NZL Sailing Team: Two Kiwi crews in top five in the 49er Europeans in Germany
by Eduan Roos, Yachting NZ 8 Jul 22:33 PDT
Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush (NZL) - 49er, 49er Fx and Nacra 17 Europeans Championships Day 2 - Eckernförde, Germany - July 8, 2026 © NIMANET - Niklas Mattes
Two race wins in four races have propelled Mattias Coutts and Oscar Gunn into second overall at the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 European Championships in Eckernförde, Germany, with fellow New Zealanders Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush also rocketing into the top five after another outstanding day on the water.
Coutts and Gunn produced one of the performances of the day, posting two race victories to finish the second day of qualifying tied on points for second overall in the fleet of more than 90 boats, just five points behind British leaders James Grummett and Rhos Hawes. They are one of three crews tied on 16pts. Menzies and Lee Rush are one of five crews tied on 21pts - making for a crowded upper echelon of the overnight leaderboard.
Coutts and Gunn's result continues the rapid rise of the Kiwi pairing, who have been sailing together for little more than a year and narrowly missed the podium at Kiel Week just a fortnight ago.
At the start of Day 2, Coutts and Gunn were hoping to keep the scores low and avoid any costly results in the early stages of the regatta — and that's exactly what they did, putting themselves in a strong position to make their move later in the week.
"We're probably one of the newer partnerships in this fleet, and if we just keep improving at every event, we'll see good progress forward," Gunn said.
"To improve on our worlds result and carry on the good success we had in Kiel, we're looking forward to a good result here, and I think we're capable of it."
After battling 34-knot gusts on the opening day, the Baltic delivered more manageable conditions, with 12 to 20 knots and a steadier breeze on racecourses set further offshore due to anchoring constraints and a military exclusion zone inside the bay.
"The conditions were a bit lighter than yesterday and the courses were a lot further out," Gunn said. "We had some more consistent breeze and some more chop. We made some improvements since yesterday; we were happy with our speed, and we had good boat handling. It was a really good day."
Coutts said the focus now shifts to maintaining that consistency through the final day of qualifying.
"The goal for tomorrow is to keep our consistency," he said. "It's a new day, and the regatta is still so [young], and we'll just keep pushing."
The Kiwi challenge was further strengthened by defending European champions and reigning world champions Menzies and Lee Rush, who climbed 17 places to fifth overall after capping their day with a race win.
The pair, who claimed the European title in Greece last year before adding the world crown in France in May, are once again firmly in medal contention heading into the final day of qualifying.
Elsewhere in the 49er fleet, Auckland siblings Sean and Rowan Kensington produced their best result of the regatta with a fourth place in the opening race of the day. They sit 40th overall in their first international campaign together, while Francesco Kayrouz and Hamish McLaren are 43rd.
In the 49erFX, Nicola and Rebecca Hume recorded a second top-10 finish of the regatta to sit 31st overall as the women's fleet completed its qualifying series.
Micah Wilkinson and Kate Stewart remain well placed in the Nacra 17 competition in 11th overall despite an opening-race DNF. They bounced back with finishes of ninth and 12th to remain within striking distance of the top 10, who will progress to the medal series.
The final day of qualifying takes place overnight (NZ time), with the top 25 boats in the 49er and 49erFX advancing to Gold Fleet racing.
For full results click here