) also won their first-ever race, and they've only been sailing together for about fifteen days. They were nervous and contemplative onshore, unsure of whether they'd make gold. After five of six races they were 10 points back, and their race win put them in reach of gold! They were overjoyed to find out it was enough, and they sit in 24th overall with protests pending.
Hot and bothered
The 49er fleet was sent to the sea at 2:30 pm, but the first race didn't get going until 5 pm. The FX and Nacra 17 fleets were held on shore, and were almost sent to the water, but after a couple of races got abandoned, they got sent home without getting wet. The 49er feet used every ounce of wind available to squeeze in three good ones, and were home on shore for a pasta snack by 8 pm - a long, hot soak in the sun.
What's next
The 49er gold and silver fleets, FX, and Nacra 17 each have two more days of fleet racing before the medal race day. The forecast continues to call for light winds so the sailors and officials will keep getting their patience and guile tested!
Follow along via the regatta website for results, photos, videos, and more.
There will be a very lightweight live broadcast each day featuring limited footage but consistent content from the venue so fans can get a feel for what's happening all week. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and ring the bell for alerts. Racing runs from June 3-8, 2025.