Tønsberg, Norway - After Tuesday’s racing was cancelled due to a lack of wind, the 2026 Melges 24 European Championship returned in spectacular fashion today. Four races were completed in strong winds and high waves, pushing the sailors and their boats to the limit.

With the championship behind schedule and Friday’s forecast looking less favourable, the Race Committee made full use of the conditions. Following the Competitors’ Briefing at 09:00, the fleet headed out to the racecourse ahead of the first warning signal at 11:00.

Race 3 started at 11:05 in a west-southwesterly breeze of 22 knots, with Ante Cesic’s Razjaren (CRO 867) taking the victory. Paolo Brescia’s Melgina (ITA 854) won Race 4, which was sailed in a 22-knot southwesterly.

The wind continued to strengthen during the afternoon. Peder Jahre’s Storm Capital (NOR 751) claimed the win in Race 5 as the southwesterly increased to 25-30 knots. Melgina returned to the front in Race 6, taking its second victory of the day as the southwesterly reached 29–36 knots.

In the Corinthian division, Storm Capital won Races 3 and 5, while Niccolò Bertola’s TAKI 5 (ITA 878) took the Corinthian victory in Race 4. Ante Botica’s Mataran 24 (CRO 649) completed the day with the Corinthian win in Race 6.

The first two races were sailed over five nautical miles, with 1.2-nautical-mile legs. As the wind increased, the opening leg was extended to 1.4 nautical miles. The final race covered 4.6 nautical miles.

Race Officer Eirik Brekke emphasised that the day was as demanding for the Race Committee as it was for the sailors.

“Today was for the tough people,” said Brekke. “The conditions were very challenging for everyone, including those of us on the Race Committee boat. We managed to complete four spectacular races and fulfil the sailors’ expectations with some very hard and tough racing.

“The sailors had to work extremely hard, especially downwind when everyone was planing. We are very pleased with the day, but after four races, the Race Committee is just as tired as the sailors.” Hear Erik's comments

The demanding conditions took a heavy toll on the fleet, with six broken masts, several collisions and damaged sails. Most importantly, every sailor returned safely to the marina.

NOR 487 Lillehammer Racing Team was the first boat to lose its mast.

“The first leg was quite undramatic when the mast suddenly came down,” the team reported. “We managed to save the jib and mainsail, but now the challenge is finding a replacement mast. Several other teams are in the same situation, so we will have to see whether we can race tomorrow.” Hear their comments

AUT 607 ELA was another team affected. Anke Noack said the crew believed a backstay block may have failed before the mast broke in two places.

“Luckily, we have already secured a replacement mast from Hein Ruyten One Design and are setting everything up again so we can sail tomorrow,” she said. “We lost two races today, which puts us out of contention, but it is still great practice. We are happy to be here in Norway and happy to be sailing.” Hear Anke's comments

Melgina Moves to the Top

Melgina was the standout performer in the Overall division, recording scores of 2-1-5-1. With the first discard coming into effect after five races, the Italian team moved into the championship lead with 13 points after six races.

“It was a very good day for Melgina,” said tactician Simone Ferrarese. “The conditions were amazing. The first two races were sailed in around 15–20 knots, followed by two races with 25 knots and big waves.

“We’re very happy with the results, but the championship is still long, and we expect different conditions tomorrow. We’ll stay focused and see how it goes.

Hear Simone's comments

Razjaren (CRO) is second overall with 15 points, while Storm Capital (NOR) holds third place with 21 points.

Overall standings after six races

ITA 854 Melgina - Paolo Brescia - 13 points
CRO 867 Razjaren - Ante Cesic - 15 points
NOR 751 Storm Capital - Peder Jahre - 21 points

Storm Capital Dominates the Corinthian Division

Storm Capital was the Corinthian Boat of the Day, scoring 1-2-1-2 within the division and adding an overall race victory. The Norwegian team now leads the Corinthian standings and sits third overall.

“We had a great day on the water, with four races in very tough and windy conditions,” said team member Lillan Agerup. “It was a lot of fun to test ourselves.

“We struggled with three of our starts, including one OCS when we had to return, but we managed to catch up with the fleet each time. Overall, we had a fantastic day and also took a race win, which makes us incredibly proud in such a competitive fleet here in Tønsberg.”

Hear Lilian's comments

Bagdad Prospects (NOR) is second in the Corinthian standings with 26 points, followed by TAKI 5 (ITA) with 32 points.

Corinthian standings after six races

NOR 751 Storm Capital - Peder Jahre - 21 points
NOR 600 Bagdad Prospects - Tomas Mathisen - 26 points
ITA 878 TAKI 5 - Niccolò Bertola - 32 points

On Thursday, the penultimate day of the championship, the Skippers’ Briefing is scheduled for 11:00, followed by the first warning signal at 13:00. The Race Committee intends to complete three races.

Top 10 Overall After Six Races (One discard)

ITA 854 - Melgina - Paolo Brescia - 13
CRO 867 - Razjaren - Ante Cesic - 15
NOR 751 - Storm Capital (Corinthian) - Peder Jahre - 21
NOR 600 - Bagdad Prospects (Corinthian) - Tomas Mathisen - 26
MON 860 - Nika - Vladimir Prosikhin - 27
ITA 878 - TAKI 5 (Corinthian) - Niccolò Bertola - 32
GBR 822 - Adrenaline - Darren Wright - 33
NOR 697 - Helly Hansen II Lisa (Corinthian) - Kristoffer Spone - 37
CRO 649 - Mataran 24 (Corinthian) - Ante Botica - 42
NOR 152 - Bagdad Prospects Youth (Corinthian) - Anders Hylen Klippenberg - 56

Melges 24 European Championship is hosted from 29 August to 4 September by Tønsberg Seilforening, in cooperation with the Norwegian Melges 24 Class Association and the International Melges 24 Class Association (IM24CA).