ILCA Master European Championships 2026 at Yacht Club de La Baule - Overall
by Agustín Argüelles 26 Sep 16:48 BST
21-25 September 2026
The 2026 ILCA Master European Championships concluded on Friday in La Baule after five days of competition, with the final two races of the week deciding the champions in every fleet and category.
Racing began right on schedule at 14:30. The ILCA 6 fleets sailed their last two races on a windward-leeward course, while the ILCA 7 fleets closed out the week with two races on a trapezoid course. The wind held steady throughout the afternoon, varying between 8 and 11 knots, over flat water.
All ILCA 6 fleets finished the championship with eight races on the scoreboard. In the ILCA 7, the Apprentice Master, Master, Great Grand Master and Legend categories completed the week on nine races, while the Grand Masters, the only ILCA 7 category held to eight, finished level with the ILCA 6 fleets.
Miguel Alvarez ESP, winner of the ILCA 6 Legends fleet (+75), described a week that turned around late: "The first couple of days I was sailing okay, not too bad, not too good. I was around sixth or fifth, and I couldn't move up from there, and the leaders had already gone very far ahead. But yesterday I sailed two good races, a fourth and a first, and I went from sixth to second. Today, anything could happen — there were five of us who could have finished in any order among ourselves. Luckily, there was wind, and I think with wind I go a bit better than some of my competitors. So it went well, it was a nice day." He put his enjoyment of the class down to the community around it, especially back home: "The group, the number of boats there are — in Barcelona we have a group of 40 Masters, it's fantastic, we help each other a lot, and it's very easy for us to go sailing. For a while I was sailing the Finn, but I came back here because it's a more dynamic class."
Jon Emmett GBR, winner of the ILCA 6 Master category, described a week that tested him more than usual: "It's always fantastic to win an event, but today feels a little more like relief. I didn't have the best start — I smashed the bottom of my centreboard on the way out to Race 1, and I have to thank Ian Jones, who repaired it for me. Trying to sail the first day with a great big hole in your centreboard is like having the biggest lump of seaweed all day, so this one's something special, just to get through after all that." Racing in a fleet spanning several generations, he finds a particular value in it: "We're racing against people in a similar circumstance in their life, and with a ten-year age bracket, it's absolutely perfect. Master sailing shows that once you're sailing, you're hooked for life."
With racing complete, the 2026 European champions have been crowned in every fleet and category:
ILCA 7 medallists
Apprentice Master:
- Lorenzo Cerretelli ITA 27 pt
- Michalis Koulianos GRE 33 pt
- Andrew Green GBR 68 pt
Master:
- Roger Craig IRL 39 pt
- Aristotelis Chatzistamatiou GRE 40 pt
- Leandro Rosado ESP 56 pt
Grand Master:
- Christoph Marsano AUT 42 pt
- Orlando Gledhill GBR 50 pt
- Roger Schulz GER 62 pt
Great Grand Master:
- José Luis Doreste Blanco ESP 13 pt
- Javier Muñoz ESP 63 pt
- Nick Harrison GBR 64 pt
Legend:
- Don Hahl USA 196 pt
- John Dawson-Edwards CAN 197 pt
- Greg Jackson USA 212 pt
ILCA 6 medallists
Apprentice Master:
- Isaac Bussin CAN 19 pt
- Alexis Tourneur FRA 24 pt
- Marco Crucitti ITA 45 pt
Apprentice Master Women:
- Hanne Jansch GER 47 pt
- Alice Grassi ITA 63 pt
Master:
- Jon Emmett GBR 20 pt
- Benoit Raphalen FRA 29 pt
- Roberto Giacalone ITA 31 pt
Master Women:
- Isabelle Auffret FRA 118 pt
- Vanessa Sasiain Belmonte FRA 128 pt
- Nolwenn Claquin FRA 166 pt
Grand Master:
- Carlos Martinez ESP 18 pt
- Martin Koning NED 39.8 pt
- Anders Mattsson SWE 42 pt
Master Women:
- Roberta Hartley GBR 72 pt
- Helene Viazzo FRA 108 pt
- Zilla Fokke NED 125 pt
Great Grand Master:
- Kim Tan NED 25 pt
- José Maria Van der Ploeg ESP 31 pt
- Gilles Coadou FRA 36 pt
Great Grand Master Women:
- Lynne Jewell Shore USA 108 pt
- Isabelle Arnoux FRA 161 pt
- Ann Loren SWE 216 pt
Legend:
- Miguel Alvarez ESP 26 pt
- Hank Wittenberg NED 30 pt
- Claude du Calair FRA 31 pt
Legend Women:
- Christine Rosette FRA 82 pt
A huge thank you to all the participants, organisers, volunteers and sponsors who helped make this event such a wonderful success. Your energy, commitment and support made the whole experience truly special. We look forward to seeing you all again next year in Los Alcázares, Spain, for the 2027 edition!
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