2025 49er, 49erFX, and Nacra 17 European Championships at Thessaloniki, Greece - Day 4
by 49er & Nacra 17 Sailing 6 Jun 12:48 PDT
3-8 June 2025
2025 49er, 49erFX, and Nacra 17 European Championships Day 4 © Nikos Pantis
Olympic veterans in the 49erFX Marla Bergmann with Hanna Wille (GER) kept their nerve and used their speed to move into the lead, scoring the fewest points on day 4.
The whole racecourse was available for good lanes on the day, making decision-making less of a focus and execution more important. Bergmann with Wille got three good starts, kept calm, and used their speed to ensure they got into the leading group before sailing cleanly from there.
"We've been at the top of the fleet before. A fourth at Europeans and sixth at the games makes us feel like veterans now," said Wille. Life moves fast in the FX fleet, as youngsters from last quad are veterans today and challenging for titles and ready to contend.
The message of being ready for the front was echoed by Aleksandra Melzacka (POL), who sits in second place overall with crew Sandra Jankowiak. "We've been in the top five at three previous championships, so we feel ready to contend."
The Lewin-LaFrance sisters (CAN), who won their first ever championship podium here in Thessaloniki in 2021, round out the top three. The pair scored only one more point today than the Germans, essentially holding serve overall in the regatta, and are ready to battle it out with two days remaining.
Nacra 17: Gimson and Burnet Dominate
Gimson and Burnet (GBR) are setting the bar by far for the Nacra 17 fleet. The pair are currently dropping a sixth and have had top-two finishes for six races in a row, building a 21-point lead over only eight races. The Tokyo silver medalists got married shortly after their heartbreaking fourth-place finish in Paris but remain steadfast in their quest to be Olympic champions. They have always been the class of the field in light air, but that seems to have been accentuated here this week in the light sea breezes that have just barely allowed for racing all week.
"Today the wind had more power to it and built a bit, so we even foiled upwind in the third race," said Gimson. "As such, there were many more viable lanes upwind, and it wasn't necessary to hit the left corner every time. We were able to sail quite textbook lanes, and that was enough to be close to the optimum around the course."
"The starts are obviously critical, and Nacra 17 starting is a bit different than just about any other boat. Normally, fleets will do a double tack with 20 seconds to go to close up space with the boat above. One of the challenges is holding nerve to see who can execute their double tack last, as that can be make or break for a race. In the Nacra 17, a double tack takes about 40 seconds, so it's rarely viable in the last approach to the start. Success is much more about maintaining the leeward gap for the last minute and then executing within that lane." Clearly - they have a game plan and are executing it well.
Ugolini with Giubilei (ITA) continue to have an up-and-down regatta by their lofty standards, yet they still sit in second place overall. Majdalani with Bosco (ARG) had the second-best day of the fleet today and moved up into third overall, just behind the Italians.
49er Fleet: Start Line Drama
The start line proved pivotal within the 49er racing once they got going in the afternoon. Thirteen of the twenty-five boats got disqualified from the first race of the day over two general recalls and a successful third start, turning the results table around.
The start sequences began in the best breeze of the week, but a storm cell was forming directly downwind of the racing, which started influencing the wind and pulling it to the left. The race committee kept having to adjust the line, and then teams didn't have great transits to sight the line. Imperfect conditions added to gold fleet intensity ended in disaster for many when nine boats were disqualified during the second attempt at the start. Then in the third attempt that went forward, another four were called over.
The leaders, Menzies with Lee Rush (NZL), avoided the race seven drama and extended their lead significantly with a flawless day when so many others faltered. "We were so nervous in that first recall, as we thought we might have been over too, but we ended up safe, which made all the difference," said Menzies.
An illustration of how close 49er gold fleet racing is comes from the example of Umpierre with Diz (URU). The pair got moved all the way down to 12th overall with their race seven disqualification before moving back up to fifth overall by winning the second race of the day.
Moving up to third overall are William Pank with Thommie Grit (GBR). They are a couple of university buddies who take their sailing seriously but do it far away from the elite racing circles most national squads create. They race in, essentially, a puddle within the UK where they have honed their boat handling and skills in the 49er in the manner legends like Paul Goodison (GBR) did. They are passionate team racers, and Grit is relatively new to trapezing, having moved over to skiff sailing from the ILCA less than a year ago.
"Where we train, we have only got enough time to hoist the kite, do one gybe, and then quickly take it down again," said Pank, clearly relishing racing at the front on the world stage. "All that unstable wind and boat handling practice is serving us well right now."
Only two races were conducted for the 49er gold fleet as the developing system shut down the breeze, with the fleet finishing the second race of the day right at the bottom limit for racing.
Follow along via the regatta website for results, photos, videos, and more.
There will be a very lightweight live broadcast each day featuring limited footage but consistent content from the venue so fans can get a feel for what's happening all week. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and ring the bell for alerts. Racing runs from June 3-8, 2025.