The 2026 EurILCA Master Series has concluded on Lake Garda just over a week after Ireland’s Roger Craig claimed the ILCA 7 Master European title in La Baule.

Nearly 90 sailors from 11 nations contested the final event of the European circuit at Gargnano, where they completed eight races over three days in conditions ranging from light southerly breezes to northerly winds of 15-18 knots.

The regatta brought down the curtain on a Masters season that began in Malta in January and included last month’s European Championships in France, where Royal St George Yacht Club sailor Roger Craig won the ILCA 7 Master title by a single point, as reported by Afloat

Craig’s European victory subsequently earned the Dún Laoghaire sailor Afloat’s Sailor of the Month award for Solo International sailing in September.

Breeze on: Roberto Bini races among the ILCA 7 fleet at Gargnano, where six of the regatta’s eight races were sailed in a testing 15-18 knot northerly breeze. Photo: Circolo Vela Gargnano

Marinelli Takes ILCA 6 Win

Italy dominated the Gargnano finale, with Alessio Marinelli taking the ILCA 6 overall victory, four points clear of compatriot Elisa Boschin.

Boschin, a multiple ILCA 6 Women’s Master World Champion, also won the Master category and the women’s classification, while Edoardo Tomasella completed an all-Italian overall podium in third.

Tomasella won the Apprentice Master category, Marinelli topped the Grand Masters, Andrea Francesco Maria De Benedetti won the Great Grand Masters and Giovanni Repetto took the Legend category.

The Gargnano fleet included several sailors with World and European Masters titles, as well as previous Olympic campaigns.

Among them was Italy’s Paola Porta, returning to single-handed Masters racing after a career in the Olympic 470 in which she won World Championship bronze in 1985 and European bronze in 1986 with Anna Barabino.

Italian job: Alessio Marinelli (centre) took ILCA 6 overall victory by four points from Elisa Boschin (left), with Edoardo Tomasella third in an Italian clean sweep of the podium. Photo: Circolo Vela Gargnano

One Point Decides ILCA 7

The ILCA 7 competition produced an even closer finish, with Italy’s Stefano Meciani winning overall by just one point from Austria’s Christoph Marsano. Germany’s Roger Schulz finished third, six points behind Meciani.

Seven up: Overall ILCA 7 winner Stefano Meciani (centre) celebrates with runner-up Christoph Marsano (left) and third-placed Roger Schulz after a one-point victory at Gargnano. Photo: Circolo Vela Gargnano

Marsano arrived at Gargnano as the reigning ILCA 7 Grand Master European champion from La Baule, where Craig had won the separate Master division.

Meciani also topped the Apprentice Master category at Gargnano, Mauro Barozzi won the Masters, and Marsano took the Grand Masters.

Home double: Circolo Vela Gargnano sailors Giuseppe Cavalli (centre) and Roberto Bini (left) took first and second in the ILCA 7 Great Grand Master category at their home EurILCA Master Series finale. Photo: Circolo Vela Gargnano

Eight Races Across Three Days

Host club Circolo Vela Gargnano also found success, with Giuseppe Cavalli and Roberto Bini taking first and second, respectively, in the ILCA 7 Great Grand Master category.

Garda charge: Giuseppe Cavalli powers through the stronger Lake Garda breeze on his way to victory in the ILCA 7 Great Grand Master category at the EurILCA Master Series finale in Gargnano. Photo: Circolo Vela Gargnano

The three-day regatta provided contrasting Lake Garda conditions. Two races were sailed on Friday in an eight- to nine-knot southerly before the stronger northerly arrived for the remaining six races, bringing winds of around 15-18 knots and a more demanding wave pattern.

The Gargnano event was the final regatta of the 2026 EurILCA Master Series, open to ILCA sailors aged 30 and over.