Aspire POL 17 of Przemek Gacek, Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Kilian Weise won the 2026 5.5 Metre World Championship in Lavrion, Greece, after a week of challenging conditions.
Aspire posted a third in the penultimate race, while overnight leader Artemis NOR 57, of Kristoffer Spone, Trond Solli Sætherand and Anders Pedersen, only managed an eighth and dropped to second. The race 7 win went to Ku-Ring-Gai III AUS 66/USA of Jay Cross, Rob Scrivenor and Andrew Palfrey moving them up to fourth.
In the final race Aspire and Artemis were separated by one point, so it went down to the wire.
In the end, Aspire found second gear, led at the top and were never threatened. Artemis rounded in fourth and finally pulled up to second, but it was not enough.
The fight for third was also dramatic with Ku-Ring-Gai III in fourth, one point behind Ali-Baba SUI 224 of Flavio Marazzi, Julie Marazzi and Eline Marazzi, going into the final race. Their fourth place was enough for Ku-Ring-Gai III to snatch the bronze at the last moment.
It has been a tough two weeks in Lavrion, with six days out of nine lost through strong winds, but in the end eight good races were sailed to determine the world title. Thanks to Stavros Papagiannopoulos, and the Yacht Club of Greece and Olympic Marine for the hospitality and welcome, and for laying on a very enjoyable and memorable event on and off the water.
Next year the class heads north to Glucksburg in northern Germany for the Scandinavian Gold Cup and World Championship.
2026 5.5 Metre World Championship – Final Leaders after 8 races
1st Aspire POL 17, Przemek Gacek – 16 pts
2nd Artemis NOR 57, Kristoffer Spone – 18 pts
3rd Ku-Ring-Gai III AUS 66/USA, Jay Cross – 27 pts
4th Ali-Baba SUI 224, Flavio Marazzi – 28 pts
5th Girls on Film GBR 41, Louise Morton – 32 pts
6th NOR Otto Bent Christian – 32 pts
7th BAH John B Cor Gavin McKinney – 35 pts
8th GRE Melx IV Stavros Papagiannopoulos – 41 pts
9th GRE Aera Nick Lykiardopulo – 66 pts
10th SUI-211 Forza del destino Gerorge Prapopoulos – 82 pts