2026 Europe Dinghy Nationals: a championship defined by survival as much as speed

Ten sailors competed as part of the Nelson Yacht Club’s Whakatu Regatta programme, with seven races scheduled across two days. Saturday (10 January 2026) alone demanded repeated course changes as the breeze shifted through the afternoon. Races 1 to 5 were sailed in four wind directions, testing both sailors and race committee.

Saturday racing

Saturday accounted for five of the seven scheduled races and carried most of the scoring weight in the championship.

Antje Muller set the early benchmark. She won four of the five races she started on elapsed time, taking Race 1 by 11 seconds over Tim Fraser-Harris (26:15 to 26:26), then extending the margin to 43 seconds in Race 2. Her winning times across the day were 26:15, 25:45, 28:18, and 28:04, with margins of 11, 47, 16, and 14 seconds respectively.

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Behind her, the fleet remained tightly packed. In Race 1, David Brown and David Davies crossed the line one second apart, recording identical corrected times of 23:49. Similar margins followed through the afternoon, with several races decided by under 10 seconds.

Derek Brebner stayed within reach. He did not win on elapsed time on Saturday but finished every race, posting a worst result of fifth. On handicap, he placed inside the top two in three of the five races, limiting his points exposure as conditions became more unstable.

By mid-afternoon, attrition began. Oliver Fellows suffered a mast track failure and was forced out. Tim Scott lost a halyard. Patrick Harris retired after Race 2. Fleet numbers reduced, but the leading contenders remained intact, keeping the championship open overnight.

The final two Saturday races were sailed in a building breeze and a near two-metre swell. Brebner took his first elapsed-time win in Race 4 (31:55), ahead of Brown (32:49), with Muller third. Muller responded in Race 5, winning again on elapsed time, though Brebner took the corrected-time win by one second.

Sunday racing

Sunday scrapped the traditional Nelson lie-in, with a D Flag raised around 9:00am and racing underway before 10:30am to stay ahead of the forecast north-westerly. The decision proved critical as the breeze continued to build, pushing a heavier sea than Saturday across the course.

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Overnight repairs brought several boats back to the line. Fellows returned using Brown’s spare mast. Scott fixed his halyard. Just in time, Brebner identified a control line close to failure and jury-rigged his outhaul before launching.

Then shortly before the start, Muller broke her rudder and could not race again.

Race 6 was won on elapsed time by Fraser-Harris in 28:41. Brown finished second in 29:23, four seconds ahead of Brebner.

Race 7 proved decisive with Brebner and Fraser-Harris entering the race with 12 nett elapsed points each. Brebner broke the deadline. He won on elapsed time in 27:21, finishing one minute ahead of Brown and 1 minute 9 seconds ahead of Fraser-Harris. On corrected time, Brebner also took the win, with Roff second and Fellows third.

With one discard available, Muller’s DNS and DNC on Sunday removed her from contention and confirmed the final standings.

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Final 2026 standings

Derek Brebner was crowned the 2026 New Zealand Europe Dinghy National Champion, winning both the line honours series on 13 points and the handicap series on 11 points.

Brown and Fraser-Harris swapped positions across the two scorelines. On line honours, Fraser-Harris finished second on 15 points, with Brown third on 16. On handicap, Brown finished second on 18.5 points, half a point ahead of Fraser-Harris on 19.

Despite winning four races on elapsed time, Muller finished fourth overall on both line honours (18 points) and handicap (21 points) after failing to start the final two races. It was still an improvement on the alternative, with Muller and Brown earlier delayed on the Wellington–Picton ferry before racing began.

Line honours results

Handicap results

2026 New Zealand Europe Dinghy National Championship sails in Nelson