His Majesty King Juan Carlos I of Spain’s ESP16 Bribon has won the International Six Metre European Classic Championship, while Eric Monnin – SSL Team Switzerland Captain SUI100 Duclop claimed the European title in the Open fleet.
Both Bribon and Duclop won their final races on the last day of the eight-race series hosted by the Société Nautique de Genève on Lake Geneva, which was sailed in a northerly breeze that peaked at 12 knots.
The final day of the 2026 International Six Metre European Championships began with the overall result in both the Open and Classic fleets uncertain.
In the Classic fleet Bribon led the regatta, two points ahead of Reinhard Suhner’s SUI45 Mecara in second with 18 points, with Violeta Alvarez on GBR57 Erica sitting in third, also on 18 points. Also in the title hunt was fourth-placed Louis Heckly on FRA11 Fun with 19 points.
In the Open fleet, SUI145 Eau Vive, skippered by Jamie Hilton, held the overall lead going into the final race with 16 points, one point ahead of second-placed Duclop, with Dieter Schön’s IVB145 Momo in third place, a further four points back, on 21 points.
Ten to twelve knots of northerly breeze and a light chop greeted the competitors as the fleets assembled at 1000 this morning.
In the Open Championship Eau Vive and Duclop both got off the line cleanly at the windward end, but at the first windward gate it was Duclop who led the fleet around, followed by Jeremy Thorp’s GBR89 Battlecry in second, Basil Vasiliou’s USA105 Jane Ann in third, followed by Eau Vive in fourth.
The Duclop crew – who, last week, won the Swiss Championship – did not put a foot wrong for the rest of the race. After keeping a tight cover on the chasing pack on every leg, the Swiss team took their third race victory of the series and sealed the 2026 Open European Title. A fourth in today’s race for Eau Vive was enough to secure second overall, with Momo holding on to third overall, despite a lacklustre day.
Monnin described the team’s strategy going into the final day, one point behind Eau Vive: “The situation wasn’t that easy,” he said. “Because we knew we still potentially had one place to lose to Momo – which wasn’t the case for Eau Vive, where we were their only opponent. We said to ourselves, ‘one point is just one point’, so if we can have an early lead, then we can do it.”
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Once around the top mark in first, Monnin said he felt the race and the European title were within their grasp – although with the wind starting to fade and become patchy, the second beat had been somewhat nervy for them.
“We knew that when it’s patchy you can’t just cover,” he said. “So we played the shifts. We took the right side and that left them a bit of opportunity to come back. Luckily, though, it was the right call.”
Monnin paid tribute to his crew for the victory. “It’s great to achieve this win with this team. We are all really good friends and we have a good team spirit on the boat. I’m new to the International Six Metre class, but we have some crew members who are very experienced in these boats, and that helps a lot. So, if there is a secret to this success – it’s the crew.”
More information on the event can be found at the official regatta website.