The 2026 Melges 24 European Championship got underway in Tønsberg, Norway, on 31 August with a foggy morning giving way to sunshine and two completed races for the 42-boat international fleet. Local sailor Kristoffer Spone and his Helly Hansen II Lisa, NOR 697, parlayed hometown expertise into a pair of second-place finishes to sit atop the overall standings after day one.
The day opened with a comprehensive Skippers’ Briefing covering race-management, jury and technical procedures before the fleet headed out for a 12:30 first warning signal. Light winds, an unusual swell and significant current set up a tactical puzzle on the racecourse.
Local race officer Eirik Brekke said lessons from Sunday’s Practice Race paid dividends. “We learned quite a lot from the Practice Race, so today we were much better prepared and were out on the course early,” Brekke explained. “The wind was quite light, but there were surprisingly large waves and a significant current. For the first race, the course was set at approximately one nautical mile, with the wind around 190 degrees. We planned for close to one hour of racing, and the timing was very close to that.”
Brekke noted the boats spread across the racecourse and chose different sides through the gate, giving the committee confidence the course was fair. When the breeze filled in slightly for race two, the course was extended to 1.2 nautical miles and completed in around 55 minutes.
The opening championship day also showcased the Vakaros RaceSense starting system. Around six boats were over the line early in each race, but all received the signal, returned and cleared themselves correctly, leaving no OCS scores on the results sheet. “For me as a race officer, this is the future,” Brekke added. “When the line is correct, the course is correct, and the technology works, it provides fair sailing.”
Sweden’s Jonas Berntsson and SWE 715 claimed the first race victory, leading an all-Corinthian podium. They were followed by Spone’s Helly Hansen II Lisa in second and Tomas Mathisen’s Bagdad Prospects, NOR 600, in third. Race two saw reigning European Champion Razjaren, CRO 867, find its pace. Ante Cesic and his Croatian crew took the win ahead of Helly Hansen II Lisa, with Bagdad Prospects Youth, NOR 152, helmed by Anders Hylen Klippenberg, finishing third.
While Sweden and Croatia shared the race wins, consistency put two Norwegian teams at the top of the overall standings. Spone’s two second places gave Helly Hansen II Lisa the lead on four points. Mathisen’s Bagdad Prospects posted a 3-4 scoreline to hold second overall with seven points. Razjaren’s 9-1 results placed the defending European Champions third on ten points, while the experienced Corinthian campaign Storm Capital, NOR 751, with Peder Jahre at the helm, sat fourth after scores of 8-5.
A newcomer to the Melges 24 fleet, Ireland’s Darren Wright and Adrenaline, GBR 822, made an immediate impression with fifth and eleventh places to finish the opening day fifth overall. Itsi-Bitsi, DEN 701, was sixth, followed by Bagdad Prospects Youth in seventh and Paolo Brescia’s Melgina, ITA 854, in eighth. Inge Salvesen’s Spica, NOR 585, and Kristian Nergaard’s Team Bagdad-Helly Hansen, NOR 724, completed the provisional top ten. Five nations — Norway, Croatia, Ireland, Denmark and Italy — were represented inside the top ten after the opening day.
Spone credited local knowledge, good starts and strong boatspeed for his team’s remarkably consistent opening day. “We didn’t have much time before the first start, so we relied on our local knowledge,” said Spone. “This is my hometown. I grew up here, and in these conditions, the right side normally pays. The line looked slightly favoured at the committee boat, so we started there, got a great start and tacked to the right. We worked the shifts on that side and finished second, so we were very pleased with the race.”
In the second race, Spone said the team took a slightly more conservative approach, starting just above the middle of the line and tacking early to get away. “We had good speed and used a new jib, which worked really well in the swell with some chop on top. We think we are fast, and we’re very pleased with the day.” With a 2-2 record, Helly Hansen II Lisa leads both the overall and Corinthian standings.
Tomas Mathisen was equally pleased after Bagdad Prospects opened with two top-four finishes. “We had a lovely day here in Tønsberg with two races,” said Mathisen. “We played the right-hand side well today and managed to pull off two top-four places. We had some issues with boatspeed earlier this season, but we finally found it today, so we are really happy. All the best for tomorrow.”
Norwegian teams dominated the Corinthian standings, occupying the first six positions after two races. Helly Hansen II Lisa led Bagdad Prospects, with Storm Capital in third. Bagdad Prospects Youth was fourth, followed by Spica and Team Bagdad-Helly Hansen. Canada’s EuroSurprise, CAN 672, was the highest-placed international Corinthian team in seventh. The opening-race winner SWE 715 was eighth, Italy’s TAKI 5, ITA 878, was ninth, and reigning Corinthian European Champion Mataran 24, CRO 649, completed the Corinthian top ten.
With only two of the ten scheduled races completed, the championship remains wide open. The first discard comes into effect after five races, leaving plenty of opportunity for the order to change as the week progresses. The forecast is not expected to allow an early start on Tuesday, with the Competitors’ Briefing scheduled for 12:00 and the first warning signal at 14:30. Two races are planned as the contests for the Giorgio Zuccoli Trophy and Menno Meyer Corinthian European Trophy continue in Tønsberg.
The 2026 Melges 24 European Championship is hosted from 29 August to 4 September by Tønsberg Seilforening, in cooperation with the Norwegian Melges 24 Class Association and the International Melges 24 Class Association (IM24CA).
