2026 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 European Championship at Eckernförde, Germany - Day 3
by 49er and Nacra 17 Sailing 9 Jul 20:54 BST
7-12 July 2026
As predicted, Day 3 brought a very different Eckernförde. The big breeze of the opening days gave way to much lighter, shifty conditions that turned the racing technical and demanding — a day for patience, lane management and reading the water. And across all three fleets, it produced some moments that really stood out.
49er: Grummett & Hawes Hold Firm — and Drama at the Start for the French
The 49ers were first out and managed two races to wrap up their preliminary series at eight races. The big question coming into today was whether yellow jersey holders James Grummett and Rhos Hawes could keep their form when the breeze softened — and they answered convincingly. The British pair sailed incredibly well in the completely different conditions, even scoring a second place in the final race of qualifying to protect their overall lead.
Behind them, the story of the day. France's Erwan Fischer and Clément Péquin never got to race at all: at a start, a Dutch boat attempting a port-tack start ran into them, injuring Erwan's wrist. The 2024 World Champions had to retire from the day and head to the hospital for an X-ray. Fortunately, the jury awarded them redress for both races — and the average points worked in their favor, lifting them all the way up to second overall behind GBR 4. We wish Erwan a speedy recovery and hope to see them back on the water tomorrow.
World Champions Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush sit third heading into the Final Series, with Poland's Mikolaj Staniul and Jakub Sztorch fourth. And a word for Elliott Wells and Freddie Lonsdale: when we caught up with the young British pairing in the morning, they admitted they were not so sure about their chances in the lighter breeze — then went out and posted a 7 and a 3 to sit fifth overall. Not bad for a weak point.
One more moment worth celebrating: in the Blue fleet, South Africa's Sean Kavanagh and Max Celliers sailed an incredible race to take a win. The pair, who came all the way from Cape Town, were injured in the opening days of the championship but recovered enough to keep racing this week — and were rewarded with what might well be the first-ever race win by an African team in the 49er class. A brilliant story on a tricky day.
Tomorrow, the 49ers split into Gold, Silver and Bronze fleets, with the top 25 boats going into Gold.
49erFX: Canadians Dominate Gold Fleet Day 1, Italians Hold the Lead
The 49erFX fleet began their Final Series today — and the first day of Gold fleet racing belonged to the Canadians. Georgia and Antonia Lewin-LaFrance, the current European Champions from Thessaloniki and recent winners in Kiel, took two race wins in commanding style. No big surprise here: these two perform in all conditions, and today they showed exactly why they hold the titles they do. The charge lifts them to second overall, just three points off the lead.
Because the overall lead still belongs to the Italians. Jana Germani and Giorgia Bertuzzi had a rough start to the day — a 23rd, which immediately became their discard — but produced a big comeback in the following races to protect their advantage at the top. After nine races, they lead on 28 points to the Canadians' 31, setting up a proper head-to-head for the title.
Rounding out the podium spots are Germany's Sophie Steinlein and Catherine Bartelheimer, who put together a solid day of Gold fleet racing to sit third, leading the home fleet ahead of Belgium's Isaura Maenhaut and Anouk Geurts in fourth and teammates Marla Bergmann and Hanna Wille — who closed the day with a bullet — in fifth.
Nacra 17: The Dutch Stretch Away as Gimson & Burnet Find Their Groove
First things first: Willemijn Offerman and Scipio Houtman are still out front — and somehow further ahead than before. The Dutch didn't win a race today, but their consistency in the tricky breeze extended their advantage to the point where they now have half the points of second place: 16 to 32. Relentless.
But the day itself belonged to GBR 21. John Gimson and Anna Burnet took two bullets from today's three races and are dangerously finding their groove again. The reigning European Champions — who won in Thessaloniki last summer with a day to spare — cannot repeat that feat under the new format, but make no mistake: they can absolutely still win this title. They have climbed to fourth, and at the top of this fleet, it really could be anyone's game.
Second place is now a dead heat on 32 points between Australia's Brin Liddell and Rhiannan Brown — who closed their day with a race win — and Sweden's Emil Järudd and Hanna Jonsson, with the tiebreak going the Australians' way. France's Tim Mourniac and Aloise Retornaz sit fifth.
For compatriots Archie Gargett and Sarah Hoffman, today was a tougher one. The pair, who had been right at the top end of the leaderboard, told us earlier in the week that they are strongest in the big breeze we had on the first two days — and the lighter air today showed in their scores as they slipped to sixth. With similar conditions forecast for tomorrow, we will see if they can take today's lessons and apply them straight away.