Türkiye Match Race Championship 2026 and European Match Race Tour at Datça Yacht Club
by Rana Akkurt / Rüzgar Üstü 19 Oct 13:51 BST
15-18 October 2026
Nordex Energy Sailing Team (Bartu Özsoy, Yahya Kemal Ata, Caner Yaman, Osman Can Çolak) after the Türkiye Match Race Championship, Marmaris, October 2026 © Nordex Energy Sailing Team
Marmaris has hosted the Türkiye Match Race Championship and the European Match Race Tour's Türkiye stop as a single event.
Eight teams from five countries raced at Albatros Marina from 15 to 18 October, under the authority of the Turkish Sailing Federation and organised by Datça Yacht Club. For Turkish sailing, the event marks a step towards a match racing scene of its own.
A format finding its place
Since 2022, match racing has become a more regular part of the Turkish calendar, starting with the Çesme J/70 Match Race Cup. In 2025 the European Match Race Tour came to Marmaris for the first time, and in November the town hosted a four-day match race training programme. This year a national championship has followed.
The boat behind it
At the centre of this growth is the 11:Metre One Design. Ron Holland and Rolf Gyhlenius designed the boat in 1990 to bring high-performance racing within reach of more sailors, and Ron Holland Design describes it as the first official sportsboat. Holland's own 11MOD was the second hull built, and he raced it in the UK and Ireland. The class went on to earn World Sailing international status, and the class itself describes the 11MOD as one of the purest one-design keelboats ever built.
A light, narrow hull and a powerful sail plan make the 11MOD quick to respond to crew work and manoeuvres. In Marmaris the boats raced with mainsail, jib and spinnaker, sailed by crews of up to five with a total weight limit of 430 kg.
Over time the class faded. Last winter, four identical hulls returned to the water at the Marmaris International Yacht Club Winter Trophy, and the revived class is now based in Marmaris. Four 11MODs were supplied by the organisers for this event.
Hasan Çiplak, President of Datça Yacht Club, also serves as Vice President of the 11MOD class and received the Designer Award presented by Ron Holland, as announced by the Turkish Sailing Federation in August.
"Türkiye is here"
"A new era is beginning for Türkiye on the world match racing stage," said Çiplak, President of Datça Yacht Club. "Our aim is for Turkish teams to gain experience, develop and take a bigger place on the world stage. We still have a lot to learn. The way to learn is to race, and the way to improve is to be part of this world. Türkiye is here. Racing, learning and improving."
A route to the World Championship
The event also opened a direct link to the international circuit. The highest-placed Turkish team at the Türkiye stop earns the right to apply for the Match Race World Championship on behalf of Türkiye in the Open category, through the Turkish Sailing Federation. This year that place went to Nordex Energy Sailing Team, helmed by Bartu Özsoy with Yahya Kemal Ata, Caner Yaman and Osman Can Çolak.
With a class, a venue, an organising club and a route to the world stage, the pieces of a Turkish match racing scene are now in place.