The 2026 Europe Class European Masters Championship attracted 50 competitors from ten nations to Lake Biscarrosse-Latécoère, in the Landes region of south-west France from 2 to 8 August.
French sailor Cyril Richard was crowned European Champion, winning seven of the ten races against a strong international fleet that included several former World champions and Olympians. Second was Marie‑Amandine Vandeghinste of Belgium, and third Anne Le Helly-Salomon of France.
Best placed GBR competitor’s were Jason Belben in 9th and Jeremy Hartley 15th, both of Stokes Bay SC.
The strong Europeans turnout follows on from the recent World Championship* where 90 sailors from 13 nations competed in Gdansk, Poland.
Designed in 1960 in Belgium by Alois Roland, as a class-legal International Moth, it then became popular as a one-design class in its own right. Selected for the Women’s Singlehanded Dinghy event it was used in the Olympic Games from 1992 through 2004, after which it was replaced by the Laser Radial. Britain’s Shirley Robertson won Gold in the Europe at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Following a dip in popularity after it lost the Olympic cachet, the class has boomed over the last ten years, with many old hulls being renovated and new boats and equipment readily available.
2026 Europe Class Masters European Championship (50 entries)
Full results available here . . .
*Martin Brønlund Olesen (Denmark) claimed the men’s world title, while Marie-Amandine Vandeghinste (Belgium) secured victory in the women’s championship.
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