2026 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 European Championship at Eckernförde, Germany - Overall
by 49er and Nacra 17 Sailing 12 Jul 12:14 PDT
7-12 July 2026
The final day of the 2026 European Championship turned out to be the hardest of the whole regatta, and in the end it was the one day the Baltic refused to play along.
The Nacra 17 fleet launched on time for a midday start and spent the next three and a half hours on the water, starting race after race that had to be abandoned as the conditions kept falling apart. While the Nacras waited out there, the 49erFX fleet, last in the schedule, had their day cancelled ashore. The 49ers were sent out to try their luck, but they too were called back without a single completed race. By mid afternoon the race committee accepted what the water had been telling everyone all day. There would be no racing, and the standings from Saturday night would decide the titles.
It is a strange way to end a championship, but it takes nothing away from the teams who spent five days earning their place at the top.
49erFX: Canada Does It Again
For the second year in a row, Georgia and Antonia Lewin-LaFrance are Open European Champions. The Canadian sisters won this event in Thessaloniki last summer and repeated it here in Eckernförde with a week of typically relentless sailing, saving their best day for the last day of racing when they posted a 3, 1, 1 to take the overall lead. Once again they simply refused to have a bad day when it mattered.
And once again, the European title itself goes to Marla Bergmann and Hanna Wille. Just like last year, the German pair finish as the top European boat, this time in second place overall, and doing it at home in front of their own crowd makes it even sweeter.
France's Mathilde Lovadina and Lou Berthomieu, the new pairing who climbed the leaderboard all week long, take third overall and the Vice European Champion title, a remarkable result in their first season together. Poland's Aleksandra Melzacka and Sandra Jankowiak complete the European podium with bronze.
49er: The Kiwis Keep Winning Everything They Enter
Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush are Open European Champions. Written down like that it sounds simple, but consider what it means. The New Zealanders won this title in Thessaloniki last year, won the World Championship in Quiberon this spring, and have now won in Eckernförde too. They barely race in Europe outside the major championships, and every time they show up, they leave with the trophy. Right now they are the most dangerous team in the fleet and without question the ones to beat.
What makes it even more impressive is that Menzies is doing all of this at just 21 years old, while also driving in the America's Cup. Juggling both worlds at that age is hard to imagine, and yet here we are.
James Grummett and Rhos Hawes led this championship for most of the week and finish second overall, which crowns them European Champions, a first major title for the British pair and one that has been coming for a long time.
Poland's Mikolaj Staniul and Jakub Sztorch take third overall and the Vice European Champion title, while the German crowd got one more reason to cheer as Richard Schultheis and Fabian Rieger, fourth overall, claim the European bronze.
Nacra 17: Heartbreak and History
The Nacra 17 fleet spent the longest day on the water and got nothing back for it, and for one team the cancellation stung more than for anyone else.
Sweden's Emil Järudd and Hanna Jonsson are the 2026 European Champions. They earned it the hard way, sailing a patient, consistent week and pouncing on Saturday when the long time leaders finally cracked. After winning the overall trophy at the Princess Sofia earlier this year, this title confirms what everyone in the fleet already suspected. The Swedes have arrived at the very top of the class.
John Gimson and Anna Burnet could not quite defend their crown but finish as Vice European Champions after a charging final few days that included four race wins across Friday and Saturday.
And then there is the Dutch story. Willemijn Offerman and Scipio Houtman led this regatta from the first gun on Tuesday until Saturday afternoon. One bad day cost them the yellow jersey, and with no racing on Sunday there was no way to take it back. They finish with the bronze medal, and it is fair to say it is not the colour they hoped for as the regatta went on. It is a cruel way to end the week, but this team has so much to be proud of. They showed real dominance through the regatta, they announced themselves as genuine title contenders, and if this week proved anything, it is that their time is coming.