General recalls and subsequent black flags on the starts of both the Open and Classic fleets ratcheted up the tension amongst the frontrunners on Day 4 of the 2026 International Six Metre European Championships, taking place at the Société Nautique de Genève on Lake Geneva, Switzerland.

In the Classic Championship Violeta Alvarez on GBR57 Erica fought back from outside the top ten at the final mark to take her fourth consecutive third place in the series and retake the overall lead. Meanwhile, a second consecutive race win for Eric Monnin on SUI100 Duclop has given him the overall lead in the Open Championship. 

A northerly breeze blowing at 10-12 knots was in force as the Open fleet lined up shortly before 1030 this morning for the start of Race 5 of the series. After an initial general recall, the race got away at the second time of asking, but under a black flag. With the fleet spread evenly down the line, it was Duclop that started closest to the committee boat – albeit a fraction late – and was the first boat to tack out to the right.

At the windward gate, Duclop was first around, followed by Foti Lykiardopulo’s GRE1 Aera in second, and Loic Forestier’s SUI77 Junior in third. Close behind in fourth was Basil Vasiliou’s USA 105 Jane Ann, with Dieter Schön’s IVB145 Momo in fifth. Junior and Momo were the first to gybe on to port shortly after rounding the offset mark.

The breeze had dropped to around eight knots as the leaders approached the leeward gate. Junior had eked ahead of Duclop and rounded the right-hand gate mark (looking upwind). Duclop, meanwhile, split to the left-hand mark, while Momo rounded on the right in third, followed around by Aera in fourth.

The pressure had dropped to under six knots at the end of the second beat. Duclop had maintained the lead, with Junior rounding in second place. Behind this duo, overnight leader Jamie Hilton on SUI144 Eau Vive had moved up into third, with Michel Vaucher’s SUI135 Saint-Francis rising to fourth, ahead of Momo in fifth.

With the breeze continuing to fade and become increasingly patchy, the final run was a stressful affair for the leading group. At the finish, the Duclop crew held their nerve to take their second consecutive win, with Momo making the biggest gain on the final leg, as they moved up from fifth to second. Junior took third, with Eau Vive finishing fourth.

After five races completed in the eight-race series, Duclop leads the Open Championship with 12 points, ahead of Eau Vive in second with 14 points. Third overall is Momo with 17 points.

The Classic fleet were also a little over-eager with their first start, forcing the race committee to break out the black flag to keep the crews in check for the second attempt.

At the first windward mark, it was His Majesty King Juan Carlos I of Spain’s ESP16 Bribon that came out of the left-hand side of the first beat to lead the fleet around. Second was Esben Poulsson’s GRE2 Aera, with Andrea Bianchedi’s ITA43 DAN in third.

In a fading and increasingly unpredictable breeze, the Bribon crew held on to first for another lap, before the arrival of fresh breeze on the final downwind leg allowed Jean Daniel Guex’s second-placed SUI15 Beausobre to slip past and take the win. Bribon finished second, with Erica making huge gains on the final leg to take third.

Erica’s owner/skipper Violeta Alvarez put the move down to the sharp eyes of tactician Pablo Iglesias. 

“He spotted the new breeze and he went for it,” she said. “We had nothing to lose, so it was worth taking a chance.”

Asked about the extra pressure of the black flag start, Alvarez said she was very conscious of the need not to be too early. “We had a boat to windward of us that wouldn’t move. So it was a tricky position to be in, but looking back, perhaps I didn’t come up on the breeze as quickly as I should.”

Erica now holds a one-point lead over Bribon with two more races left in the schedule, but Alvarez appeared pragmatic about how the rest of the regatta might play out.

“Well, it will be what it will be,” she said. “There’s lots of very good sailors around, and time will tell.”

Yesterday’s overnight leader, Reinhard Suhner’s SUI45 Mecara, now sits in third overall after a sixth place today. 

This evening, the competitors will assemble for the European Championships Gala Dinner at the SNG, at which the original painting by French marine artist Marc Berthier, featured in the official event poster, will be auctioned off by International Six Metre President, Louis Heckly. Proceeds from the auction will go to the International Six Metre Archive.

Racing at the International Six Metre European Championships at the Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) on Lake Geneva continues tomorrow, Thursday, July 23 and finishes on Friday, July 24.

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A hard-fought win in today’s single race at the 2026 International Six Metre European Championships at the Société Nautique de Genève on Lake Geneva has seen Reinhard Suhner’s SUI45 Mecara take the lead in the Classic Championship. Meanwhile, in the Open Championship, a second place for Jamie Hilton’s SUI144 Eau Vive was enough to maintain the top spot on the leaderboard.

A solid 9-10 knot northerly breeze was blowing this morning at start time, prompting the race team to set a slightly longer course than on previous days. However, the pressure began to fall as the Open fleet closed on the first windward mark, and continued to drop away over the remainder of the four-lap race.

Dieter Schön’s IVB145 Momo made the most sense of the first beat to round in first, ahead of Loic Forestier’s SUI77 Junior in second, and Eric Monnin’s SUI100 Duclop in third. Monnin was the first of the leaders to gybe onto port on the exit from the offset mark, but could make no inroads into the two frontrunners on the first downwind leg.

After following Momo and Junior around the first leeward gate, and with the breeze having dropped below six knots now, the Duclop crew put in a short tack up towards the middle of the course, before tacking back to set up in a windward position to the leaders. It was a move that triggered a beat where, according to skipper Monnin, “everything went perfectly”. At the second windward mark, Duclop was ahead and went on to protect that lead to the finish.

“The key to that win was the second windward leg,” Monnin commented afterwards. “It’s not often in sailing that you have a leg when you can say that you could not have done anything better. So all credit goes to my team. The trim was perfect. The tactics calls were perfect. We were good and focused. Everything went exactly how we wanted it – and, of course, we had the luck we needed also.”

With three races left to sail in the European Championships, Duclop sits in second, just one point behind the series leader, Jamie Hilton’s SUI144 Eau Vive – who today fought their way from fourth at the first mark to second at the finish – and five points ahead of third-placed Momo.

Monnin said he and his crew were happy to be in the hunt, and glad to be the ones doing the hunting, rather than being hunted.

“It’s a good position to be in, for sure,” he said. “But soon the discard will come in, and there are lots of boats who can still win this championship. Who it will be is not easy to predict.”

In the Classic Championship, Reinhard Suhner’s SUI45 Mecara also did a good job on the tricky second beat, overtaking both His Majesty King Juan Carlos I of Spain’s ESP16 Bribon and first-lap-leader Violeta Alvarez on GBR57 Erica, to take control of the race for the final downwind leg. At the finish it was Mecara, followed by Erica, and then Bribon.

Mecara’s victory – their second in this regatta – elevated them to first overall, tied on 16 points with Erica. Sitting in third overall after five races, after finishing third today, is Bribon.

Asked if he was feeling any extra pressure from leading the Classic Championship at this stage, Suhner said no.

“We are not nervous at all,” he said. “We had a bad first day with not such good starts, because we were too defensive. But now we are back to normal. And I guess we can try to put pressure on the others.”

Racing at the International Six Metre European Championships at the Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) on Lake Geneva continues tomorrow, Wednesday, July 21 and runs through until Friday, July 24.

Tomorrow evening, the competitors will assemble for the European Championships Gala Dinner at the SNG, at which the original painting by French marine artist Marc Berthier, featured in the official event poster, will be auctioned off by International Six Metre President, Louis Heckly. Proceeds from the auction will go to the International Six Metre Archive.

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Jamie Hilton’s SUI144 Eau Vive has moved into the overall lead in the Open fleet at the 2026 International Six Metre European Championships at the Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) after two more races on the event’s second day. In the Classic fleet, Violeta Alvarez on GBR57 Erica has taken the overall lead.

Second in the Open Championship, by two points after four races, is Eric Monnin on SUI100 Duclop, with yesterday’s leader – Dieter Schön’s IVB145 Momo – in third, a further two points back. In the Classic Championship, in second and just one point adrift of Erica is Louis Heckly’s FRA11 Fun, with Reinhard Suhner’s SUI45 Mecara third tonight.

The welcome arrival of a seven-knot northerly breeze across the event’s northern race area this morning meant that racing could get underway on time at 1100. At start time the wind had built to 9-10 knots, kicking up a slight chop across the lake. Though the breeze was stronger and generally less patchy than yesterday, there were still plenty of shifts for the tacticians to try to anticipate, and picking the right side of the beats was a key decision.

Race 3 of the series saw Jamie Hilton’s SUI144 Eau Vive make the best of the first beat to lead around the first windward mark. Hot on his heels, though, was overnight leader Dieter Schön’s IVB145 Momo in second, with Loic Forestier’s SUI77 Junior in third.

Eau Vive held the lead at the first leeward gate rounding, but it was Eric Monnin on SUI100 Duclop who rounded in second, with Jeremy Thorp’s GBR89 Battlecry moving up to third. With the breeze starting to soften during the second half of the course, wind holes began to develop across the course, making the final lap all the more stressful for the leading group.

At the finish, the Eau Vive crew held their nerve to take the win, with Battlecry pipping Duclop for second as the pair finished at opposite ends of the line.

In the Classic Championship, Andy Postle’s GBR33 Nirvana got away cleanly off the line to lead the fleet at the first windward mark, ahead of Reinhard Suhner’s SUI45 Mecara in second, and Violeta Alvarez on GBR57 Erica in third. These three spent the entire race in close formation at the front of the fleet, and at the finish it was Nirvana that held on for the win, with Mecara in second, and Erica in third.

Race 4 in the Open Championship saw Duclop lead at the first windward mark, ahead of Foti Lykiardopulo’s GRE1 Aera in second, and Momo in third. At the first leeward gate, Aera had taken the lead, with Basil Vasiliou’s USA145 Jane Ann moving up into second, and Duclop rounding third. The final lap saw the breeze becoming increasingly light and unstable. At the finish, it was Aera that took the winning gun, ahead of Jane Ann in second, Eau Vive in third, and Duclop in fourth.

In the Classic Championship, the Mecara crew established a huge lead at the first windward mark, rounding more than a minute ahead of Erica in second, and Fun in third. At the finish, Mecara took the well-deserved victory – completing an excellent 2,1 scoreline for the day – with Fun taking second, and Erica third.

The tacticians on the leading boats in the Open and Classic Championships both agreed that the combination of a high-quality fleet and the shifty breezes on Lake Geneva was making their jobs even more difficult than usual.

Allan Terhune from Eau Vive described the day: “It was interesting. More breeze than yesterday, but still a tricky day. We started out with more wind, but it got lighter as the day went on. There were lots of big shifts, lots of opportunities.”

Asked about their win in Race 3, Terhune put it down to a good start, good crew work, and some accurate driving by Eau Vive’s owner, Jamie Hilton.

“We sailed a really nice race,” he said. “Got off the line clean. Had a little split with the pack when we were in some different wind and got around ahead at the first mark. The guys did a good job from there. Jamie crushed it driving the boat, and the whole team made the boat go fast – which made my life easier for sure. I think our mentality has just been to try to be dynamic out there. If you just keep chipping away, you can do all right.”

Pablo Iglesias on Erica said the key to their success so far had been staying consistent.

“I think that this is the most important thing in this kind of event,” he said. “But today was a really really difficult day to do that. But we are really happy with the job we did today.

“Starting well is very important in this fleet. All the boats are pushing hard. So far, we have been finding good lanes off the startline. But then you have to do the manoeuvres well to keep the speed in these kinds of conditions. Not slowing the boat down is the most important thing.”

Racing at the International Six Metre European Championships at the Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) on Lake Geneva continues tomorrow, Tuesday, July 20, with an 1100 first start scheduled, and runs through until Friday, July 24.

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The opening day at the International Six Metre 2026 European Championships at the Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) on Lake Geneva, Switzerland delivered two highly competitive races sailed in a shifting 6-7 knot northerly breeze.

Leading in the Open Championship, with a win in the first race and a sixth in Race 2, is Dieter Schön’s IVB145 Momo. In the Classic Championship, His Majesty King Juan Carlos I of Spain’s ESP16 Bribon – the defending European Champions – leads, after a fourth and a second today.

Warm sunshine and ultra-light winds prevailed when the competitors assembled this morning at the SNG, triggering the AP flag to be flown at 1045 as the race committee scanned the lake and their weather models for enough breeze for racing.

Happily, at around 1300 a northerly breeze began to fill in across the championships’ northerly racecourse, and the fleet headed out on the lake, where racing got underway at around 1445. The shifty, patchy breeze made it very much an eyes-out-of-the-boat day and both races offered up plenty of opportunities to make big gains and losses, both upwind and downwind.

In the Open fleet’s first race, after an initial general recall start, Dieter Schön’s IVB145 Momo got off the line cleanly at the pin end and worked the middle of the beat perfectly to lead around the first windward mark. Second to round was Basil Vasiliou’s USA145 Jane Ann, ahead of the newly crowned Swiss Champion Eric Monnin on SUI100 Duclop. These top three boats held their positions to the finish, with Michel Vaucher’s SUI135 Saint-Francis taking fourth, ahead of Jamie Hilton’s SUI144 Eau Vive in fifth.

Race 1 in the Classic Championship saw Mauricio Sanchez-Bella Carswell’s ESP72 Titia round the windward mark ahead of His Majesty King Juan Carlos I of Spain’s ESP16 Bribon in second, with Violeta Alvarez on GBR57 Erica hot on their transoms in third.

By the end of the first run, Erica had edged ahead to round the left-hand mark a fraction ahead of Bribon at the right-hand mark. This battle for the lead raged for the rest of the race and was only decided at the finish line where the two leaders finished overlapping, with Erica managing to stay ahead to take the winning gun. Bribon finished second, with Louis Heckly’s FRA11 Fun coming home close behind in third.

In the second race, the Open fleet got away cleanly at the first time of asking, with Foti Lykiardopulo’s GRE1 Aera leading around the first windward mark, ahead of Michel Teweles’s SUI72 Jeu du Vent in second, and Loic Forestier’s SUI77 Junior in third. With the breeze beginning to slowly fade and become even more patchy, the Aera crew sailed a smart race to hold their lead to the finish, while behind them a fierce battle between Jeu du Vent and Junior finally went Forestier’s way, with Junior taking second and Jeu du Vent third.

The Classic fleet’s second race saw Ossi Paija’s FIN80 Astrée III deliver a convincing win, after overtaking the top three boats at the first windward mark – Andy Postle’s GBR33 Nirvana, Philippe Durr’s SUI44 Astrée, and FRA11 Fun – on the first downwind leg. At the finish, it was Nirvana in second, Fun in third, ahead of Bribon in fourth, and Reinhard Suhner’s SUI45 Mecara in fifth.

Open Championship leader Dieter Schön described the conditions out on the water today as ‘hot and difficult’. He paid tribute to Momo tactician Marcus Weisser for making sense of the patchy and shifty breeze. “There were a lot of pressure differences around the course,” he said. “But it was fair racing – so all good. It is a difficult week with not very much wind expected, so the race officer has to take what he gets. But overall, we are happy with the day, happy with the result, and we keep on going. We have a good boat, a good tactician and a good crew where everyone tries their best.”

Second in the Open Championship after Day 1 is Eric Monnin on SUI100 Duclop, with Jamie Hilton’s SUI144 Eau Vive in third.

Calling tactics on Classic Championship leader Bribon is Alejandro Abascal, who agreed that the wind had been extremely light and shifty throughout the day.

“That made it very difficult to be consistent,” he said. “You had to be paying attention all the time. We started well in the first race but in the second we were a bit late and had to take a lot of transoms to get to the right.”

Abascal said there were no consistent patterns in the breeze from one lap to the next.

“You just have to be there in the moment,” he said. “This fleet is very competitive – everyone is fast – and it’s going to be an interesting week.”

Bribon holds the lead in the Classic Championship, albeit tied on points with Louis Heckly’s FRA11 Fun, in second, and Violeta Alvarez on GBR57 Erica in third.

Racing at the International Six Metre European Championship at the Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) on Lake Geneva continues tomorrow, Monday, July 20, and runs through until Friday, July 24.

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