Irish Sailors Target 2026 29er Worlds In Kiel

17th February 2026

Afloat.ie Team

Nordic Knockout — 2025 World Champions Nicklas Holt and Philip Forslund on their way to 29er victory at Kieler Woche 2025 in Schilksee. The Norwegian duo set the benchmark ahead of the 2026 Worlds Credit: Sascha Klahn

Irish 29er sailors are set to compete for places at the 2026 World Championships in Kiel, Germany.

The International 29er Class Association has allocated three Irish entries for the event, scheduled for early July at the Olympic Sailing Centre in Schilksee.

“We have been offered five places by the international class,” an Irish class insider told Afloat. “It is disappointing given our record at the event in recent years.”

Irish crews have secured a world title in 2023 and women’s medals in 2022 and 2023.

A domestic trials process is now underway. Four applications have been received.

Selection will begin at the Irish Youth National Championships in Ballyholme from 9–12 April. It will conclude at the 29er Eastern Championships at the National Yacht Club on 25–26 April.

Irish sailors are training at the National Yacht Club, Royal St George Yacht Club and Ballyholme Yacht Club. Activity is also reported at Royal Cork Yacht Club and Lough Derg Yacht Club.

The Notice of Race for the 2026 championship has been published, formally opening entries.

The regatta will take place on the Kiel Fjord, a venue known for consistent winds and open racing areas. The Eurocup 29er during Kieler Woche will serve as a key preparatory event.

Pippa Kenton-Page, Executive Director of the International 29er Class Association, said: “This event is shaping up to be our largest 29er Worlds in history.”

Racing is scheduled over six days, with up to six fleets across three courses.

For Irish contenders, the road to Kiel now runs through Ballyholme and Dun Laoghaire as competition intensifies for the three available places.

Published in 29er, Youth Sailing

Published in 29er

Tagged under

29er

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About the 29er Skiff Dinghy

The 29er is a one-design double-handed, single trapeze skiff for youth sailors.

There is an active class in Ireland, just one of the 38-countries from across all continents now racing the high-performance skiff.

The 29er is one of the latest dinghy classes to arrive in Ireland and has a 50/50 split between boys and girls.

The class like to describe the boat as "The most popular skiff for sailors who want to go fast!".

Derived from the Olympic class 49er class and designed by Julian Bethwaite the 29er was first produced in 1998.

Two sailors sail the 29er, one on trapeze.

The class is targeted at youth sailors aiming at sailing the larger 49er which is an Olympic class.

The 6.25-metre high rig features a fractional asymmetrical spinnaker; a self-tacking jib decreases the workload of the crew, making manoeuvres more efficient and freeing the crew to take the mainsheet upwind and on two-sail reaches.

The 15.00 m2 spinnaker rigging set-up challenges crews to be fit and coordinated, and manoeuvres in the boat require athleticism due to its lack of inherent stability and the high speed with which the fully battened mainsail and jib power up.

The 74kg weight hull is constructed of fibreglass-reinforced polyester in a foam sandwich layout.

The fully battened mainsail and jib are made from a transparent Mylar laminate with orange or red Dacron trimming, while the spinnaker is manufactured from ripstop Nylon.

The mast is in three parts - an aluminium bottom and middle section, with a polyester-fibreglass composite tip to increase mast bend and decrease both overall weights, and the capsizing moment a heavy mast tip can generate. Foils are aluminium or fibreglass.