Reigning World 29er Champion, Clementine Van Steenberge (National Yacht Club) who, at last week's 2023 EuroCup Final in Italy, was joined by Royal St. George's Jessica Riordan, showed their promise as a new team achieving 7th place overall and top Women's team. It wasn't the only Irish success either as Irish reigning European Champions, the Irish pair of Ben O'Shaughnessy (Royal Cork) and Ethan Spain (NYC), were second overall.

France and Italy prevailed at the EuroCup. Hugo Revil and Karl Devaux (France) won the overall Eurocup series title, while local sailors Alex Demurtas and Giovanni Santi (Italy) took the event win.

Despite the challenging conditions, local Italian sailors Alex Demurtas and Giovanni Santi rose to the top of the results of the 2023 Ovington 29er EuroCup Final - organised by Fraglia Vela Riva and participated in by over 170 crews arriving on the Lake Garda representing over fifteen Nations.

Racing at the 2023 EuroCup Final on Lake Garda, Italy

The Fraglia Vela Riva duo, considered among the favourites on the eve by virtue of the excellent results achieved over the last few seasons, lived up to the predictions, winning the final race and prevailing overall with a seven-point margin over the best of their pursuers, the crew composed of the reigning European Champion O'Shaughnessy and Spain. The third step of the podium, just nine points behind the leaders, went to the Frenchmen Hugo Revil and Karl Devaux who did enough to become the overall Ovington 29er EuroCup 2023 Series champions, which took place over eleven events throughout Europe in 2023.

Securing the event win put the Italians Demurtas and Santi in Second place in the overall and Men's EuroCup series 2023 ahead of Jocelyn Le Goff and Jules Vidor from France, who took third overall in the series and Top U17 Men's team.

Among the Women's fleet, success did not escape the hands of the reigning World Champion, Van Steenberge and Riordan, taking 7th place overall and top Women's team.

Second place went to Hong Kong team, Emily Polson and Tiffany Mak who were 11th overall and top Women's U17 team and the third placed Women were Sarah Jannin and Fleur Babin from France in 14th overall.

In the Overall Ovington EuroCup Series, the Women's Gold went to sisters Boróka Fehér and Szonja Fehér, placing 8th overall. Silver went to Alicja Tutkowska and Alicja Dampc from Poland also Top U17 Women's team while Mathilda Schäfer and Lisa Hofmann from Germany took Bronze.

While the prize reserved for the best mixed team went to Italians, Camilla and Leonardo Ceruti, Italy. Second was Tjebbe Warmerdam and Zeilteam Zeeland from Holland and third by just one point was Emilia Salvadore and Pietro Zandri also from Italy.

In the mixed category of the Ovington 2023 Eurocup Series, Gold went to Petr Pelnár and Katerina Šlechtická from Czech Republic, followed by Lucie Kosatova and Vojtech Cibulka also from Czech taking Silver. In Bronze position was Danish team Yanne Broers and Gustav Åsholm-Bradley.

The 29er EuroCup Final ended with a total of eleven races, five qualifying and six final, despite a constantly evolving weather situation which forced the Regatta Officials, excellently coordinated by Domenico Guidotti and Ezio Pozzengo, to work overtime.

The international competitive season of Fraglia Vela Riva came to an end with the Ovington 29er EuroCup Final; with their next event planned in 2024. For the International 29er fleet this event marks the end of the 2023 racing calendar, however with the Youth Sailing World Championships fast approaching in December, Brazil, many teams will be spending the coming months training hard in preparation for this unique, elite event on the World Sailing calendar. The International 29er Class wishes everyone preparing and competing the best of luck - with racing amongst the 29er fleet closer than ever in 2023, it promises to be a spectacle to watch.

With the 2024 Ovington 29er Eurocup series announced to the international fleet, all sailors can now start to focus their attention on their future goals - with Palamos, Spain, to host the first of a 12-event series spanning nine countries.

Two Irish crews who led the international fleet this summer are among the favourites of the top 29er teams across Europe that have made their way to Lake Garda to contest for the coveted overall EuroCup title 2023 on Sunday.

The first is a new comnibation, made up of Dun Laoghaire Harbour sailors Clementine Van Steenberge from the National Yacht Club and Jessica Riordan of the Royal St. George Yacht Club.

With Clementine fresh from winning the Overall and Open World Championship title in August in Great Britain, where she raced with her brother Nathan, this team will certainly be one to watch, according to class pundits.

The second, composed of the Cork-Dublin combination of Ben O'Shaughnessy and Ethan Spain, who dominated the European Championship held in Stockholm in mid-August and will be looking to find their form again and finish the season with a win.

170 of the top 29er teams across Europe are on Lake Garda for the competition.

Fraglia Vela Riva, in the north of the stunning Lake Garda, once again hosts the hotly contested Ovington 29er Eurocup Final in collaboration with the International 29er Class Association.

The eleventh and final event of the 2023 29er EuroCup series, it is now considered an end-of-season classic by the specialists of this dynamic double-handed dinghy, who are accustomed to racing on these Italian waters for the seasonal finale.

Appreciated among many youth sailors who choose to step into this boat after various junior classes, the 29er Class is extremely widespread at the international level. With more than fifteen nations represented in Riva del Garda, competition begins on Sunday 22nd, until Wednesday, the 25th of October and sailors hope to complete 14 races in spectacular conditions, after which the season's EuroCup Champions will be crowned.

Also faniced are the home team, Italians Alex Demurtas and Giovanni Santi, who have been at the front of the fleet for a couple of years, winning third in the 2023 World Championships and sit in sixth in the 29er EuroCup overall ranking. Czech team Lukas Kraus and Ondrej Bastar, currently lead the overall series on the eve of this regatta, and with the 2023 Youth Worlds scheduled to take place in December, many of the top teams will be using this event as part of their final preparations.

"The 29er class always brings with it important numbers, a particularly competitive climate and a heterogeneous fleet from the point of view of origin. Hosting the last event of the season, the one that decides the fate of the circuit, now represents a long-standing tradition for the Fraglia Vela Riva, where this youth, double-handed, high-performance skiff is has reached a standard which is impossible to ignore," declared Mauro Berteotti, Sports Director of Fraglia Vela Riva.

Racing begins at midday.

After Clementine and Nathan van Steenberge’s victory in the 29er Worlds in August, their home base the National Yacht Club has big ambitions as it continues its high-end coaching for 29er racers with Olympic 49er trialist Séafra Guilfolye.

As lead coach in the NYC’s autumn programme, which runs until 3 December, Guilfoyle is being assisted by experienced skiff sailors/instructors in encouraging the growth of technical and racing skills among the club’s 29er sailors.

Regular club training takes place on Sundays, with two special clinics scheduled for the Hallowe’en break (3-5 November) and end-of-season (2-3 December). More details can be found on the NYC website HERE.

29er skiff sailing in Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Afloat

The International 29er is one of the most demanding boats on the global junior sailing scene. Yet the sister-and-brother crew of Clementine & Nathan Van Steenberge have carved their way through its international heights with style, speed and success.

Their Championship title at the uniquely demanding Worlds at Weymouth in early August provided a Masterclass, with their all-winning final day of racing an exceptional performance worthy of the most experienced sailors.

The five-day International 29er Europeans at the 1830-founded Royal Swedish YC’s base at Sandhamn near Stockholm was a global sailing highlight for 2023, as it attracted 173 teams from 24 countries for a week of racing very typical of the unsettled conditions of August this year.

Yet young Irish sailors from the ultra-focused 29er racing development squad showed themselves well able for the enormous challenge, and in the final day’s racing, the Munster/Leinster pairing of Ben O’Shaughnessy (17) from Royal Cork at Crosshaven and Ethan Spain (18) from the National YC at Dun Laoghaire move confidently from defending a near-certain Silver Medal win into ensuring that they were going home with the Gold for the Men’s Division.

It’s a fabulous result that is still barely registering in the national sailing awareness.

There were 173 teams from 24 countries competing at the International 29er Europeans in Sweden in August, but the five crews sent from Ireland punched way above their weight in a challenging and complex boat, which isn’t for the faint-hearted.

And it seems that inter-provincial mixing of crews is the right way to go, as Dun Laoghaire’s Lucia Cullen (17) and Cork’s Alana Twomey (also 17) inspired each other through a week of racing in difficult wind patterns to clinch the Women’s Gold medal on the last day, a magic result for a crew whose sheer enjoyment of sailing is an inspiration for us all.

In an outstanding month for Irish youth sailing achievement, two Cork-Dublin pairings have won more gold medals in the International 29er class to follow the World title win of a fortnight ago. 

Ireland won two gold medals at the 29er European Championships held in Stockholm this afternoon.

Ben O’Shaughnessy, 17, from Royal Cork and Ethan Spain, 18, from the National Yacht Club, won the European 29er Championships title, while Lucia Cullen, 17, from Dublin and Alana Twomey, 17, from Cork, won the European Female 29er Championships title.

Ireland's Lucia Cullen and Alana Twomey celebrate their win in the Female European Championship win in the 29er class in Stockholm

The five-day sailing event, held at The Royal Swedish Yacht Club, saw 173 teams from 24 countries compete in challenging conditions with large wind shifts and big pressure differences.

The two Irish teams were in the silver position overnight going into the final day of racing, but they came out strong in the first race of the day, with the girl's team of Lucia and Alana getting a fourth just ahead of the boy's team of Ben and Ethan getting a fifth. They fought hard in the following three races to bring home the double gold for Ireland.

The achievement is even more impressive given that Ireland had only five teams competing at the event, making it one of the countries with the smallest number of teams. It was an extraordinary result for the Irish sailors who demonstrated dynamic decision-making, boat handling, and teamwork to excel in the fast tempo of 29er racing.

As regular Afloat readers know, today's Euro titles follow the World title won by the Van Steenberg siblings in Weymouth earlier this month.

O'Shaughnessy and Spain claimed the Overall and Men's European Championship title by a margin of 11 points after four races on the final day. The championship titles came down to the wire, with just one point separating the top three boats going into the last start, but Ben and Ethan held their nerve to secure the win.

The new Overall and Men's European 29er Championship winners Ben O'Shaughnessy and Ethan Spain Photo: Sailing Pics

In the Women's category, Ireland's Cullen and Twomey took home the Women's title and tenth position overall, while Assi Lindell and Ines Karlemo of Finland secured the Silver medal in the Women's category, and Alja Petric and Caterina Sedmak of Slovenia took the Bronze.

A thumbs up from 29er Female Euro champions Lucia Cullen (right) and Alana Twomey Photo: Sailing Pics

Local sailors Hedvig and Hugo Liljegren of Sweden claimed the Silver medal in the Open category, with Caroline Pennetier and Benjamin Benhayoun of France in Bronze medal position.

The Nations Cup for the top three teams out of two categories was won by France, with three boats in the top ten.

The National Yacht Club's Cecile van Steenberge from Dublin Bay, the new Vice President of the International 29er Class, thanked the sailors for their hard work and dedication throughout the Championships and acknowledged the significant role played by volunteers in supporting youth sailing. The International 29er Class also thanked The Royal Swedish Yacht Club for their exceptional efforts in making the European Championships a unique and memorable event from start to finish.

Ireland's recently crowned 29er World Champions, Clementine and Nathan Van Steenberge have an eye on the double this week when they compete at the 2023 European Championships in Sweden against another massive fleet.

As regular Afloat readers will recall, the National Yacht Club National Yacht Club sister and brother from Dublin won the world title in Weymouth earlier this month by an impressive margin of some 16 points. 

Over 170 boats from 24 different countries have arrived in Saltsjöbaden, Stockholm to participate in the 2023 European Championships. The boats will be competing across four different fleets on two race courses. With three races scheduled per day and a light to medium wind forecast for the week, anticipation for the event is high. The opening ceremony saw a parade of sailors proudly waving their country's flags, followed by speeches from various officials welcoming the competitors and thanking volunteers for their hard work. Recently crowned Optimist World Champion, Henric Wigforss, cut the ribbon to open the event. 

The Irish tricolour, carried by the newly crowned world champions, Clementine and Nathan Van Steenberge, is centre stage at the opening ceremony for the 29er European Championships in Stockholm Photo: Sailing Pics

In the open fleet, many sailors have come straight from the UK, including the overall 2023 World Champions, IRL 1 Clementine and Nathan Van Steenberge. However, Italian team ITA 3, Alex Demurtas and Giovanni Santi, are eager to take the top spot after narrowly missing out on previous championships. French team FRA 4, Hugo Revil and Karl Devaux, and German brothers Anton and Johann Sach (GER 6) are also expected to be strong contenders. 

In the women's fleet, Spanish sisters Sara and Isabel Momplet Baixauli hope to defend their 2022 Women's European Championship title. Irish sisters Emily and Jessica Riordan, who won the Women's World Silver Medal in 2023, and Swedish sisters Ebba and Ellen Fredriksson, who won the Women's World Bronze Medal, will also be competing. 

Sailors from Sweden have a home advantage and could potentially perform well in light and shifty conditions. Hedvig and Hugo Liljegren, who placed 4th at the 2022 Worlds, will be competing in their final 29er regatta before switching to 470. Henric Wigforss, who won the Optimist World championship earlier this year, is also a wildcard to watch.

The racing starts on Monday at 12.00

In stunning skiff sailing prowess, Ireland's Clementine and Nathan van Steenberge have been crowned champions of the 29er World Championships in Weymouth.

The brother and sister duo, hailing from Dun Laoghaire Harbour, put on a masterclass in the final day's racing, surging from fifth place to claim the top spot on the podium.

With 8-15 knots north westerly wind on the final day of racing, shifty conditions with a moderate sea state, the Irish siblings sailed a standout final day of four solid races with no large discard to the overall Championship win.

Their victory was hard-earned, as the competition was fierce and the margins were razor-thin. But with a final points tally of 22, the Irish mixed pair from the National Yacht Club emerged victorious, finishing a massive 16 points ahead of their closest rivals, Maximo Videla and Juan Cruz Albamonte of Argentina. Italy's Alex Demurtas and Giovanni Santi rounded out the podium in third place.

Dun Laoghaire's Van Steenberge siblings won both the Open and Overall World Championships Photo: Sailing Pics 

As Afloat reported earlier, the Van Steenberges posted an impressive scoreline, winning the last race on Thursday by over a minute. Sitting in fifth overall overnight and with the next Open team picking up a DSQ (ARG 2581), their eyes were fixed on the overall medal podium going into today's final races, and they didn't flinch.

Sailing a consistent series over the week long championships, which has tested the fleet in every condition from 25 knots, flat water in Weymouth Harbour down to 6-10 knots in the bay, accompanied by very large swell, chop and significant wind shifts.

In perfect partnership, Clementine and Nathan van Steenberge mastered the strong winds of Weymouth to finish top of the 205 boat entry at the 29er World Championships Photo: Sailing Pics

In further honours for Ireland, Royal St. George Sisters Emily and Jessica Riordan put in a sterling performance of their own, earning a well-deserved silver medal in the Female division.

As most sailors know, consistency counts, and Clementine and Nathan once again proved this old age saying still rings true. With no large discard going into the final race, they climbed through the fleet to secure the overall win. In the rest of the top ten overall places, points came down to the final race. 2022 Men's and Overall World Champion. Maximo Videla and Juan Cruz Albamonte, Argentina won the final race to swoop into the Men's top spot taking the overall Men's World Championship for a second time. Close behind was Italians Alex Demurtas, Giovanni Santi who also finished second last year and in third Hugo Revil and Karl Devaux, France.

Poland's Ewa Lewandowska and Leon Sapijaszko took second place in the Open World Championships and in third was Amparo Stupenengo and Tadeo Funes De Rioja from Argentina.

In the Women's fleet, racing was similarly close and came down to a protest in the final races. With Italians Malika Bellomi and Beatrice Conti just managing to hold on to the Women's World Championship title just ahead of Emily and Jessica Riordan. Ebba and Ellen Fredriksson from Sweden took third, also winning the Silver fleet by 28 points.

Men's Under 17 Champions were Dutch team Folkert Van Surksum and Lars Ganzevles whilst Women's Under 17 winners were Emily Polson and Tiffany Mak from Hong Kong. Open Under 17 winners were Panna Széll and Brúnó Schneider from Hungary so we can watch this space for an exciting future in the sport.

Argentina took the Nations Cup which is awarded to the country which has the least points when adding up their top three boats from at least two categories, and their pride, team work and camaraderie was very clear for all to enjoy!

Whilst it has been a challenging week for the 410 competitors from all over the world, one thing is for sure the fleet had incredible fun and the vibes around the 29er class and in the boat park were at an all time high. Sailors were kept engaged and in the fight for the top spots until the very end of the championships, racing was some of the closest we've seen, and in the end those who kept their nerve and minimised the big scoring races came out on top.

Two sets of Irish siblings are showcasing their skills in the final gold fleet series racing of the massive 29er World Championships in Weymouth. 

In the Open fleet, the National Yacht Club sister and brother Clementine and Nathan Van Steenberge posted an impressive scoreline, winning the last race by over a minute. Sitting in fifth overall overnight and with the next Open team picking up a DSQ today (ARG 2581), their eyes are also fixed on the overall medal podium. 

In the Women's fleet, Royal St. George sisters Emily and Jessica Riordan are second to Italians Malika Bellomi and Beatrice Conti. 

Two of eight Irish teams are competing in the 50-boat gold fleet, with racing concluding this weekend.

A very different day in Weymouth for the 5th day and the start of the final series racing. With patchy cloud cover and 5-12 knots, all four fleets set sail early to make the most of the conditions, today for the first time racing in Weymouth Bay. With a decent swell running and occasional rain, conditions were very challenging and certainly testing the top teams from around the Worlds to find their form.

David Campbell-James and Peter Lubeck, the two Class race officers were set to work with several general recalls and black flag starts. On the Gold and Silver course, despite the hefty pricetag of being over the line early, the fleets continued to push the line and many picked up maximum point penalties. 2022 Men's World Champion Maximo Videla from Argentina and partner Juan Cruz Albamonte who was 8th overall last year, stamped their authority on race 1 and continued to sail a solid day in the lighter, wavy conditions putting them back in contention for the overall medals - 3rd overnight and only 6 points off the lead.

Australia's Ben Craaford and Jacob Marks continued their form with some solid results to hang on to the overnight lead, just three points ahead of Italians Alex Dermurtas (2022 Men's World Silver Medalists), with France, Great Britain and Hungary pushing towards the front of the fleet with some consistent top ten results all round.

In the Open fleet, sibling team Clementine and Nathan Van Steenberge, who were already in top form at Kiel Week in June, also posted an impressive scoreline, winning the last race by over a minute, which in this close fleet is no mean feat. Sitting in 5th overall overnight and with the next Open team picking up a DSQ today (ARG 2581), their eyes are also fixed on the overall medal podium, still well in reach. Argentinan's Amparo Stupenengo and Tadeo Tadeo Funes De Rioja, who crewed to victory at the 2022 Worlds in El Balis, had a tough day, although still sit one place ahead of German's Paula Claus and Jakob Schubach and Poland's Ewa Lewandowska and Leon Sapijaszko. With four races scheduled tomorrow, it certainly looks to be a closely fought battle in all three World Championship categories to reach the medal podium.

In the Women's fleet, Italians Malika Bellomi and Beatrice Conti continue to lead with Irish sisters Emily and Jessica Riordan just behind. Third Women's team is currently in the overall lead in Silver fleet and Swedish sisters, Ebba and Ellen Fredriksson, found the racing 'quite shifty and the waves tricky, but we made the best of the situation'. On sailing with her sister, Ellen explained, 'it can be hard sometimes, but when its good it's very good.' Ebba adds, 'the communication is very good, but when we get mad at each other, we get really mad!'

Top Under 17 men are currently the Polish team, Igor Kawalko and Fabian Kocieda in 33rd position overall and the Dutch team Folkert Van Surksum and Lars Ganzevles just behind in 34th. Top Under 17 Women heading into the final day is Hong Kong team Emily Polson and Tiffany Mak with the fleet's youngest sailor, Malena Rueegge and Liv Wicki, Switzerland in second and Spain's Susana Bestard Mir and Teresa Martin Garcia-Marcos in third.