Kieler Woche 2026 - Day 6: 29er Eurocup starts with a strong Polish performance
by Kieler Woche 25 Jun 12:13 PDT
20-28 June 2026
Early Thursday afternoon, a light northeasterly breeze came to the rescue of the young 29er sailors, allowing for colorful Eurocup races just outside Kiel-Schilksee © Sascha Klahn / Kieler Woche
The Flying Dutchman World Championship has its first winners. Jørgen and Jacob Bojsen-Møller from Denmark capitalized on the only evening race and relegated the Hungarian duo Szabolcs Majthenyi and András Domokos, as well as Markus and Joshua von Lepel from Germany, to second and third place.
At the top of the 29er Eurocup standings are Blanka Sójkowska and Julia Nagórska from Poland, ahead of crews from Argentina and Australia. The opening day of the second, international part of Kieler Woche on Thursday (June 25) also suffered from light winds, which allowed for less than half of the scheduled regatta program. However, absolutely top sailing conditions are expected on Friday.
An ideal start for the Polish crew of Sójkowska and Nagórska in the 29er Eurocup. They won all three races in their group and head into the second day of racing on Friday (June 26) with a perfect record. With two wins and a fourth-place finish, the Argentines Felix Llauro and Lucas Cozar are hot on their heels. Once again, women's power in third place: Australians Mia Austin and Zara Marks are just one point behind the leading crews. Kieler Woche serves as a dress rehearsal for young sailors ahead of the World Championship, which will take place immediately afterward at the same venue.
The angelic patience of the experienced FD fleet, which had come away empty-handed the day before, was rewarded on Thursday evening after switching to the inner course at Kieler Woche. Principal Race Officer Fabian Bach had shortened the 29er juniors to three races in time to allow the World Championship to make a late appearance after a seven-hour wait. In the end, with the wind dying after 7 p.m., the fleet barely managed to cross the finish line.
In the former Olympic FD class, which once produced international sailing greats, numerous world champions from years past still compete today. Perhaps the best known among them are the Danish Bojsen-Møller brothers. Sure, there are a few hiccups here and there. But the duo didn't want to miss the World Championship in Kiel and impressively demonstrated right from the start that they haven't lost their sailing touch. The competition was left in awe. The former world champions Majthenyi/Domokos from Hungary kept up the best and, in fresher winds, are considered top favorites alongside the defending champions Kilian König and Johannes Brack from Germany (14th).
German and Danish teams are taking turns occupying the top spots in the J/70 class in the first provisional standings after two races. Germany's Kai-Uwe Holweg leads, tied on points with Sten Mohr, followed by Willy Sörensen, Kim Gardø Christensen, and Severin Gericke.
The day's top J/24 crew hails from the Netherlands. Helmsman Dirk Olyslagers scored a first and a second, giving him a five-point lead over the singing Hamburg sailing legend Frank Schönfeldt, who finished fifth and third with his crew.
The waiting game for wind, however, is finally set to come to an end on Friday (June 26). "The high-pressure system is moving rapidly over us. And on its trailing edge, we'll get a decent southeast breeze with fresh gusts," predicted meteorologist Sebastian Wache from Kiel-based company Wetterwelt. It could be the best day of Kieler Woche yet, before thunderstorms threaten to move in over the weekend.
This should especially please the wingfoilers at Kieler Woche. They need at least eight knots of wind for a race and therefore didn't sail any races on Thursday. OK dinghies and Contenders also didn't get a chance to race at the start of the event and are looking forward to Friday. The ILCA 4 and ILCA 6 open classes were asked to set sail but had to return to the harbor after an abandoned race and are waiting for stronger winds the following day.
Full results can be found here.