Bas de Waal secures 2026 Finn Grand Slam after final event in Malcesine
by Robert Deaves 5 Oct 19:28 BST
3-4 October 2026
Bas de Waal (NED) © Robert Deaves
Bas de Waal from The Netherlands has won the first ever World Tour for Finns Grand Slam series after the ninth and final event was sailed in Malcesine on the first weekend in October.
Germany's Fabian Lemmel moved up one place to end up second while the current European Champion, Martijn van Muyden, from The Netherlands, moved up seven places to take third.
Over the nine events - Palamos, Sardinia, Gdynia, Varberg, Brixham, Silvaplana, Berlin, Medemblik and Malcesine, a total of 405 sailors from 25 countries took part in at least one event, while more than 100 took part in two or more. The best four event scores counted to the series score.
Leg 8: Grand Slam Medemblik
Leg 8 was the Dutch National Championship from 18-20 September in Medemblik. Though he only won one out of the five races sailed in the shortened series, current European Champion, Martijn van Muyden, from The Netherlands, was the clear winner. There were strong winds on most days which cut short the series and meant many carried high scores. Nanno Schuttrups won the final races to secure silver on countback, tied on points with the legendary Roy Heiner. There were 57 entries.
1 NED 60 Martijn van Muyden 11
2 NED 98 Nanno Schuttrups 17
3 NED 844 Roy Heiner 17
4 NED 511 Stefan de Vries 19
5 NED 148 Peter Peet 20
6 NED 41 Karel van Hellemond 22
7 NED 29 Bas de Waal 29
8 NED 68 Joost Houweling 33
9 BRA 32 Pedro Lodovici 33
10 NED 117 Thierry van Vierssen 34
Full results
Leg 9: Grand Slam Malcesine
The Grand Slam concluded at the Finn Cup at Malcesine, on Lake Garda, in October, with an impressive 98 entries, the largest field of the series. Two afternoon days in a light Ora and one early start in a strong Peler tested the field, with the 2025 World Champion, Deniss Karpak taking the win from the 2026 World Champion, Alessandro Marega. Laurent Hay was the leader after the first day, but Marega ended with a 1,1,3 to take second. The top three all won two races each.
1 EST 2 Deniss Karpak 8
2 ITA 1103 Alessandro Marega 12
3 FRA 75 Laurent Hay 14
4 HUN 808 Kristóf Kaiser 30
5 GER 711 André Budzien 33
6 NED 60 Martijn Van Muyden 35
7 NED 148 Peter Peet 35
8 HUN 30 Zsigmond Kantor 57
9 AUT 3 Florian Raudaschl 60
10 NED 29 Bas De Waal 61
Full results here
The inaugural WTF Grand Slam was a European-focused circuit featuring nine events across eight nations from April to October, showcasing some iconic venues and events. With the best four results counting toward the overall ranking, the series ultimately leads into the Grand Final at the 2027 Finn Gold Cup in La Rochelle.
The final ranking can be found here