Irish Crews Finish Strong at Record 29er Worlds in Kiel

12th July 2026

Afloat.ie Team

Final Showdown: A record fleet of 276 boats from 35 nations contested the 2026 29er World Championship in Kiel, where France secured the world title after a dramatic final day Credit: Sascha Klahn

Ireland's three crews completed the 2026 29er World Championships in Kiel with solid performances in one of the largest events in the class's history.

Louise Hanley and Eoin Byrne were the top Irish finishers, placing 202nd overall in the Open fleet after a consistent final series. Juliet Ryan and Ella Rock finished 235th overall and were among the leading Irish crews in the Under-17 category after battling through a highly competitive championship. Gemma Brady and Grace Keating finished 252nd overall in the youth division, gaining valuable experience against an international fleet of 276 boats from 35 nations.

The championship title went to France's Alexandre Mostini and Raphaël Allain, who overturned a narrow deficit on the final day to secure the 2026 world crown. Sweden's Henric Wigforss and William Drakenberg finished second overall, while Argentina's Felix Llauro and Lucas Cozar, who had led for much of the week, claimed bronze after a tense finale.

Colour Charge: A spectacular downwind leg at the 29er World Championship in Kiel, where a record fleet of 276 boats from 35 nations battled for world honours in demanding conditions. Photo: Sander van der Borch

The final day began with the leading three teams separated by only a handful of points. Light and unstable winds added to the drama as calculations changed after every race before the breeze settled for the concluding contests.

New Zealand's Nelsen Meacham and Oli Stone narrowly missed the podium in fourth, while Germany's David Plettner and Moritz Aigner completed the top five.

The mixed title was won by American pairing Annie Sitzmann and Anton Schmid, while Denmark's Emmeli Gramkov and Sofie Andersen secured the women's championship. Germany also claimed the Under-17 title through Johan Mueller and Hanno Gewinn.

The week concluded with the traditional presentation of new sail numbers to the top 25 finishers and awards across the championship's multiple fleets and categories. The 2026 championship was the biggest in class history, attracting 276 boats, 552 sailors and competitors from 35 nations.

Published in 29er, Youth Sailing

Published in 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.