2025 49er, 49erFX, and Nacra 17 European Championships at Thessaloniki, Greece - Overall
by 49er & Nacra 17 Sailing 8 Jun 10:59 PDT
3-8 June 2025
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Georgia and Antonia Lewin Lafrance have been on the rise for the last six years, and now find themselves on top.
Over a weeklong series of 13 races, the Nova Scotia-based pair outdueled the German and Polish teams they entered the day virtually tied with for the win. Each day of the regatta was a nail-biter, with light winds throughout meaning teams could never settle into a rhythm and had to constantly be vigilant about every choice and every start.
On the final day it was a three-team battle that started with a fleet race in the morning and then the medal race in the afternoon. The Canadians won both, stretching their two-point lead to start the day into a ten-point victory over Marla Bergmann with Hannah Wille (GER). Aleksandra Melzacka with Sandra Jankowiak (POL) finished in third, having faded a bit on the final day but still securely on the podium.
The pair winning narrowly missed out on top 10 medal race participation in Paris with a final race letdown, but have come back strong in 2025. They finished 9th at the first Grand Slam of the year and then won bronze at the second Grand Slam. Four years ago, the Canadian pair won their first championship medal here in Thessaloniki at the 2021 European Championship, so they clearly enjoy the venue.
Isaura Maenhaut with Anouk Geurts (BEL) came second in the medal race, pulling them up into fourth overall and third Europeans.
Tim Mourniac with Aloise Retornaz Make Improbable Overtake for Bronze in the Nacra 17
The podium places were all but set within the Nacra 17 fleet heading into the medal race. The main focus was the battle for second between Italy and Argentina, with Britain securing gold with two races to spare. However, when both Italy and Argentina were over early and had to restart, it opened up a narrow chance for the French team of Tim Mourniac with Aloise Retornaz. If they won the medal race and the Argentinians finished last, they would win the bronze.
In a very light and long race, the French moved into a lead, consistently challenged by the Chinese while the Argentinians languished at the back of the pack. But in the final downwind the breeze started to build and the Argentinian silver medalists from Paris caught back up to the back of the fleet. It was only over the final two gybes that their chase back failed to hold, and they finished 10th by just a boat length to lose out on the bronze.
The week was mostly about the domination by Gimson with Burnet (GBR) who sailed a solid medal race with nothing on the line. The silver medal was secured by Gianluigi Ugolini with Maria Gubilei (ITA) who also had to restart in the medal race but found their way safely back into the pack and were never threatened to lose their silver medal ranking.
Snow and Macdiarmid (USA) Snag Second Overall
The 49er medal race had many more teams in contention for the medals than the other two fleets, and it was Nevin Snow with Ian Macdiarmid (USA) who seized the opportunity, jumping up from fourth to win silver.
The gaps were modest amongst most of the group that could medal, so the medal race was about doing the best possible and just hoping rivals didn't do as well. That was the case for the Americans as they got the best start at the pin and won the left side. They got to the windward mark in fourth place and then made gains with a gybe set as the wind built to be the best it was all week. By that time they noticed that the Uruguayans were having a poor race and they knew if they held on they were in a chance to move into the medals.
Snow with Macdiarmid are on a roll, having won the French Grand Slam in Hyeres just a few weeks ago.
Hernan Umpierre with Fernando Diz (URU) were the up-and-down team of the week, finally finishing on a bit of a low note with a ninth in the medal race, dropping them back to the bronze medal.
European nations were held off of the overall podium but each of the three top teams were thrilled with their European performance. The Wizner brothers (ESP) were fourth overall and first European for their best performance at any championship. William Pank with Thommie Grit (GBR) made their first medal race appearance and secured a European silver and fifth overall with their medal race win. Tal Sade with Maor Abu (ISR) were third in Europe and seventh overall.
With the regatta well secured, Seb Menzies with George Lee Rush (NZL) cruised around the course nicely on the final day. They won the remaining fleet race and finished fourth in the medal race, relishing their first major title in the 49er. When asked if they feel like Burling and Tuke, their fellow Kiwi's who dominated the 49er in their day, they laughed and said not yet! The next four years to LA will see a ton of skiff talent on the waters with the return of many medalists predicted for the October Worlds in Cagliari, so the quad to LA should be fascinating.